More than 1,000 CNH Industrial workers, who have been on strike since last May, approved a new contract Saturday with the maker of tractors, bulldozers, excavators and other heavy equipment.
Union members in Racine, Wisconsin, and Burlington, Iowa, approved the agreement two weeks after rejecting an earlier agreement, the UAW said.
The union did not disclose any details of the content of the contract.
A spokesman for CNH Industrial did not immediately respond to questions about the new agreement on Sunday. Previously, the company said the last proposals workers rejected included wage increases of 28% to 38% over four years.
“The agreement reflects the efforts of a committed negotiating team and members during a nearly nine-month strike,” UAW President Ray Curry said in a statement.
Throughout the strike, workers fought for wage increases that would help counter soaring inflation and not be eaten up by increases in health insurance costs. Workers rejected an agreement for an 18.5 percent pay rise because of those concerns before the strike began on May 2 last year.
UAW Vice President Chuck Browning said, “Our negotiators haggled tenaciously to the end, even pushing for an improved contract with CNHI threatening to hire a permanent strikeout replacement.” Combined with the incredible support of our members, this is remarkable endured in order to achieve this contract. “
CNH Industrial, which employs more than 37,000 people worldwide, continued to produce construction and agricultural equipment throughout the strike and worked to keep its Wisconsin and Iowa factories running. The UK-based company said its third-quarter profit rose 22% to $559 million. The company is scheduled to release its next earnings report in early February.
The offshore yuan strike is one of the longest in a recent spate of strikes since the pandemic began. Workers at companies of all kinds have been demanding and receiving big pay increases and better benefits amid widespread worker shortages. New unions have been established in Starbucks stores and Amazon warehouses, although some have rejected unionization.
In 2021, more than 10,000 Deere & Co. workers received a 10% pay raise and better benefits after another farm equipment maker went on a month-long strike.
In one of the most high-profile labor disputes of the past year, more than 100,000 railroad workers got a 24 percent boost in a five-year deal after Congress stepped in and blocked a potential strike over fears of economic fallout. salary and $5,000 bonus. Even with the big raises, many railroad workers remain frustrated with the deal being imposed on them because it doesn’t address their quality of life concerns about tight hours and a lack of paid sick leave.
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