The United Auto Workers and Deere & Company announced October 1 that negotiators have reached a tentative agreement on terms of a new six-year contract covering approximately 9,500 employees and 17,000 retirees. Terms of the agreement were not released. The tentative agreement will now be presented for ratification to members of the 15 UAW Locals at Deere facilities.
UAW vice president Jimmy Settles thanked the UAW-Deere National Negotiating Committee for its work on the proposed agreement. "We've worked hard to get a tentative agreement that serves our members' best interests and the interests of the communities where we work and live," Settles said. "We very much appreciate the support of our members, who have been essential throughout the process."
David Everitt, president, Worldwide Agriculture and Turf Division, Deere & Company, said, "Both parties worked hard to develop an agreement that meets the needs of employees while recognizing the nature of Deere's competitive challenges around the world."
Both the UAW and Deere said no further public comment would be made on the tentative agreement pending ratification votes by members.
The locations represented by the UAW/Deere Master Factory Agreement include the John Deere Harvester Works in East Moline, Ill.; John Deere Seeding Group/Cylinder Division in Moline, Ill.; John Deere North American Parts Distribution Center in Milan, Ill.; John Deere Davenport (Iowa) Works; John Deere Des Moines (Iowa) Works; John Deere Dubuque (Iowa) Works; John Deere Ottumwa (Iowa) Works; John Deere Waterloo (Iowa) Works; John Deere Engine Works (Waterloo); John Deere Waterloo Tractor, Cab Assembly Operations; John Deere Product Engineering Center (Waterloo); John Deere Foundry (Waterloo); John Deere Coffeyville Works (Kansas), and parts depots in Atlanta and Denver.