MOLINE, ILL -The day after union workers with Deere & Company turned down a second negotiated contract, a Deere spokesperson said there will not be a third proposal offered.
Members of local United Auto Worker chapters cast their vote Tuesday, Nov. 2 on a re-negotiated contract. The results showed that 55% of union members were not in favor of the new contract, while 45% were; with a total of 9,040 votes; 5,010 voted against the new contract and 4,030 voted in favor of the new contract, reports WQAD TV.
This was a stark contrast to the overwhelming vote that declined Deere’s first option back in early October.
Only four of Deere’s eleven facilities reported a majority “no” vote during Tuesday’s rejection. That includes operations in Milan and East Moline, IL., as well as Dubuque and Waterloo, IA.
Director of Deere & Co. Public Relations Jen Hartmann said the company’s top priority is to get its workers off the picket lines and back into the factories. Workers have been on strike for 21 days as of Nov. 3.
Hartmann stressed the company is still willing to continue with negotiations and isn’t walking away from the bargaining table. Instead, she says Deere will not present a third, new contract, and instead still hopes to pass the second tentative agreement.
Since seven of the 11 UAW units voted in favor of the new contract, Hartmann said there’s still hope that this particular contract will still be passed.
