婷婷激情五月天

UAW Strike at CNH Grinds On

The Wall Street Journal reports negotiations between聽CNH Industrial聽NV and the equipment maker鈥檚 striking workers聽have hit聽a stalemate, deepening supply-chain problems with farm and construction equipment.

Bargaining sessions between the United Auto Workers (UAW) union and CNH broke down in the middle聽of June, and there are no additional meetings scheduled in the near term, union leaders and the company said.
聽About 1,100 hourly workers in Burlington, Iowa, and Racine, Wis.,聽have been on strike since May 2 at the company.

The UAW wants higher wages and a longer contract than the company has offered. The union said the wage increases proposed by the company would be eaten up by the higher costs the company wants employees to shoulder for health insurance.

鈥淭his deal has to sell itself and right now it鈥檚 not selling itself,鈥 said Nick Guernsey, president of the union local in Burlington, where CNH produces Case-brand construction equipment, including backhoes, and components.

CNH said UAW negotiators rejected the company鈥檚 last major proposal in May without putting it before rank-and-file members. 鈥淲e strongly encourage the UAW to present our offer to our employees for a vote,鈥 the company said.

Mr. Guernsey said the union wants a six-year contract that elevates workers鈥 hourly rates to the same levels as聽employees at CNH鈥檚 six nonunion U.S. plants, plus a raise on top of that. The UAW estimates that hourly聽nonunion workers for CNH make an average of about $5.50 an hour more than unionized workers at the Racine聽and Burlington plants. The company said pay rates for individual plants are based on labor rates in the聽communities where plants are located.

Deere UAW members from the Quad Cities traveled to聽Burlington on Sunday to join the CNH workers on the picket lines.