Deere Workers Go on Strike as UAW, Company Fail to Reach Deal

  • About 10,000 employees strike at top farm-equipment maker
  • Impact on Deere muted amid weaker seasonal output: analyst
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
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Thousands of workers at Deere & Co., the world’s biggest farm machinery maker, began picketing Thursday for the first time in more than three decades to demand better pay as the company heads for its most profitable year ever.

Representatives from the company and the United Auto Workers union failed to reach an agreement over a new labor contract, which ignited the strike around midnight Chicago time. Workers rejected a tentative agreement calling for a 5%-6% wage increase for this year, and are also demanding better health benefits.