
Iowa workers on strike since May have rejected the latest offer from Case-New Holland International to return to work, saying the company wasn’t even offering what replacement workers are currently making.
The strike of more than 1,000 workers involves United Auto Workers (UAW) members at Case-New Holland International (CNHi) plants, about 400 of which are in Burlington, Iowa, and another 600 some in Racine, Wisconsin.
CNH said the offer—the first successfully negotiated since the strike began May 2—included raises of at least 25% over four years. That amounts to raises of a little more than 6% per year, even though inflation rates for the past two years have been 7% or above.
[inline-ad id=0]
Burlington workers accepted the deal, but their Wisconsin counterparts did not. Altogether, members rejected the vote on a 45-55% split.
“The members spoke, and now we’ve got to find a path forward with the company,” Burlington local union president Nick Guernsey told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
The specific percentage who accepted the offer in Burlington wasn’t immediately known. Guernsey was not immediately available for comment Monday.
[inline-ad id=”0″]
In Racine, Rich Glowacki, chairman of the bargaining committee for UAW Local 180, said he was “shocked” members asked so few questions of the offer.
“They’re not happy. They feel betrayed,” he told the paper. “They feel the company should be compensating them better, the benefits should be better, the health insurance needs to be better.”
In a statement, CNHi doubled down on its offer and said the union should just take “another vote,” while recommitting to using replacement workers in its plants until then.
“While we await the union’s next step, CNH Industrial remains committed to honoring and meeting the needs and demands of our customers and, therefore, we will continue operations at both our Burlington and Racine sites,” the company said.
[inline-ad id=”1″]
Ironically for union members, those replacement workers—who are called “scabs” for crossing the picket lines—are making more money than the company was paying or offering unionized workers, claims Racine’s local union president Yasin Mahdi.
“They’re paying their non-union (employees) $27 per hour, today,” Mahdi said. “I don’t know what the problem is with paying us the same thing.”
The UAW said Saturday that its bargaining committee would “meet to discuss next steps to take with CHNi,” but did not go into further detail.
by Amie Rivers
1/9/23
[inline-ad id=”2″]
If you enjoy stories like these, make sure to sign up for Iowa Starting Line’s main newsletter and/or our working class-focused Worker’s Almanac newsletter.
Have a story idea for me? Email [email protected], or find me on Twitter, TikTok, Mastodon, Post, Instagram and Facebook.
Iowa Starting Line is part of an independent news network and focuses on how state and national decisions impact Iowans’ daily lives. We rely on your financial support to keep our stories free for all to read. Find ISL on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Support Our Cause
Thank you for taking the time to read our work. Before you go, we hope you'll consider supporting our values-driven journalism, which has always strived to make clear what's really at stake for Iowans and our future.
Since day one, our goal here at Iowa Starting Line has always been to empower people across the state with fact-based news and information. We believe that when people are armed with knowledge about what's happening in their local, state, and federal governments—including who is working on their behalf and who is actively trying to block efforts aimed at improving the daily lives of Iowan families—they will be inspired to become civically engaged.


Iowa Republicans make outlawing gay marriage key 2024 campaign priority
Iowa Republicans have made outlawing gay marriage a key goal in their 2024 party platform. During the Iowa GOP’s 2024 state convention on Saturday,...

Department of Justice says Iowa immigration law violates US Constitution
If Iowa doesn’t suspend the enforcement of its new immigration law by May 7, the state could face a federal lawsuit, according to the Des Moines...

Rushing: Iowa State president said the quiet part out loud
I want to thank Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen for doing us all a favor by finally saying the quiet part out loud: all the...

Iowa sets aside almost $180 million for year two of voucher program
Iowa has committed nearly $180 million in taxpayer funds to support private school tuition in the 2024-25 school year, which is almost $50 million...

Kalbach: Immediate action needed on corporate ag pollution
Iowa agriculture has undergone substantial changes over the past 40 years. We see it all around us. Rather than crops and livestock being raised on...

VIDEO: Jochum calls Gov. Reynolds’ summer meal program a ‘hunger game’
Iowa Gov. Reynolds announced a competitive $900,000 grant program to feed Iowa children over the summer, months after she declined $29 million in...