Burlington UAW Workers Go On Strike As Company Reports $4.6 Billion In Revenue

Another United Auto Workers (UAW) union strike is on.

More than 1,000 unionized workers at CNH Industrial (CNHi) in Iowa and Wisconsin, where they manufacture Case and New Holland agricultural products, began striking at noon on Monday. The union failed to reach an agreement with the company on wages, retirement benefits, and better working conditions, the UAW said in a statement Monday.

“UAW CNHi members have worked through the pandemic, after the company deemed them essential, to produce the equipment that feeds America, builds America and powers the American economy,” said UAW President Ray Curry.

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Workers in Burlington, Iowa, and Racine, Wisconsin, took to the picket lines Monday and remained there Tuesday.

“Our members at CNHi strike for the ability to earn a decent living, retire with dignity and establish fair work rules,” added Chuck Browning, vice president and director of the UAW’s Agricultural Implement Department.

The strike came one day before CNH Industrial reported its first-quarter earnings: Consolidated revenue was $4.6 billion in the first four months of 2022, a more than 13% increase over the prior year, while net income for the company was $336 million.

“Our members are working in solidarity and ready to hold out and fight for a contract they believe meets their needs,” said Ron McInroy, director of UAW Region 4.

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CNHi acknowledged the strike but didn’t address why the workers were striking, according to a statement provided to the Associated Press.

“We recognize the union’s decision creates high anxiety among our represented employees in Burlington and Racine, as well as our other employees, our customers, and our community,” the company said in a statement.

But the UAW has been successful in negotiating better contracts for workers using strikes in recent months.

Around 10,100 unionized John Deere workers across the country, including at five major plant locations in Iowa, received a 10% wage bump and better benefits after their month-long strike last fall. And another group of UAW-affiliated workers who went on strike last year at a Volvo Trucks plant in Virginia won improved pay and health benefits after rejecting three tentative agreements with that company.

By Amie Rivers
5/3/22

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