DAVENPORT, Iowa — John Deere and the United Auto Workers (UAW) announced a tentative contract agreement was reached Friday, Oct. 1. The agreement covers Deere's production and maintenance employees.
The biggest increase in job openings in the U.S. has been in the manufacturing industry right now. There are 889,000 job openings right now, which is a 121% increase compared to the number of job openings the industry had in February 2020.
Financial Advisor Mark Grywacheski talked about the challenges facing manufacturers Monday, Oct. 4. He said this labor shortage and an issue in the supply chain is already causing a tremendous disruption to manufacturers like Deere.
"I think faced with the prospect of having 10,000 plus employees go on strike for an unknown amount of time would add a further toll on production schedules and outputs," Grywacheski said. "So, I think having this resolved in a timely manner prevents it from becoming yet another challenge that John Deere would have to face."
Workers will review the agreement before a contract vote Sunday, Oct. 10.