BURLINGTON, Iowa — After precisely eight months on strike and continued bargaining, Case New Holland Industrial has put forth their "upgraded last, best, and final offer," to striking employees.
The United Auto Workers' Bargaining Committee is bringing the offer to the members of Burlington-based Local 807 for a vote.
More than 400 Case New Holland Industrial plant workers are still on strike eight months after first walking off the CNH plant in Burlington.
On May 2, over a thousand CNH workers in both Iowa and Wisconsin went on strike, demanding better pay, more flexibility in scheduling time off and more affordable healthcare.
CNH offered union leadership a deal in late May, which included an 18.5% wage increase over three years, but the bargaining team didn't feel like it would cover the cost of inflation.
The bargaining team has yet to present any of CNH's offers to union members. This will be the first time these workers have voted on a new contract since going on strike.
"Details of the ratification meetings, timing and voting will be communicated by local leadership," according to a UAW press release.
Local 807 members on the picket lines Monday told News 8 they have yet to see the details of the offer and that they're expected to vote on the deal Saturday, Jan. 7. As members have said throughout the strike, they said they want to go back to work, but only if it's a fair contract.
A spokesperson for UAW told News 8 the union will not make comments on the deal, "out of respect to our members at CNHI... until they have had the opportunity to meet and review the offer."
News 8 reached out to CNH Industrial for comment on the "last, best, and final offer," but have yet to hear back.
The last time CNH employees went on strike was in 2004.
CNH Industrial, which is based in the United Kingdom, has more than 37,000 employees worldwide. In its most-recent earnings report, CNH reported a profit of $559 million in the third quarter. That's up nearly 22% from the previous year's $460 million net income as it increased the prices of its tractors, backhoes and other equipment.
The CNH strike is one of the longest ones over the past couple years as workers have increasingly demanded better pay and working conditions coming out of the pandemic. There have been a number of strikes, including a high profile monthlong strike involving 10,000 Deere & Co. workers, and several new unions have been established at Starbucks stores and Amazon warehouses although some locations have rejected unions. The Deere workers secured 10% raises and improved benefits after their strike.
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