Striking Deere & Co. workers prepare to vote on 3rd contract

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Deere & Co. and union officials have reached a third preliminary contract agreement that workers who began striking four weeks ago will vote on soon.

The United Auto Workers said in a statement Friday night that the proposed contract with the agricultural machinery giant “includes modest modifications” to the latest rejected proposal, which included immediate 10% raises. The union described the new proposal as the company’s “last, best and final offer” in its statement.

Deere is expecting to report record profits between $5.7 billion and $5.9 billion this year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts that farmers’ net income will increase by nearly 20% this year, to $113 billion.

The contract, which union members will vote on on Wednesday, would cover more than 10,000 Deere workers at 12 facilities in Iowa, Illinois and Kansas, who make the company’s iconic John Deere green tractors and other equipment.

UAW spokesperson Brian Rothenberg said he wasn’t sure when members would be filled in on the proposed contract’s details, The Des Moines Register reported.

Deere spokesperson Jennifer Hartmann declined to comment Friday night.