Union Votes Down Caterpillar Offer

Union members at Caterpillar Inc. rejected a contract offer Sunday, getting their old jobs back with nothing gained after a bitter 17-month strike.

Union members rejected the latest company offer as the United Auto Workers’ central bargaining committee voted to send the 8,700 strikers back to work. UAW officials wouldn’t say why they ended the strike.

The six-year contract limits job security, overtime pay, paid sick leave at some plants and the ability of union members to organize on the job. It also provides no raises except for cost of living adjustments, and allows the company to lay off workers up to 10 weeks a year.