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Uaw Strikes Deal With Caterpillar

Associated Press

The United Auto Workers spent six years battling Caterpillar Inc. for the best possible deal on a new contract. Union leaders said Friday they are not happy with what they finally managed to get.

Sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the six-year agreement includes lower wages for new workers, less overtime pay, dismissal of federal labor complaints against Caterpillar and amnesty for union members who crossed picket lines.

Elements of the agreement described by union sources match the Caterpillar proposal that union members - with the blessing of leadership - rejected more than two years ago.

The deal was announced early Friday after a marathon day of bargaining.

“We’re pleased to have the negotiations behind us,” the union’s lead negotiator Richard Shoemaker said, sidestepping the question of whether he likes the agreement. “We’re confident the agreement will be ratified by the membership.”

Jim Clingan, president of UAW Local 974 in East Peoria, said he is recommending ratification only because his members need a contract. He said he was not happy with the agreement.

“The fact that it’s over with, yes. The settlement itself, no,” he said.

He and other UAW negotiators said persuading members to support the agreement will not be easy. That was supported by some rank-and-file members who said they do not like what they have been told about the deal.

“I don’t think it’s going to pass,” said Jim Pardieck of Bartonville, Ill. “It’s going to be a tough call.”

Even without a contract, UAW members have been working peacefully for the past two years under conditions imposed by Caterpillar.

Having a steady paycheck could make it easier to reject a flawed contract proposal.

But even an unpopular contract offers security by keeping the company from changing working conditions, and guaranteeing arbitration of disputes.

“For a union not to have a contract, it’s much more difficult for them to provide services and protect their members,” said Victor Devinatz, a labor relations expert.