Statement on John Deere Contract Extension Offer by UAW Vice President Laura Dickerson, Director of the Agricultural Implement Department

John Deere cannot ask workers to surrender the benefit of a signed agreement while treating the request as anything less than bargaining.

John Deere is asking to change a collective bargaining agreement that both sides already negotiated and signed. When a company comes back to rewrite the deal, it is asking for something. That is bargaining. Deere does not get to ask the union for a favor while acting like the rules of bargaining suddenly do not apply.

We see the same industry conditions Deere sees. We also see Deere’s corporate ledger. We see shareholders enjoying the “continuity” of collecting the rewards of our members’ hard work. The people who build the products have earned just as much of a voice in deciding what comes next as the people collecting the dividends.

If Deere wants to change the deal—including the contract’s expiration date—then Deere needs to respect the bargaining process. That process is where working people stand on equal footing with one of the biggest corporations in the world, and we will not surrender it because the company wants an answer on its timeline.

If an extension is even going to be considered, the membership decides what it would take to change the contract date—and whether Deere’s proposal is good enough.