john deere on strike

[sea2summit]

Been a union worker my whole life. I support the strike and hope they get a good contract. As far as using more robots, I guess they could use more of them and the workers could go home and wait on another check from *****.

Someone said how robots replacing workers only creates a few jobs for skilled folks that maintain on them compared to workers on the line. Some kind of parallels in there with unions me thinks.

Unions were needed for a time, that time has long past. Unions continue to lookout for themselves not the workers in most cases and definitely not their market or the country at large usually "identify" or create problems only "they" can solve.

 

[deezler]

I thought most all of their smaller tractors were made offshore - are these 10,000 unionized employees building their big ag. tractors or the yellow model line?

Or are they putting wheels and fenders etc. on imported smaller ones?

Someone in the know, please educate rest of us.

Not too hard to google it, but remember that John Deere makes a LOT more than just small tractors. These are assembly plants.

• Augusta, Georgia, United States: Compact utility and utility tractors.
• Waterloo, Iowa, United States: Ag tractors.
• Greeneville, Tennessee, United States: Lawn and garden tractors.
• Horicon, Wisconsin, United States: Lawn and garden tractors (X series, I think).

See also: Are John Deere Tractors Made in the USA? - All American Reviews

 

[ruffdog]

I thought most all of their smaller tractors were made offshore - are these 10,000 unionized employees building their big ag. tractors or the yellow model line?

Or are they putting wheels and fenders etc. on imported smaller ones?

Someone in the know, please educate rest of us.

The Deere X700 series is made in the Horicon, WI plant.

 

[Jchonline]

Tactically I can understand why unions are making a stand for higher wages now. For years their ranks have been thinned by offshoring of manufacturing, and any strike was easily countered with replacement workers. It seems that both of those barriers are probably the lowest they will be in the foreseeable future. So I think the union has shown some wisdom in making a stand right now. Especially, when executives and shareholders have already been handsomely rewarded in the last year. They can make the case that the people putting all the stuff together to generate that revenue and shareholder value should get a pat on the back too. Personally, I’m not opposed to any working American making higher wages, regardless of educational or economic background. Showing up and getting the work done day-in and day-out should be rewarded. My prediction is that Deere will make some quick concessions, and get back to making money and those green tractors that are selling at all time high prices. Kudos to those union leaders for recognizing the opportunity and having the courage to act on it. I hope it works out well for them and Deere. They should both be able to prosper together. I hope they do because I have an eye on one of their products that I’d like to buy in the future.

While I agree this is the best time to ask for wage increases (Deere record profits)...all they are really doing is motivating corporate to automate more and more. The writing on the wall is these unskilled, repetitive motion jobs are diminishing with the advent of robotics. The other not so well known secret is you can automate manufacturing of an electric vehicle/machine far easier than an ICE. We have been automating ICs and computer components for decades. The auto leaders have figured this out and their new EV manufacturing will be much more automated. The end result is fewer humans on the line.

If I were in the industry on the line I would be looking for an exit strategy (getting other training on the side, at Deere's expense if possible, get into the automation field as a repair tech, etc). In the short term hopefully the workers will get something out of it. Of course it means higher prices for us at the dealers...Deere wont cut into their margins.

 

[ruffdog]

Horicon, WI plant....much more than just bolting tires on....

 

[Snobdds]

From a business person's perspective, this is the absolute worst time to strike, during a supply chain crises?

It's too easy for the media to latch on and start blaming the low hanging fruit of disruption for this crises. Deere will take a brand hit.

Like warren buffet famously says...you make a mistake and cause a financial hit, we can make that money back tomorrow. You make a mistake and ruin my brand, I will fire you that day. Brands take years to build and can be destroyed is a matter of days. Guess what a company should protect the most?

 

[MHarryE]

Companies like Deere usually put their non-union workers to work both getting service parts shipped and then machines out the door. Deere’s 1985 strike was over 150 days and see how their brand name thrived? Those were bad farm economic times - my company at the time, Allis-Chalmers, went belly up and was taken over by Deutz. International Harvester went under, was gobbled up by much smaller Case. Massey-Ferguson almost died out. White Farm Equipment failed. So Deere, as the survivor, endured a lengthy strike. Now sales are fantastic but the tariffs have driven everyone’s costs - and we consumers see the effects of tariffs as the suppliers don’t eat them - they pass them on to us and we pay more for anything with a tariff. So our costs are up, and Deere workers apparently feel the companies offer was not enough to keep up with paying so much more for necessities. Hey - I got $3.00/bushel for my oats last year, and $5.00 so far this season. General Mills is going to multiply that and pass it on in your Cheerios. If I was a union worker I’d really be concerned about a long term contract at these times. But I was on the management side throughout my 43 year career, always took the management side, but did feel for the union workforce’s at 3 of my 4 plants.

 

[oldnslo]

Deere plants that I know of
Dubuque - construction equipment
Davenport - multiple products
Moline - Combines
Des Moines - Spayers & Cotton Pickers
Ottumwa - forage equipment
Waterloo - 6000 thru 9000 series ag tractors possibly 5000 series also
This is some of the main plants I don’t know all the smaller locations and subsidiaries

 

[bmg88201]

Someone said how robots replacing workers only creates a few jobs for skilled folks that maintain on them compared to workers on the line. Some kind of parallels in there with unions me thinks.

Unions were needed for a time, that time has long past. Unions continue to lookout for themselves not the workers in most cases and definitely not their market or the country at large usually "identify" or create problems only "they" can solve.

I have had several folks over the years say to me “wow, your employer sure does pay well and gives you good benefits“. I respond with “no, my union got me those wages and decent health insurance and safety standards in place so I go home in one piece at the end of the day.“ I have been around some workers that refused to join the union but they had no problem accepting the raise in pay the union got us. By the way, many of the regulations that OSHA and MSHA has in place came from pressure from unions to ensure that workers made it home to their families at the end of the day.

 

[ruffdog]

...and management loves the union workers getting better pay and benefits because that means they do too.