Update: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has more details on the proposed contract … and the Business Journal is saying a strike won’t be called immediately even if the deal is voted down on Tuesday.
The Chicago Tribune has more information on the proposed Caterpillar contract for its approximately 800 unionized South Milwaukee workers. From the story:
Members of the United Steel Workers in Wisconsin are set to vote Tuesday on a proposed six-year contract with Caterpillar Inc. that would freeze wages, increase health care costs and give senior employees fewer protections.
The proposed agreement covers roughly 800 workers in South Milwaukee who, under the current contract, make about $18 to $34 per hour. Caterpillar acquired the South Milwaukee plant in 2011, when it purchased Bucyrus International Inc., a mining equipment maker, for $8.8 billion.
“Wages at the South Milwaukee facility are significantly above market, which puts our facility at a competitive disadvantage,” the company said in a summary of the agreement given to workers on Sunday at a union meeting.
A Caterpillar spokesman declined to comment further.
The proposed contract also calls for a lower wage rate for workers hired after May. It would additionally freeze pensions and would, instead, direct employee retirement contributions toward a new 401k plan. …
On Sunday, some workers who attended the union meeting expressed frustration over the contract.
“There was a lot of anger in the room,” said Dewey Lewis, who was the union’s president when the current contract was negotiated. “It’s totally unfair. No self-respecting union would accept it.”
Caterpillar is also offering a $2,500 ratification bonus and annual bonuses through a new employee reward program.
