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Caterpillar/UAW Reach Tentative Contract Agreement
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) Director John Calhoun Wells today announced tentative agreement on a new contract covering more than 12-thousand United Auto Workers (UAW) at Caterpillar Inc. facilities in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Tennessee. Flanked by the union and company chief spokesmen, UAW Vice President Dick Shoemaker and Caterpillar Vice President, Human Services Division Wayne Zimmerman, Wells made the announcement at about one o’clock Friday morning, nearly 16 hours after he asked negotiators to return to the bargaining table. The talks included a 30-member bargaining team from Caterpillar and 54 representatives from seven UAW local unions. The tentative agreement will be submitted to UAW local union members at seven Caterpillar facilities for a ratification vote. Wells, who worked between company and union negotiators throughout the day and night Thursday and into the early hours of Friday commended Shoemaker, Zimmerman and all their people for their hard work and determination to overcome significant differences to reach this agreement. "Full credit for reaching this tentative agreement belongs to leaders of Caterpillar and UAW. Their negotiators deserve a great deal of gratitude for a job well done. They are consummate professionals," Wells said, "and they have crafted an agreement that we believe is good for the company and good for its workers." "I also want to commend the work of my colleagues, FMCS Regional Director Scot Beckenbaugh, who has been involved with me since last May when we began the process with Caterpillar and UAW that led to these negotiations, and Director of Mediation Services Dan O’Leary. These highly-skilled and experienced mediators have worked tirelessly to bring this dispute to a successful conclusion." Wells said FMCS is proud to have played a useful role. "Our job is to represent the public’s interest in the collective bargaining process. That interest is served when we can help unions and companies find ways to bridge their differences, work productively together and contribute to the strength and stability of the U.S. economy." |
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