EAST PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD)– Caterpillar Workers Rank-and-File Committee has responded to the latest tentative agreement between Caterpillar and the UAW which can be read here.
The committee is calling for workers to demand the release of the full contract, not a summarized version.
Our brothers and sisters at John Deere demanded the release of the full contract after the UAW first announced a TA there in 2021, which the union heads reluctantly agreed to. When workers were able to read the full terms of the contract, they were outraged at what it contained, and voted down the proposal by a massive 90 percent.
Caterpillar Workers Rank-and-File Committee
The committee was critical of the yearly wage increase of 7% when taken with the current inflation rates, claiming it would not cover rising food, energy, and healthcare costs.
Another criticism was the increase in employee healthcare premiums to 2% annually for active employees and 1.8% increase for retirees which the committee says would cannibalize any gained pay raises.
To try to sugarcoat this, management and UAW officials are dangling a $6,000 signing bonus. But experienced workers know: the bigger the signing bonus, the bigger sellout overall. There are also marginal increases to paid time off, but they remain inadequate to provide workers the time needed to spend with their families.
Caterpillar Workers Rank-and-File Committee
The committee is reiterating its previous demands while negotiations continue. They can be read here.
