Deere’s Labor Dispute Resurrects Talk of Inflation Adjustments

Striking Deere & Co. employees this week are expected to vote on a contract with more protections against rising inflation that resurfaced as an issue in negotiations for the first time in years.

Workers at the farm- and construction-equipment manufacturer are expected to vote Tuesday on a tentative contract that provides them with bigger wage increases than union workers rejected three weeks ago before walking off their jobs Oct. 14. The proposal also would reinstate cost-of-living adjustments to wages for inflation that were stricken from Deere’s last contract in 2015 with the United Auto Workers union, which represents more than 10,000 employees at 14 plants.