What pushed through the Case-UAW contract, ending Iowa's longest strike in years?

United Auto Workers members at Case-New Holland Industrial's Burlington factory received calls and texts Monday morning, ordering them back to work beginning next week.

The messages are one of the final steps to close a strike that lasted eight months, the longest-running major work stoppage in Iowa in 12 years. The union's vote Saturday to end the strike capped a hostile standoff between the UAW and the Italian-owned implement manufacturer, a fight in which union leaders say they rejected dozens offers before even taking a contract to members.

How did the strike end?

The latest proposal passed with 62% of the vote between the two groups on strike, UAW Local 807 at CNH's Burlington plant and the larger UAW Local 180 at its plant in Racine, Wisconsin.

The outcome showed a significant shift in member sentiment from the previous contract vote Jan. 7, when only 45% of strikers approved a proposal from CNH. The swing over the last two weeks came even as multiple members said the actual offer from the company barely budged.

Previously:8-month strike continues for Case New Holland workers in Iowa, Wisconsin

What changed workers' minds?

Multiple workers say they received letters from the company Jan. 17, informing them that managers would hire permanent replacements if the union didn't vote to ratify an agreement by Jan. 23.

If a company hires permanent replacements, it doesn't have to immediately re-hire every union member once the strike ends. The company merely has to place those workers on a striker recall list. The company then has to offer those workers jobs as positions become open.

More:Striking Ingredion workers in Iowa approve new contract

"If you’re at a plant where there isn’t a lot of turnover, it may be five years before any positions are opened up," said Paul Iverson, a labor law professor at the University of Iowa.

A CNH Industrial spokesperson declined to comment when the Des Moines Register sought confirmation of the permanent replacement threat. The company has operated with temporary replacements since the strike started May 2.

Why did workers hold out for so long?

Kim Alber, a paint line employee who has worked at CNH Industrial for 10 years, said many members had stuck with their opposition, despite what the company hyped as a 28% pay bump in its Jan. 7 offer, because it was offering a less generous health insurance plan to new hires.

"That's a lot of money," she said of CNH's offer. "If you just looked at it that way, if you only only looked at the money part of it, that's a good raise."

More:Iowa unemployment rate levels off in December, latest jobs report shows

But by saying on strike, workers said, they preserved their old health insurance plan.

Alber, who is a steward, financial secretary and trustee for Local 807, said that in her case, her annual deductible would have increased to $13,000 from $5,000. The pay hike offered in the early months of the strike ― about 18% over five years, she said ― would not have covered her heftier bills.

"I don't have that kind of money," she said. "Most people I know don't have $13,000."

Under the new agreement, she added, UAW members hired before Sept. 30, 2022, will continue to receive the old health insurance plan. However, she said newer hires must choose from newer, less-generous health care plans.

How did tax season play in?

While the pay CNH was offering didn't improve much from its Jan. 7 offer, 10-year company veteran Tracy Chew said workers were worried about paying looming debts to the government.

Members in Burlington were among the first to benefit from the UAW's increase in strike pay, a weekly rate that increased to $400 from $220 in June. On top of that, many workers picked up part-time jobs.

Between the two streams of income, Chew said, her family received more while out of work than they did before the strike. But there was one big problem for her: She hadn't deducted anything from strike pay for state and federal income taxes.

With the federal payment due April 18, Chew estimated that her family will owe thousands of dollars. She said she's counting on a $4,500 ratification bonus from the company to fill that gap.

"We need to get back to work," she said. "We need to get paid so that we can replace that money we're losing. It was a no-brainer for most of us."

How do CNH wages compare to other local factory jobs?

Not counting any overtime, Chew's new wage would still put her below the average manufacturing pay rate in Des Moines County, where CNH's factory is located. The average manufacturing employee in the county earned about $26.28 an hour in 2021 ― about $2.50 more than what Chew said she will earn upon returning to work.

Even so, Alber said CNH eventually would have found enough permanent replacements because workers in the region are desperate for jobs.

"Quite honestly, Case is one of the best-paying jobs in our area," Alber said. "We all kind of felt that if it started getting out that we were turning down that money, people around here that need jobs would start looking for this job. It's good money."

More:Expert: Wells Fargo cut of WDM-based mortgage business will 'come at the cost of jobs'

Craig Bowman, an 11-year employee in the shipping and receiving department, disagreed. He took a job as a forklift repairman based in Davenport during the strike, earning $28 an hour ― $4.23 more than he will get under the new contract with CNH.

Though he wants to work in Burlington so his commute is shorter, he said Monday that he was leaning toward giving up the CNH job. He said his co-workers should be making more than those working for other manufacturers in town. The company reported a $1.78 billion profit in 2021 and paid $188 million in dividends to shareholders.

"The factories down here are making small parts," Bowman said. "We’re making big, heavy machinery. And I don’t think these guys know they’re worth more."

What issues remain?

Alber said CNH's pay bump for assemblers created a point of tension among union members before Saturday's vote.

For years, she said, union leaders have unsuccessfully pushed to raise the wages of the company's welders. That effort failed again during this contract. And now, the assemblers are earning as much as the welders ― much to the welders' chagrin.

"Because, obviously, welding is harder," Alber said.

A couple dozen workers employed by staffing agencies have also been on strike, despite the fact that they are not represented by the union. The UAW gave those workers strike pay, anyway. Chew said company representatives agreed to hire back those workers as well, but the union now needs to make sure CNH follows through.

"We want to honor them," she said.

Tyler Jett covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at tjett@registermedia.com, 515-284-8215, or on Twitter at @LetsJett.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: CNH threat, tax pressure help end Iowa's longest strike in years