Union members picket outside of John Deere headquarters

MOLINE, Illinois (KWQC) - Tuesday morning Union Auto Workers who work for John Deere came with signs in hand to picket outside the John Deere Headquarters.

One union member says he’s participating to highlight some of the issues employees are faced with in the company.

UAW member Tim Niedert says he’s been with the union and John Deere for almost 20 years and some of the issues he has include wages, higher copays, seniority provisions, cuts to short term disability and healthcare.

Representatives of John Deere were informed of the demonstration and sent this statement as a response to picketers:

“John Deere respects its employees’ desire to voice their opinions. One of the things that has made John Deere’s relationship with our employees and the UAW strong for nearly 80 years is our shared interest in better understanding one another’s views. This mutual respect has allowed us to reach collective bargaining agreements that provide our employees with the opportunity to earn the best wages and most comprehensive benefits in our industries, while also maintain our competitiveness in an increasingly challenging environment. We remain committed to this approach in our ongoing negotiations with the UAW.”

Niedert was informed of Deere’s statement and gave this response:

“John Deere is a good place to work and we do build the finest tractors in the world, we want John Deere to be successful, were all proud of the product we build, we want to share their success to a level that is adequate to us.”

Niedert says he hopes the members concerns are heard by the company and are able to reach an agreement for both sides.

Picketers continued their demonstration for a few hours Tuesday morning.

We will keep you update with this story on air and online as we learn more.

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