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10,000 Deere workers on strike.

I've been thinking of going on strike too.
Only problem, I've been retired almost 18 years.
What would I strike for? I'll have to come up with something.

Also heard almost 5 million people last month have said take this job and shove it, I'm not working here anymore.

They claim there are about 10 million job openings and less than 5% unemployment.

That sounds like crazy math.

Last year workers at a local company went on strike. 100 year old business locked the doors and put a for sale on building. Went out of business.
That also happened to Case plant in the 60.
 
Good for them. As a proud union member myself, I support any memberships choice to strike. Im 33 and have been in unions for 12 years, theyve put almost all the food on my table.
 
What you fail to mention is that those 5 million people went on to take better paying jobs with other companies, or retired. They did not quit and go on unemployment. It still does not work that way. You just can't do that.

Job hopping is the only way to even begin to keep up with cost of living increases these days. Companies won't do right by their employees anymore. They could care less about keeping good employees who do good work. Wages are stagnant. Raises are unheard of. All they care about is having a warm body occupying space for the least amount possible.
 
I never worked for anybody else or have been a union member, but I agree with you. As much money as that company is making, why shouldn't their employees be making more of it. Of course I know most of the members here think all profits should go to CEOs and share holders. It's the American way.
 
I agree with you. Deere has made tremendous profits the past years. To put in perspective with share prices: Ford Motor 2009 $8 a share. $15 today. Deere the same day in 2009- $37. Hit $400 this spring. A little of those earnings can go to those that make the difference.
 
What a lot of people on here and in the general public fail to realize is that many strikes are not over hourly wages. The article I read yesterday said the Deere employees were going on strike because the company had record profits and wanted to cut retirement benefits for new hires. When the UAW went on strike two years ago, the reason I heard most (father in law has worked there 43 years) was not pay, but treatment of temporary employees. Many temp employees had been working there years at a fraction of pay and benefits of permanent workers. The permanent workers wanted a plan to bring these temp employees on full time. Unions are about people working together so that we can all live the American Dream. It's hard for me to understand why so many that have never been in a union have such hatred towards them. As always, you seem to have an open mind, it's a breath of fresh air compared to many that frequent this forum.
 

I'm not a fan of unions at all. I was forced to belong, and PAY, a union. Collective bargaining is one thing. Some of the other crap is just that- crap. I hope there is some common sense among the JD boys on strike and they don't ruin what they had. Asking for a fair wage is one thing. Driving a company into the ground is another.
 
(quoted from post at 07:51:14 10/15/21) What you fail to mention is that those 5 million people went on to take better paying jobs with other companies, or retired. They did not quit and go on unemployment. It still does not work that way. You just can't do that.

[b:58ab63aa05]Job hopping is the only way to even begin to keep up with cost of living increases these days[/b:58ab63aa05]. Companies won't do right by their employees anymore. They could care less about keeping good employees who do good work. Wages are stagnant. Raises are unheard of. All they care about is having a warm body occupying space for the least amount possible.
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ruer words have never been said.
 
Some drive the company to another country and 2 companies in TH just went out of
business.
Raise cost of labor, raise the price of John Deeres. And my Daddy said, John Deeres
are painted green to match the color of money it takes to buy them.
 
And if a company can't make a profit, you will hear a sucking sound as they leave the country. Another American fact.

Another fact, No share holder will invest if a company isn't making money or paying dividends.

Don't have an answer how to balance it out.
 


All you guys that depend on your Deeres better go today and put an order in on a new Kaybota or Mahindra! With no parts in stock at any level right now, by the time production starts up again, many Deeres will be dead on the side of the road for lack of parts.
 
Yeah, me too. For 36 years I was forced to take overtime pay after 8 hrs, forced to accept health care benefits, wage increases, work clothes allowances and
workplace safety standards, and paid vacation time! For 1 union-negotiated hours wage every month paid in dues that I coulda spent on lotto tickets, I got back
tens of thousands of dollars back in benefits.

Now they are forcing me to take a generous retirement package...

EVERY U.S. worker should have to suffer like I did.

GO UAW Local 74!
 
Were you in a union? If I remember correctly you're a retired teacher and I believe something like 90 percent of public teachers are union members. Just curious.
 
Having worked in both union and non-union jobs, I'm not a union fan either, Tim.

Dean
 
I had no choice when working at Bethlehem steel and teaching.

I will only hire union electricians to upgrade service, load center. They can get it done in record time, jump through the permit requirements and inspections.

Last 200 amp load center replacement, start to finish done in 3 hours.

That said, I have seen business close shop and move out of town because of a strike.
 
I'm a retired union worker, and sure unions have their faults, but they created the middle class, and if we loose all of our unions, we loose the middle class. Then who will buy the vehicles and homes that are for sale? Most who are anti-union have seen some bad examples, but are mostly jealous of the better wages and benefits. Bottom line is, JD made a lot of profit last year, they need to share it with the employees, not just the CEO! The JD CEO made 16 million last year, and some of you folks are OK with that? 6 of the top executive made and average of about 8 million each!
 
That's what I heard too, and that Deere wanted to cut their benefits. Let Deere suck rope. There are other companies manufacturing farm equipment.
 
Gee, what a surprise, all you care about is company profits and dividends on stock. I wish I could say I'm shocked. I used to be on the side of the big guys, but 50 years of those beliefs haven't made me one bit better off. I'll still take somebody's side until they get cocky and right in your face, and Deere has done that to everybody, so I'm out.

International Harvester was number one once, but they got too cocky too. Look around, they're gone. A little humility and charity goes a long way. Besides, it'll be fun to watch the patriotic Deere followers defend their idol when they've moved offshore.
 
(quoted from post at 05:37:00 10/15/21) Yeah, me too. For 36 years I was forced to take overtime pay after 8 hrs, forced to accept health care benefits, wage increases, work clothes allowances and
workplace safety standards, and paid vacation time! For 1 union-negotiated hours wage every month paid in dues that I coulda spent on lotto tickets, I got back
tens of thousands of dollars back in benefits.

Now they are forcing me to take a generous retirement package...

EVERY U.S. worker should have to suffer like I did.

GO UAW Local 74!
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I have worked non union jobs all my life. My last 30 years before retirement was a non union job. I had all those benefits you list without a union. I retired at 54 years old. I got a good retirement and now have more money in savings than I ever had. Keep your union, I don't want it.
 
There are literally hundreds of able bodied people coming into the USA every day that'd be glad to get a job at places like Deere for 1/2 what the current employees are making.Don't think that is not noticed by every production employer in the country.I'm not saying that is good or bad just a fact of the current situation.
 
You never want a drink of water 'til the well runs dry. We had 2700 union jobs around here until 20 years or so ago. I could give you all the negative comments against the unions that everybody around here who wasn't a member could give you, but the truth is, when those jobs all left, we all paid the price for not having all that money in the local economy, both while they were working and after they retired.
 
Yes, those employers had to match what a union shop had, or they wouldnt get any workers! Union negotiated benefits force even non-union shops to grudgingly offer
benefits so they can attract workers.
 
There are 2 sides to that coin. The problem with unions is not the idea but the exploitation. I live in a Right-to-work state and have been subjected to union takeover attempts twice.....not pretty. Sours you on the idea regardless of the advertised benefits. Also over the last 30-40 years the number of union employees has dropped dramatically.....obviously there is a reason for this and you can start with the attitude of the worker and the reason for the attitude.
 
Let them in then, jobs are going begging. My son in law was plant manager at an auto parts plant and is head of maintenance at another one now. They've had to bring in large crews of foreigners at both plants for over a decade now. Give an average American one dollar more to stay home than they can make working and they'll be watching daytime TV. Case in point, all the retirees right here on this forum who retired before full retirement age. What's that, 99% ?

Ouch, did I just step on more toes?
 
Not really at the concrete plant I worked at we paid drivers more than other plants in the area to get the better drivers,we competed against the other companies.No union drivers anywhere in my area.Plus without union rules we could pay each driver according to how good an employee/driver they were as all drivers are definitely not equal.
 
I HOPE IT COMES BACK TO BITE THEM DEAD SQUARE IN THE A$$. I dealt with unions when i was driving. This day and age they should be happy to have a job. Unions were needed way back when. They've gotten out of control today. RB
 
So two drivers doing the same job hauling the same loads to the same job site were paid different rates?

That seems fair.

I think you just made a great argument FOR unions!
 
If you ever worked in the trucking industry you would have welcomed a union shop 32 years McLean and Roadway retired at 57 have received over $700,000 thousand in retirement checks the last 21 years I'm HAPPY.
 
Increase wages when a company has a few good years and decrease wages when company has a few poor years? I don't think so. How about under funded retirement benefits. Uncle Sam rescue them?

There are reasons new employees get less benefits .Old way didn't work out as planned. Just maybe the company is trying to stay stateside.

No unions in private companies any where near here.
 
Who said they hauled the same number of loads.Plus a lot more factors like how well they take care of the truck,how well they deal with customers,willing to take late loads or come in early when needed,work every day and on time or lay out and late a lot of days,etc etc.Union work is a good place for people that want to do the minimum to get by.
 
The new tactic in negotiations is to allow benefits for existing workers to continue, but cut new hires under a new formula. If every one isn't under an equal contract you are not union. Good for them for not joining the ''we got ours to heck with the youngsters movement''. Chip, proud retired member of IUEC 10.
 
Proud, retired IBEW worker here. People tend to forget what is was like before unions. How the workers were treated and paid. Many lives were lost trying to organize the workers and as been said, there was no middle class before unions. Unions are not to blame for our current loss of factories and jobs. The difference between an average employees pay and executives pay increases every year. Our company president made $17,000,000 plus the year I retired. CEO salaries have grown 940 percent since 1978. The over all average workers salary has increased 10.9 percent since 78.
 
But wait a minute, FIRST you say the company paid more than other plants to get the best drivers, THEN you claim they had to pay some more than others to deal with a bunch of lazy truckers who abused the equipment and their customers or came in late and left early- if at all?

Seems like they poached the wrong guys!

Maybe the ''best'' drivers left for union jobs...
 
Exactly what are you saying?

Are you saying that Deere equipment needs a steady supply of parts to run? And with the factory on strike, there
are no parts?

Are you saying that dealers have no inventory of spare parts?

Are you also saying that there are no aftermarket parts available with the factory on strike?

I think you exaggerate. The sky is NOT falling and the tractors will continue to run for a long time to come.
 
No matter how good good some employees are better than others and yea we hired and put up with a few that weren't so good for awhile.I can tell you your app would have hit file 13 real quick(LOL)
 
That seems to be true. I can name
several manufacturing places (in my
area) that hire on at an acceptable
starting wage. But once hired on, pay
raises barely keep up with cost of
living increases.
The problem is, along the way, they
have to jack up the starting wage to
keep new hires walking through the
door. And is what happens is, someone
that has been someplace for, say 10
years and is a trained, experienced,
quality worker, end up seeing new
hires making within a dollar or 2 an
hour of what they're making.
I'd of been better off quiting my last
job, and walking in the door of
another place (perhaps the same place)
as a new hire. By the time I got my
increased hourly pay, my 30, 60, 90
day pay raises, I'd of been making
more an hour than what X-amount of
years of company pay raises amounted
to.
This was at a non-union work place.
But I don't think that part matters on
this particular issue. I bet this goes
on in union places as well.
 
^ Been there, done that. Step one in breaking a Union, divide and conquer. I fought that with everything I had but the majority voted for it. The I got mine, to heck with the new guys mentality.
 
Why would how long a person has worked at a company have anything to do with how much they make or how valuable they are to a company? The new hire may be a lot more valuable.
 
I've been with the UFCW, Teamsters, and currently with IBEW and plan on staying there. The teamsters job was at a warehouse that had instituted a new two tier contract shortly before I hired on. It made for really bad working relationships between new hires and the older guys. I started at 12.60 per hour and it would have taken me five years to top out at 16. The first tier guys topped out at 23 per hour. They were making 15k per year more and doing the same job, what a joke. When I left the younger guys outnumbered the old ones, and were planning to fight the two tier contract with everything that had, I hope it worked out for them.
 
I'm afraid I will skew your numbers a little bit. I worked a full time job until I was 82 and one half years old.
 
I have worked in 3 union shops and the rest non-union.
In one union shop, we went on strike over benefits with wages also thrown in as a secondary goal. I walked on a picket line for 13 weeks in an upstate New York winter. Ended up going back to work for less than we had before the strike. Union was worthless. Union execs were riding around in Cadillacs and didn't mist a paycheck. Meanwhile, they were throwing us under the bus. Next union was an issue over working hours. I just left. Last union was transparent. Just like they were not there at all.

Back in the early days of unions, they were necessary. Unions got workers decent wages and freed them from near slavery. Unions also saved many lives. Unsafe working conditions whether in mines or around dangerous machinery was a leading cause of workplace deaths. Unions helped to eliminate some of the dangerous conditions. However, today we have OSHA to protect workers from dangerous workplace conditions. There is also competition for skilled workers that supports higher wages for them.

I have seen unions put businesses into bankruptcy. Brockway trucks is one example I know of. The union workers went on strike for more. Union execs poured fuel on the fire by insisting that the company could afford to pay them more and provide better benefits. Company said no. Strike went on for over 13 months, and the company finally pulled the plug when their last best offer was rejected.

I also remember when American Airlines was near bankruptcy. They asked pilots and maintenance workers to take pay cuts and make concessions in benefits to keep the company in business. Soon after the pay cuts, they rewarded the execs with multi million bonuses for mismanaging the company into near bankruptcy. That resulted in an immediate strike. They got a spanking from the union that was well deserved!

Overall, my personal feeling is that unions are out of control these days. I also disagree with huge million dollar bonuses to executives while the workers get crumbs. That isn't right either.
 
I hope it works out for them too. When the new hires out number the old is when the company starts eliminating some of the benefits that the new employees were never offered. A decent pay increase for the new guys usually is included in the package. Then it becomes, to heck with the old guys, Im getting mine. Same thing the old guys said when they split the Union. Goes around comes around.
 
I fully agree with you. I have had to go into union shop to do repairs.Some were good people but most were lazy bums. If it were not fot the union. Most would have been fired.
 
Randy, you win the blue ribbon for stupid statements (at least on this topic) >/Of course I know most of the members here think all profits should go to CEO's and share holders. It's the American way.>/
 
I'm 66. Started getting my SS at full retirement last month at full retirement age, but I'm still working every day same as ever, so at least you and I make up what's probably less than 1%.
 
My biggest grip with unions....

Deere is on strike because the company is making huge profits and the top brass are getting big bonuses because of these profits. So the workers what the company to share the wealth.

Well let me explain something to you guys.
How much a company or its top brass make should have nothing to do with how much the workers make.
The workers did not put up or risk any capital to start Deere or make it the company it is today.
They do not make any decisions that could profit Deere or make it go belly up.

A corporate executive explained to me one day how a company owner looks at profits.
Deere could be sold for XYZ billions of dollars.
Invest this amount as you wish; stock market; bank; ect.
Profit has to be be at least equal to this investment return.
For a company as big as Deere that is mega bucks.

So what is a fair wage for a worker.
One penny a year more than I could replace you with another worker.
Nothing more.
You are nothing more than a warm robot to do a job and if I can get another robot to do your job for less you are out of here.
 
Well let's see if we can figure this out. Somebody who owns stock in a company that makes the kind of profits that Deere makes somehow deserves a share of those profits more than the people who produce the products that company produces. It's not like they're a start up company that needs investors. How should we look at this? An organism that lives off another living organism but contributes nothing. There has to be a word for that. What is it? The only thing that comes to mind is parasite, but I kind of hate to throw that word around. If I think of another one, I'll throw it out there.

Old George obviously has money to invest. A few weeks ago, he wasn't going to invest in Tesla supposedly just because they don't pay a dividend yet and he couldn't make money off somebody else's labor and invest in a company that probably does need the money to expand and hire more workers.

Where does that lead me with my assumptions?
 
Maybe a profit sharing plan would be better for all concerned, seems now all excess are going to upper management.

Pete
 
(quoted from post at 07:34:32 10/15/21) Exactly what are you saying?

Are you saying that Deere equipment needs a steady supply of parts to run? And with the factory on strike, there
are no parts?

Are you saying that dealers have no inventory of spare parts?

Are you also saying that there are no aftermarket parts available with the factory on strike?

I think you exaggerate. The sky is NOT falling and the tractors will continue to run for a long time to come.
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Ha Ha, Jim G, you are so predictable and dependable!!!, LOL.
 
I'm not arguing with you about the unions creating the middle class, that they did, no doubt about it. What I will say though in criticism, just to appease the other side who think I've gone totally over to the left, OSHA has taken over the worker safety thing, making unions unnecessary in that department, and labor laws dealing with wages, overtime and such, has eliminated some of the need for unions. Benefits, retirement packages and perks, yes, that's up to the unions and that's a good thing. The political leanings of union management paints a giant bullseye in their back unfortunately. It distracts greatly from the good that the unions do.
 
Think I'll be OK in the event my 5045E needs any parts as it was made in India. Maybe there's a reason John Deere has plants all over the world or maybe there's a reason robots are replacing middle class employees. Just saw a documentary on public television where the upper, middle and lower class wage earners were divided at about 30% each. Now, due to robots and lower costs (including corporate taxes which are among the worlds highest in the US) to manufacture in other countries, the middle class has shrunk to around 20% and is continuing to decline.
 
I'm just not familiar with labor unions at all. But after reading some of the comments below, are you saying you cannot fire a union worker even if he is doing a terrible job?
 
Yes sir the ceo's and management don't need any employees they can take their billions invest in robots and sit back and let the money roll in. Get rid of all the lazy workers That make the products. Sorry it doesn't work that way. Who will buy the products the food that the workers need It's the circle of life folks.
 
Unions have their place for sure.

My great-grandpa owned a small trucking outfit in the 30's, 40's and 50's. He specialized primarily in hauling milk from small farms to the processing plants. He had around 3-4 employees and they discussed going Union on him. My great-grandpa told them straight up "I don't blame you guys for wanting to go Union, but you will bankrupt our company in 2 years if you do so." Small businesses can't afford to pay a high wage, contribute to retirement PLUS added benefits like medical. You essentially have to pick 2 out of the 3. Make a higher wage, contribute to your own retirement, and get benefits.

Eventually my great-grandpa retired and sold all of his milk routs to a larger outfit and most of those drivers were Union anyway. They earn a competitive wage, get a pension, and outstanding benefits. If you think the working class (middle class) doesn't deserve to have these things that is up to you to decide.

My grandpa drove for a larger outfit and was able to easily retire at age 59. Those days are slowly but surely disappearing unless you were smart with your money for 30 years.
 
Hello all. I seldom see a thread such as this one.......sooooo much opinion and sooo little fact! :roll:
 

Sort of. You can, it's just much harder, you have to get union approval, jump through hoops to prove he's doing a terrible job, if anyone vouches for him it makes the process harder.
 
From rrlund: The political leanings of union management paints a giant bullseye in their back unfortunately. It distracts greatly from the good that the unions do.

Dead nuts, rrlund....well said.
 
Warbaby, drivers who kissed up, were paid more, the ones who washed up their truck on their time, were paid more. Its sometimes called merit. That not what I would call it. gobble
 
From what I read the average pay before benefits at JD is a little over $25.00 per hour which was lower than I thought it would be..I retired from a non union Fortune 500 company in 2012..If I was still there today I would currently be making more than a JD employee...However,about 20 years ago my company did away with pensions, profit sharing, health insurance isnt as good as it once was-etc..I think JD made lots of changes in 1997..

We had plenty of lazy people that never got fired..All they wanted is for you to show up and to work safely..About half the work force carried the other half..There were 15 people in my department on 3 shifts...One time I and another guy had a fantastic week putting out 40% of the work for the entire department..One person only completed 3 jobs because they were too busy visiting-etc...Meanwhile Dale and I did 40 jobs between us...Several people didnt like that because it made them look bad and tried to get us in trouble..The dept head stood up for us and said that none of our work ever came back..I dont miss that place because of all the back stabbing but miss some of the people..

The turn over at this plant today is unreal....In the old days once you started there you stayed there and some retired out of there having worked 30-40 years..
 
I saw on TV restaurant owners are buying robots because they can't find waitresses.
Same with trucking industry. Robots will be driving semi's
Won't be long robots will be picking orders, unloading trucks, stocking shelves.
I think we are on the edge of seeing what robots can really do.
I was told robots will form a union and strike for shorter hours. Some will want to charge robots an income tax because they displaced a human.
 
I hate to bring this up because we are obviously on the same side here but as a former chief steward I suspect the issue was probably that the balance of union to non union was out of whack or if I were cynical it was about union dues. I once sat through a long hand wringing speech by the company brass that wages just had to be cut in the new contract because labour costs were too high, knowing from friends in the part time non union group that the company had raised part time wages on their own and that some part timers were working over 40 hours per week instead of the agreed 32 hour cap. About a year into the new contract they had the membership vote on a pay cut to save our jobs.
 
rrlund,
You are not my stock advisor. Tesla is not one of my pics. Most of my pics are in energy sector some in finance companies.
Yes, I have money on stock market. It's part of my retirement income. How many retired people don't have money in one form or another in the market. Only difference, I control what I buy and sell. Many may turn their money over to an investment group and make less..
I feel sorry for those who think they can live on SS alone.
I also feel sorry for those who think it's a bad thing that I have some my retirement money invested in the market.
So what's the big deal, I have money in the market??
Businesses need capital to operate. They sell stocks, some pay dividends. Their job is to make a profit and stay in business, employ people pay taxes and keep the economy going.

John Deere
DE
80.15K followers
Deere & Company
334.19
4.42 (+1.34%)
2:32 PM 10/15/21
DE is Not one of my pics either.

I have retirement money invested in real estate.
Also have money invested in tractors and pole barns.
So WHAT is that of anyone's business to look down on me????
 
There's a fairly new factory here that's like that. My cousin's daughter has been working in the office literally from day one before they even started hiring production workers. Starting pay is around $13 an hour last I heard. I can't even tell you how many times the fire department has been called because they've literally blown a wall out of the place. So many druggies working there they won't even try to do anything about it. If somebody passes out, they drag them outside until they wake up, then they tell them to go home and come back tomorrow. I wonder how many Deere fans would want their precious green and yellow being made by people like that just because they'll work for half what union workers are getting?
 
I was in the Teamsters Union for 40 years. I was never out on strike and I never filed a grievance. I think Jimmy Hoffa was a good man for us drivers. We had a good bunch of drivers. No one ever got fired. we did have one driver that got mad about something and he cut off some valve stems and took break down time. Too bad for him some loyal drivers seen it and told the boss. No the boss did not fire him. The boss told the BA at the Union Hall and the man with the fat stub cigar came right out and He fired him. No one missed him or felt sorry for him.Illegitimate break down will get you fired from any good company. Wash the truck y0u say ? LOL That is utility work. If need be I would write it up when I come into the terminal or if out on the road our company had open account at the Blue Becon Truck Wash. Yep I loved the Union and the Union was good for me. Retired now for 12 years and very thankful for the Union.
 
I'm not saying that it isn't done or that it shouldn't be. I bought stock in AGCO years ago when it was pretty much worthless. When I went to Edward Jones and wanted to buy it, the broker had never heard of it. He had to look it up, then he tried to talk me out of it because it didn't pay a dividend. I told him I wanted it just because I wanted to own it, so he bought it for me. After 5 or 6 years, it did start to pay a dividend. I reinvested it back in to more stock. At one point recently, it was worth 10 times what I paid for it. Right now it's worth about 8-9 times and I have more stock.

If you bought Deere stock today, unless they issued more today, you'd be buying existing stock from a brokerage wouldn't you? Not investing money that they were using to operate. By the same token, if you sold 10,000 shares of it today, the money to pay you for it wouldn't come out of Deere's treasury would it?

Don't act so altruistic thinking you're saving some big corporation from bankruptcy. Let me change a word from a noun to a verb and say that buying stock in a highly profitable, existing business for the sole purpose of getting a dividend is a 'parasitic' act by definition isn't it? Not saying it's wrong, not saying it's illegal, not saying I don't own stock that I picked myself, that pays a dividend, I'm just saying that getting a dividend for sitting in your recliner and denying a larger share of the profits to those who do the work and make the profit for the company that you or I own stock in could be seen as morally wrong if you want to get right down to the nuts and bolts of it.
 
I'm saying all businesses must make a profit or go out of business.
How is going out of business benefit anyone??
 
I don't disagree, but when a company makes as much as Deere does specifically, taking away benefits instead of sharing the wealth with those who created it is wrong. Those employees are more entitled to a share of Deere's profits than a share holder who might have only owned those shares for what might only be a matter of weeks or months.
 

The case/IH/Kubota dealer the employees are given shares in the company, not profits.
My SIL is the same way, he manages a company with over 350 people under him, He us given shares in the company.
He feels like he's working for himself and the success of the company.
Many years ago my cousin started working for Qualcomm right after graduating college, given shares when qualcomm was a start up company. Retired a millionaire at 40.
 
(quoted from post at 12:34:15 10/15/21) I don't disagree, but when a company makes as much as Deere does specifically, taking away benefits instead of sharing the wealth with those who created it is wrong. [b:7576808e4e]Those employees are more entitled to a share of Deere's profits than a share holder who might have only owned those shares for what might only be a matter of weeks or months[/b:7576808e4e].
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What you are saying here is absolutely correct in the moral sense. An investor behind a keyboard shouldn't be entitled to more profits than an employee, but that is how common stock works. It is likely that Deere employees own stock as part of their retirement too in the form of stock options.

Deere issues a certain amount of stock to shareholders. It's up to those shareholders what they want to do with said stock. It isn't necessarily fair to begrudge investors trying to make a dollar when the stock is readily available to buy/sell.
 
Wow!

What a lack of understanding of capitalism vis a vis less successful alternatives.

Dean
 
Without investors there would be no company.The investors risk the money to run the company,all a production employee has invested is their ride to work for that week and get paid off every Friday.And apparently most employees of companies must think they can make more at the place they work than anywhere else or they would go to the place they could make more.
 
That was my thought, too. The last thing we need is another hangup in the ag industry. It's a good thing, I guess, that this strike is happening at the end of the season & there should be(?) enough parts in inventory to keep everyone going. Same with used equipment. Should help keep most operations going.

Mike
 
If I bought stock in Deere ten years ago through Edward Jones, did Edward Jones send a check straight to Deere and Company for the full amount less commission? If I walked in and sold that stock today, would Edward Jones be reimbursed by Deere? That's all I'm saying, when a company issues stock, that's what they get for it, what it was worth at the initial offering. If I'm wrong, correct me. Anytime that stock trades hands after that initial offering, somebody else is either making or loosing money on it, not the company that issued it, correct or not? I just don't think that people should feel like they're somehow helping the company by buying stock after the initial offering. After that, it's just a gamble on whether the value will go up or down or just simply to get the income from the dividends. Right or wrong? Yes, if the stock value tanks below the value of the initial offering, that's a probably a problem for the company, but otherwise, those trading the stock are assuming all the risk of profit and loss.
 
Quote:.......but they created the middle class. End Quote. I'll agree with that and add that the current demise of it (the middle class) is probably due to the significant reduction in union jobs, and the flight of big corporations from the USA because of them.....and the EPA......although the EPA has been the good guy as far a I am concerned......to some extent!

I grew up having to breathe exhaust fumes on the way to/from school and nearly gagging on such...especially Chevy trucks. (My current truck of 10 years is a clean running Chevy Silverado 1500 so I'm not brand bashing, just stating fact as I saw it.
 
You think this is bad, just wait until Monday when Entertainment Industry workers (IATSE)in Hollywood possibly go on strike too. No more RFD-TV!
 
Never had a union job and never will. As for the CEO's most of them come in with a contract for so much of everything wage stock options and all. This is for making the company money. If they fail they usually have to look for a new job. If they succeed then they continue on. Now if the company made money they get the bonus agreed to at the time of hiring on. If not they just got their paycheck so to speak. So what did these employees do that made so much money for the company other than show up for work and do their job some better than others. Sort of like milking cows. If the owner hires help to milk and he manages them he's in about the same position as those evil CEO's you are all gripping about. But since it is cows and they are making money from the management versus the guy just coming to milk each day why not share the milk check with the hired help so they don't feel left out. After all they want more money too. I don't see much of that wealth being spread around. Sounds like a good socialist crying whining bunch. Wanting the wealth spread rather than the capitalist method working, and the owner per say getting more for the risk and investment in the company. Sorry I hope the toes are crushed as the ceo's win. Not a Deere fan though I guess I would have to probably go to them for American owned equipment rather than all this foreign owned stuff. Agco has some of the highest priced parts I've seen along with CNH. Deere parts are actually getting to be cheaper than the others now days.
 
They'll have to go to 24/7 commercials for pillows, hearing aids, Medicare supplements, prostate medications and dollar store junk that's marked up to 19.95 because a fake soldier is selling it out of the back of an old army truck.
 
I think the problem starts with top management. They are pandering to the stockholders not their dealers and customers, the farmers and construction industries. For those of you who get the Two-Cylinder magazine, there's a fascinating article reprinted from Fortune Magazine in the early 1930's in the latest issue profiling John Deere, the company. It's very complimentary to John Deere and explains that its success to that date was based on its honest commitment to product quality and ability to work closely with their customers and dealers to constantly improve their products, among other attributes. This pledge from the company seems to have been lost in the last couple decades. Deere better watch out for the competition or they'll be a victim just like IHC was 40 years ago.
 
The stockholders (owners) are the Boss at corporations so its makes sense the management better be doing what the stock holders want done.All the working with customers,dealers etc is just
PR.Really the list of customers to buy the really big equipment gets shorter every year as farms get bigger.Far as parts where else you going to go?
 
Where I worked they do drug tests on new employees but after that they just leave them alone...From what I've heard if they would require everyone in the plant today to pass a drug test the work force would be cut by 1/3rd or more....I was once a trainer in the plant and about 1/3rd of the new people were almost untrainable...It was sad...One of the best young guys I ever trained worked 2 days after I cut him loose and then quit..He missed the job he left and went back for $5 per hour less pay...5 weeks of training thrown away.
 
From what I hear some parts for the newer JD tractors and combines are almost non existent..On one farm forum they were talking about a certain part for a S670 JD combine and there was only one left in the entire US.
 
I worked at a Deere plant for 33 years, great pay and benefits. All production work was piecework or incentive system! When I retired 14 years ago my average pay on piecework was 34 dollars an hour. Im told the workers they have today, are for lack of a better term, lazy dont care about making extra money on incentive for the most part. The way it looks nowadays I guess theyre lucky they can even get someone to show up. Just look around at all the places that are short of help,I guess there are too many freebies out there!
 
(quoted from post at 17:27:58 10/15/21) Without investors there would be no company.The investors risk the money to run the company,all a production employee has invested is their ride to work for that week and get paid off every Friday.And apparently most employees of companies must think they can make more at the place they work than anywhere else or they would go to the place they could make more.
Click to expand...

Whole mess of truth in that post. No one is "entitled" to anything that they didn't buy or work for. Yeah, the employees worked but they've been paid for that work. If they want to get the benefit of the companies success, they need to buy stock in the company or else take the raises as they come. They don't run or manage the company and make the decisions that can make or break it. They just put bolt A in hole B so to speak.

A lot of people today engage in class warfare. Your minds have been poisoned by people who encourage jealousy. Employees should be treated fairly and in turn they should work hard and honestly for the company and have realistic expectations in the way of compensation and benefits.

When it comes to CEO's running a business into the ground and then getting million$$$, yeah, I see that as wrong. But until the laws are changed so the BoD and management answer to the stock holders that won't happen. My understanding is that was made legal somehow a couple decades back. I also have a real issue with companies violating contracts for retirement and then leaving it for the taxpayer to cover. I think the system can be repaired, but not until we make politicians and unions answerable for the crap they do.
 
(quoted from post at 18:44:05 10/15/21) Quote:.......but they created the middle class. End Quote. I'll agree with that and add that the current demise of it (the middle class) is probably due to the significant reduction in union jobs.../quote]

Disagree entirely. Unions never really took off until the 40's. The middle class existed long, long before that. I believe the middle class, as we think of it was the result of WW2 and the aftermath, and the growth of technology across the nation that also resulted from WW2.

What "killed" the middle class, (it's not at all dead BTW), was the social safety net that made it not just possible to live off the taxpayer, but made it easy. That's why "the poor" (who live a life of relative luxury here compared to the rest of the world) have grown to out number the middle class. Plus, many of the traditional middle class are now considered "the rich" even though their lifestyle is decidedly middle class.

But hey, go on loving the corrupt unions (who are the lower rich class) and hating "the rich", but be careful because you very well may find out YOU are one of "the rich" according to those that make their livings, very, very good livings, off class warfare!
Click to expand...
 
(quoted from post at 14:43:52 10/15/21) Let them in then, jobs are going begging. My son in law was plant manager at an auto parts plant and is head of maintenance at another one now. They've had to bring in large crews of foreigners at both plants for over a decade now. Give an average American one dollar more to stay home than they can make working and they'll be watching daytime TV. Case in point, all the retirees right here on this forum who retired before full retirement age. What's that, 99% ?

Ouch, did I just step on more toes?
Click to expand...

Step on toes? How? I retired from a union job after 31 years at the age of 56. I was eligible had a pension and a 401k. With SS kicking in at 62. Why on God's green earth would I continue working. I worked full time from the day I dropped out of school at 16.
How much is enough? Ijust cannot understand the "rich", at some point you have more money than you could ever spend. What is it that drives their neverending greed?
 
(quoted from post at 23:54:57 10/15/21) I worked at a Deere plant for 33 years, great pay and benefits. All production work was piecework or incentive system! When I retired 14 years ago my average pay on piecework was 34 dollars an hour. Im told the workers they have today, are for lack of a better term, lazy dont care about making extra money on incentive for the most part. The way it looks nowadays I guess theyre lucky they can even get someone to show up. Just look around at all the places that are short of help,I guess there are too many freebies out there!
Click to expand...

Amen! We just had a grand opening of a new Runnings store up here. The floor walkers, the help, are all at least 45, most are in their late 50's and up. The only young people I saw were running the cash registers. There are dozens of jobs open in my area and it's known for high unemployment. Lazy people have it made these days.
 
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