After being on strike for four-and-a-half weeks, union workers at the Kohler Company might return to their jobs as early as Thursday.
That’s after a tentative agreement was reached late Tuesday night on a four-year contract.
About 2100 members of the United Auto Workers union are scheduled to vote on the deal Wednesday evening, with the prospect of ending the first strike since 1983 at the toilet-and-faucet giant.
The new pact does not achieve the union’s goal of eliminating a two-tiered pay system. But Local 833 president Tim Tayloe says it does narrow the pay gap between new employees and Kohler veterans.
He also says the deal includes “substantial” pay hikes each year, and health insurance plans would be modified to reduce the chances of higher out-of-pocket employee costs.
The strike began November 15th over the two-tiered pay system and insurance concerns.
WTAQ