Caterpillar workers strike; rejected signing bonus
Around 800 Caterpillar workers at an Illinois plant have begun a strike after rejecting a contract offer. The six-year agreement would have included a $5,000 signing bonus. Workers say that the contract did not include high enough wage increases, and would have led to higher health care costs. Negotiations between the parties have been suspended indefinitely. Caterpillar says that it is bringing in replacement workers, and production will remain on schedule. Last year, workers at another Caterpillar plant in Canada went on strike. The company closed the plant and moved production to the United States.
See "Caterpillar workers strike; rejected signing bonus", John D. Stoll, Reuters, April 30, 2012