The United Auto Workers (UAW) wanted a new labor contract for Deere & Company workers to protect them against cutbacks. Deere & Company employed approximately 23,000 UAW workers at 14 United States plants. Eventually, 4,313 union members went on strike, causing the Waterloo factory to stop production in 1986. Don Page, UAW spokesman for Local 838, spoke for the workers, "They're disgusted, they're bitter and they're disillusioned." In another statement Page said of the future of the laid off workers, "There's nothing to keep them here (in Waterloo or Iowa). They'll move out of state and we'll lose some good talent. It's very difficult. These people are really cast out of the mainstream of society when they're laid off and they have no way to get back in." The plants that went on strike included those in Milan, Illinois; Dubuque, Iowa; and Waterloo, Iowa. On August 25, 1986, Deere turned 8,000 workers away from 11 different plants due to the strike. Deere spokesman Robert Shoup commented on the strike,

    "They picked three strategic units to strike and they left us with factories that are losing the most money. They knew full well we can't operate without those three units. They wanted to force us to lay people off so they'd get unemployment benefits and the company would end up financing their strike."

    The strike depleted inventories by about 30 percent. Deere & Company sales were up five percent in the first nine months of fiscal 1986 then plunged 44 percent in the fourth quarter due to the strike.

    The proposed UAW contract would increase insurance benefits dependent on pay rates. Contracts would protect 90 percent of employees from layoffs dealing with the economy and market, but not pertain to layoffs of less than six weeks, labor disputes, plant closings, or sales operations. Also, UAW would institute an Employee Development and Training Program covering training, retraining, and skill development. This plan would include both active employees and those on layoffs in nine plants, including those in Iowa. The new contract would cover 12,300 UAW members and provide them with better job security, pension benefits, and cost-of-living adjustments. Deere agreed to institute a $14.4 million job security plan, covering 90 percent of UAW employees through September 30, 1988, to protect employees from economic involved layoffs.