UAW members across four locals in Illinois and Pennsylvania voted over the weekend to ratify a new six-year contract with Caterpillar.
The contract is effective Monday. It covers about 7,000 UAW members working at facilities in East Peoria, Morton, Mapleton, Mossville, Decatur, Pontiac, and York, Penn.
Members will receive a $6,000 ratification bonus.
The new contract eliminates the two-tier wage system dividing pre and post-2005 hires. It also offers wage increases, an increased 401(k) match, and a continuation of the plant closing moratorium.
The previous six-year contract expired March 1. A tentative agreement has kept workers on the job pending the ratification vote.
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