CAT makes final offer, agrees to extend deadline

Caterpillar makes final contract offer; deadline to be extended
JAN DENNIS

Associated Press


PEORIA, Ill. - Caterpillar Inc. and the United Auto Workers remained tightlipped Friday about the final offer on a labor deal the heavy equipment giant has given the union.

Peoria-based Caterpillar and the union both declined comment on the offer, citing an agreement that has kept details of the four-month-old talks behind closed doors.

Both sides said a contract extension set to expire Sunday night would be extended until April 25 so the union can explain the offer to its members and hold a vote.

Union leaders would not say whether they will endorse the deal, and downplayed the company's apparent take-it-or-leave it offer.

"When you're in the bargaining process, a lot of companies will give a final offer, and two weeks later they'll come back with a final, final offer and then a final, final, final offer. So it's nothing unusual," said Dave Chapman, president of UAW Local 974 in East Peoria, the company's largest union.

In a prepared statement, chief Caterpillar negotiator Chris Glynn said the proposal would allow the company and employees to remain competitive and succeed over the long term.

"We've faced some complex issues and through open and honest discussions with the union have presented a fair and reasonable offer for our employees to consider," said Glynn, director of labor relations for Caterpillar, the world's No. 1 maker of earth-moving equipment.

The proposed contract would cover about 8,000 union workers and 23,000 retirees or surviving spouses at plants in Illinois, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

Meetings are planned next weekend to explain the deal to workers, who could vote on the contract the same day, UAW negotiators said. Because of the blackout on talks, workers will be getting their first details on the contract, union leaders said.

"They're entitled to hear our opinion from us first," said Bill Scott, bargaining chairman for Local 974.

Negotiations began in December to replace a six-year contract that expired April 1. The talks are the first since a bitter, 6 1/2-year stalemate in the 1990s that included two failed strikes and hundreds of unfair labor practices complaints.

Workers have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if talks break down, and Caterpillar has trained salaried and management personnel to keep lines running in case of a work stoppage.

Caterpillar and the union have said wages, health care costs and job security are key issues, but no details have surfaced because of the lid on talks.

"The climate of negotiations has been very businesslike on both sides," Chapman said.

The UAW's ranks at Caterpillar have declined by about 4,000 workers since the last contract because of cost-cutting, increased use of part-time help and expansion of foreign plants.

Caterpillar earnings, meanwhile, have continued to climb, and the company ranked 77th on the latest Fortune 500 list with 2003 revenue of $22.7 billion.

Caterpillar stock rose $1.17 to close at $81.97 in trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.
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