Deere employees in the Quad Cities. (WVIK photo)
The strike by 10,000 unionized workers at 14 John Deere plants is nearing the end of its first week.
Tyler Nielsen, with K.C. Nielsen of Humboldt — a Deere dealership with 11 stores in northwest and north-central Iowa, says his top priority is getting parts for agricultural equipment to show up on time.
“So far, that’s been the case,” Nielsen says. “There’s been a few delays but going into this fall, the way the world is right now, we did bring on a lot more parts to gear up for the current environment anyways.”
Nielsen is hopeful a settlement can be reached soon, adding, the dealerships remain busy. “We’ve had to pull a few strings and pull a few rabbits out of our hat, but we’ve been able to keep things moving so far without any major delays,” Nielsen says.
He expects the demand for parts to drop off soon as he says many farmers should be wrapping up the harvest in another week or so. The strike impacts Deere plants in Iowa, Illinois and Kansas, including those in Davenport, Des Moines, Dubuque, Ottumwa and Waterloo
(By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)