PEORIA, Ill. (AP) -- About 8,000 Caterpillar Inc. workers in four states will vote this weekend on the company's final contract offer, union leaders said Tuesday.þþThe vote will immediately follow meetings where United Auto Workers members will get their first look at the proposal. Wages, health care costs and job security are key issues, but no details have emerged because of an agreement by both parties to keep talks behind closed doors.þþCaterpillar, the world's largest maker of earth-moving equipment, announced its final contract offer Friday after more than four months of negotiations. Caterpillar said the proposal is fair and ensures long-term success for both employees and the company.þþUnion leaders have declined comment and would not say whether they will endorse the offer.þþBoth sides agreed to extend their current six-year contract until Sunday so the union can explain the proposal to its members and then vote.þþCaterpillar and the union declined comment on what might happen if the offer is rejected. Workers have authorized a strike if talks break down, and Caterpillar has trained salaried and management personnel to keep lines running in case of a work stoppage.þþDave Chapman, president of UAW Local 974 in East Peoria, the company's largest local, said the union will not provide further details about the six-year pact until this weekend's meetings at seven union locals in Illinois, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.þþHe also said members should ignore e-mails and fliers that are being distributed with misinformation about the offer.þþ
Source: NY Times
