EAST PEORIA, Ill. (AP) -- A union leader in East Peoria says the new contract between Caterpillar Inc. and the United Auto Workers is the best workers could get without a strike.
Dave Chapman is president of Local 974. He told the (Peoria) Journal Star that workers hired before 2005 won't get raises over the six-year life of the deal but they will get other financial benefits.
Under the new contract older workers will get $5,000 in bonuses over the next two years. Other workers will receive other increases in compensation.
The UAW says 72 percent of members who voted approved the contract. It covers about 9,500 workers in Peoria, Decatur, Aurora and Pontiac in Illinois, as well as York, Pa., Denver and Memphis, Tenn.
Caterpillar is based in Peoria.