More than 10,000 UAW members working for John Deere went on strike last Thursday after overwhelmingly voting down a proposed deal between union leaders and the company. 

A 10,000-worker strike is a big deal in the U.S., but the John Deere workers are not alone: another 1,400 workers at the Kellogg Company have been on strike for a week. 

The workers in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, and Tennessee, are fighting to change the long hours the company has demanded and to protect their health care and retirement benefits.

“Our members at John Deere strike for the ability to earn a decent living, retire with dignity and establish fair work rules,” said Chuck Browning, vice president and director of the UAW’s Agricultural Implement Department.

“We are determined to reach an agreement with the UAW that would put every employee in a better economic position and continue to make them the highest paid employees in the agriculture and construction industries,” Brad Morris, John Deere vice president of labor relations, said in a statement.

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