INSIDE
NEWS B-17 lands at Lewis University
SPORTS Joliet golf in full swing PAGE 13
www.jolietbugle.com
Jonathan Samples/Bugle Staff
Leo Brown, who has worked at Caterpillar for 44 years, waits to hear the results of a vote on a contract that would end a 4-month strike a Caterpillar’s Joliet plant.
Visit www. buglenewspapers.com
PAGE 3
Our Village, Our News
AUGUST 22, 2012
Vol. 4 No. 51
CAT STRIKE ENDS Agreement brings end to 4-month work stoppage By Jonathan Samples Staff Reporter
A
mix of anger and resignation hung in the faces of union members as they learned the results of a vote Friday to end a four-month long strike at Caterpillar’s Joliet plant. Members of the International Association of Machinists local 851, who have been on strike since May 1, voted 280-213 to accept a five-year contract with the Peoria-based heavy equipment manufacturer. “Members of the union got together here and voted to go back to work,” IAM spokesperson Steve Jones said after the vote. The new contract is similar to two other contract offers, which the union overwhelmingly voted down in April and again in May. Union members said the contracts did not include cost of living wage increases, raised healthcare premiums and weakened seniority rights. The ratified contract carried an increased signing bonus of $3,100, See STRIKE ENDS, page 2