SOUTH MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Union members have ratified a six-year labor contract at Caterpillar Inc.'s plant in South Milwaukee.
The new contract freezes wages and pensions but includes a $4,000 signing bonus and shortens temporary layoffs.
Tuesday's vote by United Steelworkers Local 1434 came after the union representing more than 800 employees at the mining equipment plant turned down a similar proposal in late April.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (http://bit.ly/17EJN91) reports a vote tally was not immediately available.
Caterpillar says the Peoria, Ill.-based company is pleased to have reached what it believes is "a fair, reasonable and comprehensive agreement."
The Steelworkers union has represented employees at the plant for decades, but this is their first contract since Caterpillar acquired the factory as part of its purchase of the former Bucyrus International in 2010.
