IAM Members Ratify New Labor Contract at John Deere Horicon Works

Deere & Company (DE ) said members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) at its Horicon Works plant in Horicon, Wisconsin, have voted to ratify a new labor agreement. The company announcement, datelined September 30, 2026, and published October 1, 2026, said employees will receive what Deere described as meaningful wage increases while also sharing more responsibility for their health care costs.

Deere said the new health plan provides options and flexibility designed to meet employees’ diverse needs and life stage. The company thanked both negotiating teams for their efforts in reaching the outcome and said it appreciated the constructive conversations throughout the bargaining process. “We look forward to continuing to work together to strengthen our communities and create opportunities for our employees, the business and the customers we serve,” the company said. The announcement did not disclose the agreement’s duration, specific wage figures, or the ratification vote margin.

Horicon Works Facility

Horicon Works manufactures Gator Utility Vehicles, riding lawn equipment, walk-behind greens mowers, and components that support other John Deere products and factories, and it employs approximately 1,000 people, according to the announcement. On its factory page, Deere describes Horicon Works, which spans a West Campus and a Downtown campus, as its only facility producing Gator utility vehicles, walk-behind greens mowers, and the X300, 500, 700, and 900 series lawn tractors, and as the largest employer in Horicon. In a June 1, 2025, feature in The Furrow, Deere said the plant’s two main campuses cover about 1.5 million square feet of manufacturing space, with about 1,000 employees in a town of just over 3,000.

The factory page details the plant’s operations. Stamping consists of 24 presses ranging from 40- to 2000-ton capacity. Horicon Works welders support seven factories in the Deere enterprise as an inter-factory supplier of weldments, painted components, and complete good assemblies. The West campus consists of two utility vehicle assembly lines, G20 for work series and G10 for mid and full size. The Downtown campus has three main assembly areas producing riding lawn tractors, RLT attachments, and golf cutting units, with the golf cutting business built around weld, heat treat, machining, and assembly. The facility’s fully automated paint system performs to Level 3 paint performance over more than eight miles of conveyor with robotic powder application.

The site dates to 1861, when George and Daniel Van Brunt established the facility to produce horse-drawn grain drills, according to Deere’s factory history. John Deere purchased the facility from VanBrunt Manufacturing in 1911, and its name was officially changed to John Deere Horicon Works in 1958. Lawn and garden tractor production began in 1963, and the focus shifted entirely to consumer products by 1969, the Furrow feature states. Utility vehicle production started in 2004, and the one-millionth Gator was produced in 2021. The factory was expanded in 2015 and again in 2019.

Previous Agreements at Horicon

The ratification follows the bargaining cycle that produced the union’s previous contract at the plant. IAM reported on July 29, 2022, that Local Lodge 873 had opened negotiations with John Deere Horicon Works, representing nearly 750 members, with the then-current collective bargaining agreement set to expire October 1, 2022. IAM District 10 Directing Business Representative Alex Hoekstra said the company needed to place an emphasis on retirement benefits, take the necessary actions to make Horicon a premier employer in the area, and eliminate third-party insourcing. IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President Steve Galloway said Local 873 members had the full resources and support of the union behind them, and IAM District 10 Assistant Directing Business Representative Joe Terlisner said the negotiating team had prepared for more than nine months, noting that approximately 60% of the membership had never participated in negotiating and ratifying a collective bargaining agreement.

IAM announced on October 5, 2022, that Local 873 members had voted to ratify a new four-year contract, which took effect October 1, 2022. The union said that agreement included general wage increases of over 32% throughout the life of the agreement, the elimination of all health care premiums, increases to all retirement benefit packages, and a ratification bonus. Galloway called it an industry-leading contract.

The bargaining record at the plant extends further back. In June 2015, IAM said District 10 Local 873 had ratified an agreement providing substantial wage increases, lump sum payments, additional vacation time, and increased 401(k) benefits for full-time employees, while supplemental and associate employees received vacation, recall rights, and rights to the grievance procedure and just cause for discharge. The union also said John Deere committed to close a non-union facility in Janesville, Wisconsin, and move that work to the Horicon plant, and that the company put in writing an investment of approximately $40 million in renovations and new facilities at Horicon Works.