Union workers at Kohler Co. have overwhelmingly rejected the company's last proposal on Sunday, November 15, 2015, according to a report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Kohler's estimated 1,800 United Auto Workers (UAW) union member attending a meeting at Sheboygan High School have declared a strike, the company's first since 1983, after the paper-ballot voting.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said Tim Tayloe, the president of UAW Local 833, said that about 94 percent of union members have voted down Kohler's proposal following the ballot's tally.
Local 833 represented approximately 2,100 employees at Kohler's huge plumbing-ware factory and at its generator plant north of Sheboygan.
Kohler's workers cited several problems with what the company calls its "last, best and final offer," according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Workers from problems from what they describe as inadequate pay increase, higher health care costs, and the continuation of a two-tier wage scale.
The StarTribune adds that Kohler has called for three raises of 50 cents each or about two percent per year for most of its workforce.
The company, though, also called for an increase in health care costs but included a $1,200 bonus that Kohler said would cover the increase.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel adds that Local 833 members were accepted a company proposal in 2010 that froze wage for five years, increased the cost of health insurance and established a system that pays newer employees significantly less than the longer-tenured workers.
The workers accepted these conditions due to the economy still reeling from the Great Recession.
Tayloe told the StarTribune that the strike of Local 833 members would begin immediately.
He adds that he is hoping that Kohler would return to the negotiating table and negotiate on a new contract offer.
Kohler said in a statement that it was disappointed with the results of the union members vote, according to the StarTribune.
The company also indicated that they have unspecified plans in place to continue production.
The StarTribune adds that Kohler said it had hoped that an agreement would be placed by Sunday so work could continue uninterrupted.
The company also adds that it believes its offer was fair and workers who report to work as normal would still receive their current wages and benefits.
