Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 79

Chicago Tribune, Sunday, September 27, 1992 Section 7 3 CaterpI 9 ITT A TTHT "fl i 9 TTw iar UAW claims mvstiiv ireere vj John Company defends contract with union 4 jVt, 1 ill a -T-. -a. i. -J Deere Co. is raising prices by 4 to 8 percent for above, depending on the options.

It is increasing its new 6000 tractor series, including the 6400 prices 3 percent on the new 7000 series. By George Gunset Chicago Tribune MOLINE, 111. The working relationship between the two Illinois manufacturing giants is no labor of love. That was made clear here last week when Deere Co. management, at a meeting with financial analysts, defended last year's contract settlement with the United Auto Workers that later was rejected by Peoria-based Caterpillar resulting in a long strike.

The UAW eventually ended the bitter strike earlier this year and went back to work under conditions imposed by the company. While the meeting was devoted to painting a generally upbeat sales and earnings picture and touting a new generation of farm tractors, top executives replied to labor questions with a sharp attack on Caterpillar. David Stowe, Deere president, quoted a Caterpillar spokesman as saying the Deere contract, if applied to Caterpillar, would result in a 26 percent increase in costs, "or whatever the wild number was. We have never been able to pin down why." He said the two companies now have the same first-year wage increase in the contract, the same costs when the contract ends in three years, the same health-care benefit program and the same cost-of-living adjustment. "We are mystified that Cat frankly has not been able to, or wanted to, explain what they were saying," Stowe said.

"They're simply saying we don't know for what reason that the Deere contract applied to them would have been so much worse. "We don't understand why." When Deere settled with the union last October, the UAW immediately proposed the same terms for Caterpillar, a tactic known as pattern bargaining. Pattern bargaining is a longstanding union practice intended to prevent companies from driving down wages to beat the competition on price. Caterpillar argued that the practice was obsolete because it only leveled the playing field among competitors in a closed domestic market while Caterpillar's main competition comes from foreign firms. "We're sympathetic with the problems that pattern bargaining creates," said Michael Plunkett, Deere senior vice president for human resources, who noted that it was an issue when Deere took a strike in 1986-87.

"What works for Deere might not work for Cat," he said. "The two companies are very different." "We're not the same, even though we often use the same terminology regarding part of the contract," said Hans Becherer, Deere chairman and chief executive. "What may be our situation under one set of rules is not the same for another company." Becherer said the company was relatively comfortable with the contract and the ability to operate effectively, adding, "I think you can tell that from the progress we have made on the cost side of our business." On other labor contract issues, Plunkett said: Sourcing (whether a. company makes an item or On other corporate matters, Becherer indicated that the quarterly dividend rate of SO cents is safe because of expected improved earnings and cash flow. Capital expenditures are expected to decline by $20 million to $30 million in fiscal 1993, which begins Nov.

1, as development programs for the new series of tractors wind down. Asked about inventories of older models of tractors, Bill Harpole, executive vice president, agricultural equipment division, said they are manageable. He said the company estimates that when the fiscal year ends Oct. 31, small farm tractor inventories will average one-half tractor per dealer, medium-size tractors, one per dealer, and larger tractors, IVi to two per dealer. Harpole said he didn't think any excessive incentives would have to be offered to move the older models.

A 6.9 percent finance rate is now in effect and, on the larger tractors, a $2,500 bonus is offered. Harpole said that probably is adequate. Deere is raising prices by 3 percent over older models on the new 7000 series, which includes tractors of 110, 12S and 14S horsepower. For the new 6000 series, which includes 66-, 75- and 85-horse-power tractors, price hikes will range from 4 to 8 percent, depending on the options. Becherer said the older tractors should sell because they carry incentives while the new models don't.

Also, he noted that the new tractors aren't available in any quantity as yet. And, he said, farmers who have tax reasons to buy equipment before the end of the year will, for the most part, have only the older tractors to choose from. 1 buys it from an outside supplier): At Deere there is an informal process of union notification about decisions. Employee participation is more cooperative and productive, "many times resulting in the reduction of costs and sometimes the in-sourcing of product." Job security: The agreement includes no requirement to hire into unneeded positions. "Over the next decade, well in excess of SO percent of our UAW employees will become eligible to retire, giving us tremendous flexibility." Basic wages: There is very little difference between Caterpillar and Deere.

Caterpillar granted a 3 to 4 percent wage increase in the first year of its final offer and Deere granted a 3 percent increase. Deere currently has about 12,000 UAW employees working and 1,200 on layoff who currently have recall rights, Plunkett said. About half would be recalled on a one-for-one basis as other workers retire or quit. The other half would be recalled on a one-for-two basis. Plunkett said the company has no other obligation after this is accomplished within the next year or so.

"For anyone hired off the street after those people are recalled, it will take five years for them to grow into any kind of job security protection," Plunkett said. "When they're laid off, they have no recall rights, basically." "One reason we have 1,200 on recall is because in the previous contract, we had the right to lay off," Stowe said. "Caterpillar under its previous three-year agreement had no ability to lay off, hence the excess employees they had on the payroll going into bargaining. They are still there." 1 Who wants reality in election year? The press has discovered that the presidential candidates have not been telling the truth about taxes, spending and the federal budget deficit Of course, they haven't. Since when have the American people wanted the truth? Certainly not in 1980, after Jimmy Carter put on that cardigan sweater and told us we had to kick our imported oil habit by dialing down the thermostat and driving less.

Fat chance. We went for the movie actor who told us to keep pushing the pedal to the metal. It was morning in America, remember? Same thing four years later. Walter Mondale, giving us more unsolicited straight talk, warned that he and the movie actor would have to raise taxes after the election. "He won't tell you," Mondale said about the main difference between himself and the incumbent.

"I just did." Wrong again. The main difference was that Ronald Reagan carried 49 states. Fast forward to 1988 and George Bush's now-famous admonition to the hearing impaired: "Read my lips: No new taxes." No wonder Michael Dukakis, a candidate, like Mondale, prone to fits of candor, never had a chance. Now it's 1992. Both candidates have learned well the great lesson of modern American politics: You don't win by telling folks what they don't want to hear, even if it happens to be the truth.

A major difference this time around is that the Democrat is just as hip to the game. Bill Clinton's program for America, his Putting People First" agenda, is a compendium of things people want to hear. It was all scientifically done, using focus groups and sophisticated polling techniques to find out which slogans turn on the key voting blocs. They determined that an electoral majority of the middle class favors more and better education and training, more and better investment in public works and basic research, more and better health care, more and better retirement benefits. Oh, and one other thing: they want to get the federal budget back in balance without raising their taxes.

Carter, Mondale and Dukakis all knew that was impossible. Each, in his own way, said as much. The fools. This year the Democrats aren't making that mistake. Say you want more for less? Check out Bill Clinton's "Putting People First," or "New Covenant," or whatever his platform is called this week.

The Wall Street Journal recently examined it and determined the numbers don't come close to adding up. (President Bush's numbers are even more out of whack, but after 12 years of voodoo economics, that shouldn't surprise.) The Journal totaled up the four-year cost of Clinton's proposed programs $134 billion for public works, $63 billion for education and training, $140 billion for health-care reform, and so on. Then they subtracted his proposed defense spending cuts, his income tax increase on the wealthy and other revenue enhancers. Turns out his program would increase the deficit by $21 7 billion, not lower it by the $142 billion he claims. The gap, then, between the promise and reality of Bill Clinton: $369 billion.

(For Bush, the reality gap was $440 billion.) But who wants reality? Certainly not those of us who want government to tax somebody else so our benefits can keep going up while the deficit goes down. Certainly not me. Not if it means taxing as income the Tribune's contribution to my monthly health insurance premium; or eliminating the interest deduction on my home mortgage; or needs-testing my Social Security benefits when I retire. Those are my bennies, pal. Keep your hands off! I worked hard to get this job, buy this house and save a little extra for retirement Why punish me for that? Better you should tax those other folks or reduce their benefits.

I sort of liked Ross Perot's idea for a 50-cent-a-gallon tax on gasoline. (How did you guess I take the train?) And how about ending the deductibility of interest on second-home mortgages? (Nope, never did buy that cottage in Michigan.) Anyway, you get the idea. Them is us. You and I are the Americans who don't want to be told the truth. We much prefer political candidates who make us feel good about ourselves, who reassure us that the nation's problems are caused by somebody else and should be fixed by somebody else.

Deep down we know there is no "somebody else" and that well lose our pet tax breaks sooner or later. Probably some of our benefits, too. Just now, though, we may as well sit back and enjoy being told the things we like to hear one more time. It should be a pretty close election, the best show in two decades. For a while there, I was afraid the Democrats would never get the hang of it office door Best' job ma be found by walking out the )' V'- Dusiness books "Work of Her Own: How Women Create Success and Fulfillment Off the Traditional Career Track," by Susan Wittig Albert, TarcherPutnam, 320 pages, $18.95 Reviewed by Carol Kleiman, Tribune jobs columnist and author of "The 100 Best Jobs for the 1990s Beyond" The traditional male view of the "best" job is one that has the promise i IN oi a nign-pow-ered career and the chance to make big bucks.

Many women have adopted the same standard. But not all. The 80 female high achievers studied by Susan Wittig Albert have rejected a mrmnlithir an. i How Wortten Creole Succeucmd Fulfillment f-lV self-realization comes happiness. Albert, who has a doctorate in education, has gone through the "anguished debate" of analyzing her priorities.

She ultimately decided to do what she calls "career downshifting." At age 42, the author was the first female vice president of Southwest Texas State University, a post she Was thrilled to accept But soon she began to question that feeling. Driven to resolve her conflicts, she took a year of unpaid leave ostensibly to research a book she planned to write to rest, visit her parents, reconnect with her three children and make some friends. "When I returned to the job, I would be re-energized, recommitted, ready: to slug it out again," she believed. But she never went back; instead, she found work of her own. After much reflection, Albert decided that her stressful academic career was the result of copying "professional behavior and commitment to work from male faculty and administrators in the male-dominated university." She needed to be her own person, with her own values and way of working.

Albert resigned and now is a full-time writer. What she did is what she advises other women to do who are get a footing in the brave new work: Instead of going along with the dictates of militarylike workplaces, she advises, "Follow your heart Even if it leads you out the office door. wit i no iraamonai career tracit -v over their work; and 7 percent, who had enough money to live on, simply quit their jobs. Freeing yourself from stress and frustration, the author promises, ultimately leads to "self-liberation." The steps that lead to freedom, she suggests, begin with doubting the rules of the corporation you work for and refusing to follow them blindly. That's followed by reflecting on yourself and your priorities in life what really matters to you.

Next comes weighing your options; what are your choices? The fourth phase Albert calls "career crisis," in which you swallow hard and take the steps your conscience dictates, even if they involve quitting your job. Not surprisingly, the penultimate stage is labeled "the black hole." Many women who are "abruptly jolted out of their careen by some form of career crisis may feel the sharpest sense of alienation." Translated, that means depression. The final phase is almost as salubrious as Virginia Wolfe's room of her own. Albert calls it "work of her own." It comes as the result of working your way through the problem to a lifestyle that fits your newly found self. "When we first separate ourselves from the prefabricated values of the culture, working out our own values is by necessity a very private and lonely affair but at some point along the way, we make decisions, she writes.

And with 4 i SuswiWittiRAlbettLphil .1 11 AIDert proach to profes sional success and modified their work to give themselves a well-rounded life. These formerly well-paid women took action to resolve a strong feeling shared with other employed women: Something's wrong in the workplace. Albert suggests that what's wrong is the patriarchal corporation. Its organizational structure is based on men's needs, which leaves women to flounder in an inhospitable environment For those who want to fight back, Albert carefully guides women in search of themselves through career crises by setting the stage for self-analysis. And while she's at it, the author dis- pels the myth that successful professional women are leaving the workplace because they want to be with their children.

Some do, but the majority are driven out by Neanderthal management and "glass ceilings." Of the women Albert interviewed, 31 percent stayed in the workplace but sought less stressful work; 31 percent became self-employed; 22 percent became full-time homemakers; 9 percent chose to become full-time students to retrain for careers in which they thought they'd have more control By William Hamilton Keeping up Dow Jones average 30 industrials; daily close; HHoliday Bond Buyer Index 20 municipal bonds; Friday close Chicago stock scoreboard Week ending Sept 25, 1992 25 most active 6.6 Chnu 6.4 jam. 32V -2V4 3450 rn rr i 3400 JJT I I I i 3300 JfMl 3250 II MINI I 6.2 Z3V1 28H -lit 41H 1 35 -IVl 62 28Vk -6 IBuMr kil Comw EOton Abbott lt Sar, Roebuck WaiNMngmnt Amoco HMltnCar Comp. McDonald's Santa Pacific Motorola 11845 31 11687 2V 10994 28Vk 10816 9Vj 10692 113V 10566 3544 10439 15V 9885 184 9471 47 9124 Till 8777 62H 8690 Cantal Navistar tntl Into Raaourcaa Tach SokAona UAL knoara Group IStona Contamar Chemical Wast Aon VWaOcart Quaker Oata Bally Mlj 54062 S321S 62392 34274 34189 29902 29653 20375 18702 18659 13232 13069 12487 6.0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2H Vl 1Va 4414 11V 86 68H 4 57 -H -Vl -1V -1 Hartmant Sara La 5.8 31017243171421 28411 1825 July Aug. Sept. Money supply Ml 31 7 14 21 28 4 11 18 25 July Aug.

Sept. Commodity futures Index 21 key commodities; Friday close Leading pet. gainers Leading pet. losers In billions of dollars; Monday close $9901 1 Excludes atocka under 15 Exdudaa atocka under 210 Pet SMck Pet ctma 205 -186 Amennost 6Vi 163 HealmCereComo. 28V -5 Gallagher Arthur J.

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Amilv Dancaharea 17j 6.1 BeSflW Source: Bond Buyer, Federal Raavsrv and Commodity RaMarch Bureau: Knlght-Rldder Note: New York Stock Exotvange: A American Slock Exchange; traded over the counter, 366-day Mgh; 4 3tj5-o4y low, As a woman of the New South, where would you put yourself on the Hillary-Tipper spectrum?" jv Chicago Tribune.