ATLANTA — Members of Georgia's United Auto Workers Union set up in front of the John Deere warehouse in McDonough for 12 hours on Friday.
They are part of a massive strike happening across the country sending more than 10,000 workers to the picket lines to demand more pay and better benefits. It's the largest private-sector strike in two years.
“We feel that we deserve what we need to take care of our families and everything," said Brandon Harvey who has worked for the company for 11 years.
The strike comes after the union rejected a proposed wage hike and a reported record-breaking year for the agricultural giant, raking in nearly 5 billion in profits.
"The CEOs get all the money and they don’t care to give us any of it after we’re doing all the work for them," said Rachel Johnson. She's been with the company for 21 years.
Johnson and others say employee compensation has not kept up with the times. Her husband says he came to work for the company in 1973 and friends who retired then were getting more than people retiring from the company now, nearly 48 years ago.
NBC News reports John Deere will keep operations running while trying to reach a resolution with the union.