Deere Walkout Leaves 10,000 Off Job as U.S. Labor Tumult Spreads

Thousands of John Deere assembly workers on strike this week are the latest sign of unrest amid a national labor shortage stretching from health care to snack makers to agricultural machinery manufacturing.

Workers took to the picket lines early Thursday after the Moline, Illinois-based company failed to reach an agreement with United Auto Workers by the union’s midnight deadline. The 10,000 unionized workers on Sunday had rejected a tentative agreement by a 90% margin.

The Deere & Co. workers add to a swell of current or impending work stoppages nationwide, with employees feeling emboldened by worker shortages, rising company profits, ...