From the Deere picket line: Frustration, fear and hope

DAVENPORT — A neon scrawl outside the No Place Special Bar & Grill promises the coldest cans in town and 25-cent pool.

Last week, that promise was kept early Friday as four men bounced resin balls off felt rails and Janelle Patterson pulled the tabs on a short round of Bud Light cans. A manager with No Place Special for the last 21 years, Patterson admitted she was "a bit distracted" and "a little worried."

Thirty-one minutes before Patterson described her worries, the clock struck midnight, marking the start of the second day of the UAW strike against Deere & Co. Talks between UAW and Deere negotiators stalled just before Thursday's midnight deadline and the strikes continued through the weekend.

UAW men and women walked picket lines at Deere facilities in Davenport, East Moline and Milan, Ill. It was the first major strike by Deere workers since 1986 — and that one lasted 163 days.

No Place Special is roughly a mile from the Davenport Works plant where Deere construction and forestry equipment are produced.

"This is a UAW bar. And a Local 281 bar. And most of all it's a bar for all employees of John Deere's Davenport Works," Patterson said. As she spoke, she stepped to one side and pointed to a row of union insignia hanging behind the bar.

"We literally serve thousands of Deere employees in here. We are known for the coldest cans, but we also have great tenderloins and fresh-cut fries," Patterson continued. "Every day Deere workers are in here for lunch. It's a big part of our business. And I'm just thinking of them out on that picket line all night. It just seems like the whole world is struggling right now."

At the end of the first day of picketing Thursday night, a bright waxing moon cast a glow in the sky over the almost-raucous strikers near the entrance to Davenport Works. They waved their blue-and-white signs at every passing vehicle, cheering for the drivers who honked and catcalling those who didn’t.

The men talked about the challenges they would face if the strike lasts.

"I went to the credit union and they told me to not worry about the car payment until January," a bald man in Hartley Davidson windbreaker said. "That was relief, I'll tell you."

Down the line, a yellow heavy duty radio blared 97X. A few of the strikers sat in lawn chairs. There was a stack of packaged water in plastic bottles, a 12-pack of Pepsi, and a covered tray of cookies.

"My wife is frazzled with this strike," the bald man said. "I told her 'I'm sorry, but this is my first strike.' But we got some insurance questions answered yesterday and that helped her."

Back at the place with the coldest cans in town, Patterson said Deere employees made the job "special."

"I have generations of iron workers in my family," Patterson said. "The people who come in here from Deere always reminded me of them — hardworking Americans. They don't stand out in a crowd and they don't want to. They just work hard and raise families."

Patterson paused to make a mixed drink. When she returned she explained more of her worry.

"I'm really worried about the holidays — what will happen if this strike goes on and families need help because of the strike? Plenty of Deere employees are living paycheck to paycheck," she said. "I fear people will have to dig into savings. I'm afraid of what people will have to give up."

Patterson shook her head.

"The people out on that line tonight? There some of the hardest-working people I've ever met. The people out on those lines, all the lines, they are the solid people. I don't know the answers, but I just hope it can be worked out."