WATERLOO - One Cedar Valley employer has added 667 jobs over the past six years.

It isn't a new enterprise. The company has been doing business here for more than 90 years. And it is probably fair to say the company couldn't have done it without cooperation from the union representing most of its workers.

The employer is John Deere. The union is the United Auto Workers. And the six-year labor agreement struck between the two has paid major dividends for the Cedar Valley.

Figures compiled by UAW Local 838 in Waterloo show that since the current labor agreement was struck in 2003, hiring of union-wage workers has far outstripped the rate of retirements at Deere's Waterloo operations.

UAW Local 838 figures show 1,075 union-wage workers have retired since 2003, and 1,742 have been hired, an approximate net gain of 667 workers over six years.

Union-wage employment at Deere now tops 3,300. Total employment at Deere's Waterloo operations now tops 5,500, in both union-wage and nonunion salaried employees. The company has maintained a salaried work force, including staff at the Deere Product Engineering Center in Cedar Falls, the heart of the company's new product research and development operation.

Though union-wage hiring has leveled off somewhat with the current economic slowdown, UAW Local 838 president Scott Grapp says sporadic hiring of skilled trades workers continues.

Grapp attributes the job gains to the 2003 labor agreement.

"I think it's been pretty favorable for both sides - the huge gains we have made not only as a company but as a work force," Grapp said.

The agreement included a two-tiered wage structure with a lower hiring wage for new workers, which company officials said would allow Deere to "repopulate" its plants as workers retired and bring work back into the plant that otherwise might have been outsourced.

"Allowing a tiered wage structure allowed them (Deere) to be more competitive, obviously, and has helped record profits," Grapp said. Deere enjoyed five consecutive years of record profits through 2008, when profits broke $2 billion for the first time ever. It matches another five-year run through 1998, when company annual profits broke $1 billion for the first time ever.

On the labor side, "this contract has served not only our older employees well, in terms of them being able to retire when they wanted to, and for the new hires, we've created a lot of jobs for the Cedar Valley," Grapp said. "They're high-end jobs for the Cedar Valley."

The two-tier wage structure was not something union officials agreed to lightly. Grapp's predecessor, retired Local 838 president Jerry Northey, said the idea was onerous for the union.

"But having looked at that now, and all of the other companies across the globe that are doing it, it makes us look like geniuses," Grapp said. "Look at the record profits. Our workers are reaping the benefits now. They're the ones that keep going to work every week and every day and keep providing for their families."

Also, Grapp said, "You need to be cognizant of what's going on around the country in the current labor market, not only in our town but around America. And it's not been in favor of manufacturing. We're the shining star in a lot of America right now."

Negotiations have begun on a new labor agreement.

"Although our employees have high expectations for contractual gains, they are very aware of our current economic situation and trying to help maintain our competitive edge in a global market," Grapp said.

While Deere and the UAW have had their share of difficulties over some 60 years, recent history has been generally one of cooperation. Locally, it ranges from a record $1 million plus in Deere-UAW Cedar Valley United Way contributions each of the past two years, to more formalized workplace programs.

"Consistent alignment to strategies, cooperation, and working together are very powerful in our organization," said Dave Rodger, general manager of Deere's Waterloo operations. "Our early cooperative efforts with the UAW evolved into a joint process called CI Grow. This process, that encourages people to work together to achieve objectives, is instrumental to improving our competitive position which is key to job growth and success."