Auto workers vote to take 3-year Harvester contract

Members of the United Automobile Workers returned to work Monday ending a 5 1 /2 month strike that idled 35,000 workers in nine states. Workers voted over the weekend to accept a new three-year contract with International Harvester Company, which includes a 3 percent annual wage increase coupled with quarterly cost-of-living raises and additional pension benefits, union officials said. The strike -- the longest major walkout in UAW history -- cost each worker about , and similar losses were expected for the second quarter.