Cooper Talks Break Down

(Texarkana/Tire Review) Talks between Cooper Tire & Rubber Co and members of USWA Local 752 at Cooper’s Texarkana, Arkansas, tyre plant reportedly broke off 14 March, leaving the passenger and light truck/SUV tyre plant operating on a skeleton crew as union workers picket outside.

Some 1,700 workers at the plant went on strike 12 March after negotiations for a new master contract failed to produce an agreement. The previous three-year contract expired 6 March, but Cooper and the union agreed to extend it through to 12 March. At that time, both parties felt they were close to a settlement.

When the strike began, Cooper issued a statement that said the company “is hopeful that talks will continue to resume production as quickly as possible.” The current impasse, according to union members who spoke with the Texarkana Gazette, involve proposed changes in healthcare coverage and retirement benefits, work rule changes involving seniority, and wage scales for new employees.

Local 752 members told the newspaper they “will picket 24 hours a day until an acceptable agreement is reached.”