Agreement Reached On Cooper Strike

(Akron/Tire Review) Reports out of Texarkana, Arkansas, indicate that a tentative agreement has been reached between Cooper Tire & Rubber Co and striking United Steelworkers of America (USWA) employees. No details of the agreement, believed to be a three-year deal, are available.

USWA Local 752 members were informed of the tentative deal this morning. The agreement was apparently reached late on 6 April after all-day negotiations, the first substantial talks between the tyre maker and the local since 14 March. A federal mediator reportedly was involved in the talks.

According to Local 752’s Web site, union workers will meet this Saturday to review the tentative deal, and a vote has been scheduled for the following day. No times or locations have been announced. Some 1,700 employees at Cooper’s passenger and light truck/SUV tyre plant have been on strike since 12 March.