Goodyear Strike: Will Talks Restart?

(Akron/Tire Review) Will they or won’t they? That’s the big question heading into the sixth week of the United Steelworkers strike against 16 Goodyear plants in North America. Goodyear stated 9 November that it was sending its negotiating team back to Cincinnati, and that the company was “willing and prepared to resume formal bargaining with the United Steelworkers at any time.” While the USW applauded Goodyear’s return to the Queen City, it did not commit to resuming contract negotiations. “We are pleased that the company has apparently come to its senses and will return to the table,” said Tom Conway, USW International vice president. “We stand ready to bargain a fair labour agreement, as we always have, and assume by this announcement that the company has abandoned its destructive position on closing plants and slashing health care.”

Neither the USW International nor Goodyear gave any hint as to when – if at all – contract talks would resume. At the same time, Darryl Jackson, president of Local 959 representing workers at Goodyear’s Fayetteville, N.C., plant told his members that he was returning to Cincinnati on Sunday, Nov. 12 and that talks would restart the following day. “There are many issues that must be resolved at the bargaining table, so I would ask each and every one of you to hold the position on the picket lines and remain committed to the struggle a little while longer, while we work toward a contract that is fair to both parties,” he wrote in a letter to Local 959 members.

Even though the national union leadership was non-committal, they have publicly stated that the USW would not return to the negotiations unless the tiremaker dropped plans to close plants and reduce health care coverage for union members.

Goodyear, meanwhile, has pressed ahead with plans to close its Tyler, Texas, plant, and expects to save some $85 million per year once the facility closes.

“We intend to continue making the right decisions for the future of this company,” Goodyear Chairman and CEO Robert Keegan said during a conference call with financial analysts after the company released its third quarter 2006 results on Nov. 9. “Our resolve to come out of the negotiations with the Steelworkers with a globally competitive position cannot be compromised, and it won’t be compromised.”

In his letter to Local 959 members, Jackson made no mention of plant closures as a key to restarting talks. “Hopefully this is not an attempt to deceive our membership, but in reality, a good faith gesture to reach an agreement. We are optimistic that Goodyear understands that anything less than taking care of our retirement medical benefits is unacceptable and an agreement cannot be reached without this being the first order of business.”

USW claims it has 850,000 members in the North America, which includes some 70,000 in the tyre, rubber and plastics industries – only 8 per cent of its total membership.