Goodyear Plant, Union Reach Deal

(Akron/Tire Review – Fayetteville Observer) After five weeks of negotiations, the United Steelworkers of America and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. have reached an agreement on local issues.

About 300 union and family members gathered Mar. 18 at Pine Forest Middle School, less than half a mile from the tyre plant, to hear details of the tentative agreement, which mainly addressed scheduling, hiring and vacation time. Wages and benefits were not part of the talks, as they were decided in December by the master contract.

“What did we get during local negotiations?” asked Darryl Jackson, president of the Local 959. “Depends on who you talk to.”

Considering the union brought more than 100 proposals to the table and the company brought nine, Jackson said he felt they reached a “good deal.” Union members will get a chance to vote on the agreement Wednesday at the union hall, across the street from the plant.

If the agreement is passed by simple majority, Goodyear will close down for one week of mandated vacation the week of July 4. Some union members said they weren’t in favour of forced vacation, but people such as Stephen Hales said he could deal with that concession to get other benefits.

After he sat through two hours of Jackson’s explanation and read over contract jargon, Hales said he ultimately feels that a fair agreement was reached.

“I would like to have seen more bonuses and recognition across the plant,” said Hales, a tyre builder who has worked at the plant for almost 10 years. “I think it would help morale, boost it a lot.”

Morale in the plant has been steadily declining, workers say, especially since the 86-day strike that ended Dec. 22 and kept nearly 2,000 workers off the job. Hales is hoping that by ratifying the agreement, the animosity inside the plant will lift.

“It used to be once upon a time that people were proud to work here,” Jackson said. “I’d see a Kelly green coat everywhere I looked. Now people just come to get a check.”

As he spoke the words, the crowd let out a low rumble in agreement. “That’s right,” a few said almost in unison, while others nodded in approval.

“We’ve got to figure out how to make our plant work,” he said. “We can’t depend on management to do it.”

A Goodyear spokesman could not be reached for comment Sunday evening.

Jackson encouraged his listeners to go back to their jobs and work hard, strengthening the company alongside the plant management.

The nearly 2,600 Goodyear employees are working eight hours a day, six days a week, with around-the-clock shifts. If the agreement is approved, the plant will go to continuous operation, seven days a week.

“If we go,” Jackson said, “I think it’ll be around May, June or July.”
Maintenance workers

All workers except maintenance – craftsmen, electricians and machinists – will be given multiple shift options. Maintenance workers will be split into two shifts – one working eight hours and the other working 12 hours. Jackson said he anticipates that this difference will create strife among those in that department, because of overtime differences.

“(Plant management) came after maintenance hard. Of their nine proposals, six of them were about maintenance,” Jackson said.

Other issues in the contract include job bidding, grievance procedures and company-selected jobs.

About a dozen jobs in the plant are excluded from the bidding process. Before the agreement, Goodyear, without union input, chose who got the jobs. Under the agreement, it will be jointly decided.

“The company can’t go and select their buddy now,” Jackson said. “I think that’s huge.”

Jackson is confident the proposed agreement will pass, so much so that he thinks it will pass by a larger margin than did the master contract, which was ratified in December.

“I think it’s a reasonable agreement for both parties considering the times we’re in,” Jackson said.