Cooper Tire Announces Tentative Agreement for Texarkana Factory

Cooper Tire’s four factories are still awaiting the company’s decision regarding its review of US operations, and each is naturally eager to place itself in the best position in terms of its long-term viability. Hot on the heels of the ratification of an agreement between Cooper and the USW regarding the Findlay, Ohio facility comes one for the factory in Texarkana, Arkansas. Cooper Tire announced on December 11 that it had reached a new tentative agreement with the USW Local 752L, which represents workers at the facility. Union members will cast their votes on the agreement on December 13. The USW chapter is currently working under an agreement that would not have expired until 2010.

Commenting on the tentative agreement, John Bodart, acting vice president, North American Tire Operations, said, “We were pleased at the cooperation with our union leadership in coming to the table early to help put Cooper Tire in a more competitive position. This new contract will be factored into the network capacity analysis now being done for all of our manufacturing plants in North America.”

David Boone, Local 752L president, was also satisfied that a tentative agreement could be reached, says Cooper. “We stepped up to demonstrate that Texarkana fully understands the challenging situation that Cooper Tire is in and to show that we have the ability to make changes necessary to make sure that our plant is as competitive as possible when all of the plants are evaluated.”