Locked out Cooper workers still await union strike fund aid
Even as a few hundred residents of Findlay, Ohio and locked-out Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. workers held a “community rally” this past weekend, Tire Review opines there may be some cracks appearing in the stalemate between the USW union and the tyre maker.
The “Good Jobs for Our Community” rally held on 17 December attracted only a handful of locals and union members, and according to reports was over in under an hour. The 30-degree temperatures, some suggested, may have had something to do with the length of the rally.
Also on hand for the rally were representatives of the USW International and representatives from the AFL-CIO, though some suggested that neither party was involved in organising the rally. But while USW International Secretary Treasurer Stan Johnson told those attending the rally that the union “will spend the last nickel to make sure that you succeed,” the USW has apparently not yet released any of its US$150 million strike fund to help USW Local 207 members, who have not received a paycheck in a month.
That quote from Johnson was recorded and published by local media but does not appear in the USW International’s official press release recounting the rally. Additionally, the state of Ohio has yet to decide if the locked-out workers are eligible for unemployment benefits.
Heading into the Christmas holidays, contract negotiations remain at a standstill.
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