Union ratifies Titan contract
The proposed four year contract for three of Titan International’s factories in the US has been accepted in votes held by the United Steelworkers union. Union members at the company’s Des Moines, Iowa, Freeport, Illinois and Bryan, Ohio plants voted in favour of an agreement that the USW says offers workers “wage and benefit improvements and a variety of contract language enhancements, most notably around the issue of forced overtime.”
“This is a good contract for Titan employees and shareholders,” commented Titan International CEO and chairman Maurice Taylor. “Bryan and Freeport have been working without a contract for the past two years. I believe the Steelworkers have a better understanding today on how Titan needs to use its unionised work force for the benefit of its employees as well as shareholders. Without profit, there are no jobs.
In separate statements regarding the agreement, both the Titan boss and the USW allude to complications faced while attempting to reach an agreement. “This will be the last contract that I bargain with the union, and I assume the same for Jim Robinson, director of the Steelworkers Union,” Taylor commented. “Mr. Robinson started his career in a steel factory working in maintenance. While working at the steel company, he went on to become a lawyer for the union. Our views on politics are about one hundred eighty degrees apart, but when it comes to the working men and women, we share similar views. Everyone at Titan is looking to increase output, improve quality and on time delivery to our customers.”
In a USW statement, Jim Robinson, who chaired the union’s negotiations with Titan International, said: “For a variety of reasons, these were difficult negotiations. We were able to address important issues at all three locations and satisfied a majority of the men and women whose unity and solidarity never wavered throughout the process.” Robinson noted that steelworkers at the Bryan and Freeport facilities spent the last two years “dealing with problems” created by Titan’s implementation of a “last, best and final” contract, which led the union to file charges with the National Labor Relations Board. Those charges were settled as part of the new agreements between Titan and the USW.
Outlining the benefits workers will receive under the new contract, and how the tyre maker will accommodate this, Maurice Taylor said Titan anticipates “that over the next few weeks we will be adding approximately three hundred to the workforce to increase the output of tyres. The new contract gives the workforce a six per cent increase spread over the four year contract. The percentage of pay increase each year varies from plant to plant but no increase in a given year is greater than two per cent. Titan believes that it can offset these wage increases in better efficiency and utilisation.”
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