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6 October, 2006
The ICEM has issued a call to all its global trade union affiliates, particularly unions in the rubber sector, to support the strike by 15,000 North American rubber workers against Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. ICEM affiliate United Steelworkers (USW) shut 16 plants down yesterday in the US and Canada.
The USW conducted strike authorization votes at each plant in June. USW members at each plant voted overwhelmingly to grant union negotiators the right to call a strike. The two sides had been bargaining under a day-to-day contract extension since 18 July 2006, four days before the prior three-year contract expired. The USW issued the mandatory 72-hour notice to terminate the contract on Monday, 2 October.
“We call on our affiliated trade unions to send messages of support to the Steelworkers in North America,” said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. “We also call on trade unions in the rubber industry – particularly at Goodyear plants in Central and South America – to monitor their inventories and production to ensure that they are not undermining the USW’s strike action.”
The ICEM encourages trade unions to send immediate messages of support to USW President Leo Gerard at [email protected]. The postal address for the union is 5 Gateway Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15222 USA. Fax messages can be sent to +1 412 562 2598.
Collective bargaining reached a stalemate when Goodyear demanded removal of job-security commitments made in an agreement three years ago. The Akron, Ohio-based multinational is seeking wage and retirement cuts in this year’s renewal contract. With Goodyear suffering financial losses during the last contract round, the USW made contract concessions in order to assist the rubber manufacturer, but achieved job-security and job retention guarantees at the tyre factories.
The strike began at 13h00, US Eastern Time, yesterday, 5 October. “(Goodyear) left us with no option,” said USW Executive Vice President Ron Hoover, who heads the union’s bargaining team. “We cannot allow additional plant closures after the sacrifices we made three years ago to help this company survive.”
Hoover added: “We worked very hard with the company in 2003 to deal with a difficult situation. While more work can be done, Goodyear has rebounded and other stakeholders have been rewarded accordingly. Now the company seems determined to only take more away from our members.”