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13 November, 2006
North America’s bitter industrial strike in the rubber sector between the United Steelworkers (USW) and Goodyear Tire and Rubber will see the antagonists come face to face tomorrow, 14 November, when the parties commence bargaining. It will be the first set of talks since the strike by 15,000 US and Canadian rubber workers began on 5 October.
USW President Leo Gerard said: “We look forward to productive discussions whereby our members can return to making quality products and sincerely hope that this is a good faith attempt by Goodyear to solve problems and not place further obstructions in the path to reaching a fair and equitable agreement.”
Good faith is something Goodyear is a stranger to in this 40-day strike. The US-based rubber-maker announced during the strike it was closing a plant in Tyler, Texas, potentially sacking 1,100 workers, even though the issue of job security and closures was still open on the bargaining table.
Goodyear CEO Robert Keegan breached ethical social conduct by stating to investment analysts that the company would bypass the union in order to force Goodyear’s agenda of jobs cuts, work reorganisation resulting in lower pay, and devastating attacks on pensioners’ benefits.
The company has been relentless in its messages to strikers to abandon the walkout. The most recent example is a letter that company coverage of health care would only be guaranteed if staff returned to work by 3 January 2007.
The ICEM-affiliated USW has made it clear that it is returning to the bargaining table tomorrow with expectations that management is ready for serious dialogue. The union maintains that Goodyear has not negotiated, but rather dictated the terms it seeks to impose on workers. “We stand ready to bargain a fair labour agreement,” said USW International Vice President Tom Conway, “and assume (by Goodyear’s return to bargaining) that the company has abandoned its destructive position on closing plants and slashing health care.”
The USW will continue its campaign to protect jobs and livelihoods of North American rubber workers. On Saturday, 18 November, USW members will again distribute thousands of handbills to both customers and auto dealership managers over the possible safety risk Goodyear is creating by pushing for certain levels of production during the strike. The union has also taken that message to rubber sector and auto-parts trade shows that are attended by thousands of corporate representatives involved in sales and marketing.
The Goodyear strike is one of the largest North American industrial strikes in this decade, affecting 12 plants in the US and four in Canada. Besides production from two non-union operations, Goodyear is attempting to maintain its customer base with limited production from plants that are on strike, using management personnel and temporary workers.