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14 July, 2005
A strike by 1,000 members of USWA also in Canada continues at Michelin’s B.F. Goodrich tyre plant in Kitchener, Ontario, despite renewed bargaining that took place in mid-July in Pittsburgh. Despite Michelin net income doubling to C$528 million in the first half of 2004, Kitchener management is seeking wage and benefit cuts amounting to 15%. “This isn’t about being asked to help a company that is in financial difficulty,” stated USWA Assistant Ontario/Atlantic Director Marie Kelly. “This is about feeding a corporate giant that has always been anti-union.” The strike began 1 June. In separate bargaining also in Pittsburgh, the USWA is engaged in hard bargaining with Michelin over the master rubber contract at three US tyre plants.