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20 September, 1999Members of the United Steelworkers of America Local 850 in Charlotte end their one-year strike at tire plant.
USA: The 1,450 members of USWA Local 850 voted overwhelmingly on September 19 to approve a new labor agreement. Thus a year-long strike, which began when contract talks broke down over what the union charged were unfair labor practices at the German-owned Continental General Tire plant, has ended. The contract will provide the largest wage and benefit increases negotiated in the country's tire industry in decades.
The new contract provides for the first general wage increases since 1989, restores full cost-of-living adjustments in wages and provides substantial pension improvements, 100% family health insurance coverage and a return to work for all strikers who choose to do so.
USWA President George Becker hailed the agreement, saying "by bringing wages and pensions at General Tire in line with the industry pattern, we have ensured that all companies in the industry will be competing on a level playing field, instead of using lower wages and benefits to gain a competitive advantage."
In addition to the settlement in Charlotte, the USWA simultaneously negotiated tentative agreements at Continental General Tire's plants in Mayfield, Kentucky, and Bryan, Ohio, pending resolution of local issues. Contracts at all three plants will now expire in close proximity in 2006.
The Steelworkers' year-long strike was bolstered by an international public information campaign in which the IMF participated. It dramatized the company's strikebreaking tactics, including a major protest at last summer's shareholders' meeting in Germany. The international corporate campaign also included: a solidarity drive that galvanized support among workers at the company's plants in the U.S. and abroad, a sympathy strike by South African tire builders, informational protests at tire dealerships throughout the U.S., and a nationwide campaign targeting Ford Motor Company dealers and their customers with information about Ford's purchase of tires made by inexperienced replacement workers.
The new contract provides for the first general wage increases since 1989, restores full cost-of-living adjustments in wages and provides substantial pension improvements, 100% family health insurance coverage and a return to work for all strikers who choose to do so.
USWA President George Becker hailed the agreement, saying "by bringing wages and pensions at General Tire in line with the industry pattern, we have ensured that all companies in the industry will be competing on a level playing field, instead of using lower wages and benefits to gain a competitive advantage."
In addition to the settlement in Charlotte, the USWA simultaneously negotiated tentative agreements at Continental General Tire's plants in Mayfield, Kentucky, and Bryan, Ohio, pending resolution of local issues. Contracts at all three plants will now expire in close proximity in 2006.
The Steelworkers' year-long strike was bolstered by an international public information campaign in which the IMF participated. It dramatized the company's strikebreaking tactics, including a major protest at last summer's shareholders' meeting in Germany. The international corporate campaign also included: a solidarity drive that galvanized support among workers at the company's plants in the U.S. and abroad, a sympathy strike by South African tire builders, informational protests at tire dealerships throughout the U.S., and a nationwide campaign targeting Ford Motor Company dealers and their customers with information about Ford's purchase of tires made by inexperienced replacement workers.