News From USWA: Goodyear Tentative Agreement Could Serve as Industry Pattern

PITTSBURGH--Aug. 2, 20035, 2003--The United Steelworkers of America (USWA) announced that the tentative agreement reached by the Goodyear/Kelly/Dunlop Policy Committee and Goodyear Tire and Rubber would serve as the pattern agreement for negotiations with rest of the industry, if ratified by the Goodyear membership.

The USWA/Rubber and Plastic Industry Council (R/PIC) Advisory Committee cited unprecedented job security and plant protection provisions as the primary reasons for designating the Goodyear tentative agreement as a pattern settlement.

The Advisory Committee is composed of nine members, three local union presidents from each the Goodyear, Bridgestone-Firestone (BFS) and Uniroyal/ Goodrich, Michelin (UGMT) chains. The Committee selected Goodyear as the "Target Company" in early April, approximately three weeks after bargaining had begun respectively with all three companies.

The purpose of pattern agreements is to provide a level playing field for employers when it comes to the cost of labor. This compels employers to compete on the basis of product and service quality, innovation, up-to-date technology and management. Talks at BFS and UGMT were put on hold pending the resolution of the Goodyear contract.

The Goodyear negotiations, conducted in Cincinnati, cover more than 19,000 members and 22,000 retirees across the U.S. Upon ratification of the tentative agreement by the membership, talks will resume in St. Louis with BFS and with UGMT in Knoxville, Tennessee. 6,000 workers in eight U.S. plants are covered by the BFS negotiations and the UGMT talks cover 4,000 members in three facilities.

Overall, the USWA represents 1.2 million active and retired members in North America, including nearly 90,000 active workers in the rubber and plastics industry. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, the USWA has 12 districts spanning the continent and more than 2,000 locals.