News From USW: Protecting Retiree Health Care and Winning Job Security Top Bargaining Goals for USW's Rubber Division

PITTSBURGH--March 16, 2006--

2006 Contract Bargaining Includes Master Talks at Goodyear, Bridgestone/Firestone and BFGoodrich/Michelin

The United Steelworkers' (USW) Rubber/Plastic Industry Conference (RPIC), the division of the Steelworkers that represents workers in the tire, rubber and plastics industry, concluded its three-day pre-negotiations policy conference on Wednesday. More than 120 delegates from 82 local unions participated and established key bargaining priorities for upcoming negotiations.

"We will face serious challenges in this round of negotiations that will go far in defining our future, but there is no way that we will allow our retirees to become sacrificial lambs in the process," said Ron Hoover, USW executive vice president. "To allow a company to renege on commitments it made in the past, just so it can further feed an insatiable appetite now for more profits and bigger bonuses is just flat-out wrong."

The Policy Committee cited job security as the issue most important to the active membership. "Our families and communities depend on the good wages and benefits provided by the successful manufacturers," said Hoover. "We recognize how technology and work reorganization can improve productivity, but we expect management to become efficient as well, while recognizing our expertise. The most important key to enhancing productivity is investing the money necessary to keep plants modern."

Investment presentations demonstrated how demand in the North America market is increasing, especially for higher quality products. While prices have increased, so have raw material and energy costs. Unfortunately, this increase in demand is being met by an increase in imports from Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. These factors influenced the committee's focus on job security.

Four basic elements for job security and protection were established:

-- Eliminating the contracting out of bargaining unit work;

-- Attaining a successorship clause which guarantees that in the event of a plant sale, the buyer will recognize the Union and negotiate a collective bargaining agreement;

-- Reducing the level of overtime to maintain the health and safety of current employees, and to create new opportunities for other workers; and,

-- Acquiring capital investment expenditures for our plants to keep them globally competitive.

Other key bargaining priorities include neutrality/card check policies and retirement security. The USW believes that the decision to join a union should be left entirely to a worker, with no involvement whatsoever by the company. Neutrality/card check provides for this fundamental right and requires employers to recognize the union when a majority of the non-represented workers submit cards requesting collective bargaining representation.

Negotiating increases in or creating Defined Benefit Pension Plans, as well as securing improvements for past retirees and surviving spouses, is another priority on the R/PIC bargaining agenda. A Defined Benefit Plan pays retirements from a fund established by the company. It ensures a steady stream of income for the retiree and spouse for the entire period of retirement. In both the U.S. and Canada, government agencies guarantee that these benefits will be paid.

Each local within R/PIC -- made up primarily of tire and rubber bargaining units from the old United Rubber Workers union -- was represented at the conference. R/PIC traditionally holds its policy conference prior to the beginning of contract talks in the three-year tire industry cycle. Contracts with Goodyear, Bridgestone/Firestone and Michelin North America Inc.'s BFGoodrich tire units expire this July.

The USW represent more than 850,000 workers in the U.S. and Canada. Some 70,000 are employed in the tire and rubber industry.