Steelworkers to Protest Continental General's Strikebreaking at Area Tire Dealers
12 May 1999
Steelworkers to Protest Continental General's Strikebreaking at Area Tire Dealers
NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 11 -- The United Steelworkers of
America (USWA) will bring their fight against German-owned Continental General
Tire's violations of US labor law to area tire dealers in demonstrations to
make the public aware of conditions in the Charlotte, NC plant, where
1,438 union workers have been on an unfair labor practice strike since
September 20, 1998, according to Jerry Bullard, a Local 850 negotiating
committee member.
Continental General Tire workers will be joined by members of various
AFL-CIO members in the Greater Nashville area.
Fourteen area locations where the company's products are sold will be
simultaneously handbilled to inform customers that unskilled, inexperienced
replacement workers in Charlotte are producing the company's tires. The
company has hired 800 permanent replacement workers to take the jobs of union
members.
Customers will be encouraged to purchase tires made by companies that
treat their workers with respect and dignity. Most Continental General Tire
dealers sell tires made by many other companies. "This is not a demonstration
against any local tire dealer. Our dispute is with the tire manufacturer, not
the tire dealer. This is a public education campaign to make the people aware
of how a German-owned company is violating US laws in Charlotte," Bullard
said.
Local unions in the Nashville area have pledged to continue the
demonstrations until Local 850 achieves a contract settlement for their
workers. It is part of a nationwide campaign that is being waged by the USWA.
Continental General Tire is the fourth largest tire manufacturer in the
world. Hiring permanent replacement workers during a strike is illegal in
their homeland and the National Labor Relations Board has issued unfair labor
practice charges against them April 30, making them an outlaw here in the
U.S., according to Bullard.