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Steelworkers Reject Bridgestone/Firestone Contract Proposal

24 July 2000

Warren County Steelworkers Join National Campaign for New Agreements

    MORRISON, Tenn. - Members of United Steelworkers of America (USWA) Local 
1155 overwhelmingly rejected a contract proposal on Friday at Bridgestone/
Firestone's Warren County, Tenn., truck, bus and radial tire production plant.

    The Local Union Bargaining Committee had unanimously recommended that the
offer be turned down, and the members, by secret ballot, agreed 589 to 14.
The vote appears to be a major setback for a company that labels the Warren
County plant its model facility and says it prides itself on employee
satisfaction.

    "Our members demand the same contract rights that members at BFS plants
around the country already have," explained Local 1155 president Phillip
Davis.  "The current Warren County contract lacks significant protections in
major areas, such as seniority, which the BFS proposal failed to address."

    The contract rejection was the result of an unusual agreement reached
between BFS and the USWA on July 11.  In order to resolve a dispute concerning
the termination provisions of the current Warren County contract, it was
agreed that BFS would make a contract proposal to the USWA, and that proposal
would be submitted to a vote.  The agreement further states that, if the offer
is rejected, the current contract will be subject to termination on 14 days
notice by either side.

    By rejecting the company's proposal, Local 1155 members have aligned
themselves with 7,000 other workers at eight other locals now in negotiations
with BFS.  Seven of those eight locals are in master contract talks in
St. Louis, covering workers at plants in Akron, Ohio, Noblesville, Ind.,
Des Moines, Iowa, Decatur, Ill., Russellville, Ark., LaVergne, Tenn., and
Oklahoma City, Okla.  Bargaining is also ongoing for USWA members in
Bloomington, Ill.

    As at Warren County, the contracts at the other locations can be
terminated by either side on a maximum of 14 days notice.  This enables the
union to coordinate its bargaining and post-termination efforts.

    "It's high time for the company to recognize the reasonable bargaining
objectives of the entire membership," stated USWA executive vice president
John Sellers.  "We have been forced to navigate through a complex set of
procedural barriers.  It is unfortunate our efforts to reach a collective
bargaining agreement have been delayed by these complications, but we have now
finally cleared away all the procedural hurdles.  Hopefully, the road to a
successful conclusion to each of these negotiations is now clear."

    USWA Local 1155 represents more than 750 workers at BFS' Warren County,
TN, facility that opened in 1990.  Overall, USWA represent more than 75,000
workers in the North America rubber and plastics industry.