Bridgestone Firestone reaches tentative contract with union

The agreements cover workers at the tiremaker’s plants in Russellville, Ark.; Bloomington, Ill.; Noblesville, Ind.; Des Moines, Iowa; Akron, Ohio; Oklahoma City; La Vergne, Tenn.; and Warren County, Tenn.

Neither the union nor Nashville-based Bridgestone Firestone would release details of the agreements.

The union will hold informational meetings at the various sites and union members will vote on the tentative agreements within the next several days, the company said.

The USW represents 70,000 members employed in the tire and rubber industry and more than 850,000 overall in the U.S. and Canada. The two Tennessee plants covered under the contract employ 2,150.

The union and the company have been in negotiations since April 2003 but talks stalled several times.

In March, eight local chapters of the Steelworkers union said they were preparing for strikes at Bridgestone Firestone plants over concerns that the tiremaker won’t commit to invest in its U.S. factories.

Union members at the La Vergne plant held meetings where they learned the rules for picketing and setting up phone banks. Similar meetings were held in other states affected by the contract.

Union officials had said the company would not follow the lead set by contracts negotiated with Goodyear and Michelin’s BFGoodrich that include commitments to U.S. plants and no-closure promises.

“In negotiations, the company still resists our demands that it grow and invest in our plants in order to secure the future of our plants and increase their share of new and higher margin products,” Steelworkers executive vice president John Sellers said in a statement issued in March. Union officials also were fighting a demand for concessions from retirees.

The union and company leaders returned to the bargaining table late last year. But talks — which took place in St. Louis— really started coming together in May, said Dan MacDonald, spokesman for Bridgestone Firestone.

“The talks really went out over the last several months but it seems in the last month or so the negotiations have pretty much been constant,” MacDonald said Thursday. “There’s been a lot of late night sessions, working through weekends.

“We’ve said from the beginning that it’s important to get a contract that’s good for the business and for our union teammates,” he added. “We believe these contracts achieve those goals. We’re looking forward to union membership ratifying the agreement.”

MacDonald said he expects the union to schedule ratification votes and will have an outcome within the next two weeks.
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