Union members approve new Bridgestone Firestone contract
NASHVILLE — United Steelworkers at seven of Bridgestone Firestone’s U.S. plants ratified a new contract that provides a wage increase and promises job security for at least a year, officials said Thursday.
The master contract — which runs through July 23, 2006 — covers about 5,000 workers at plants in Akron, Ohio, Noblesville, Ind., Des Moines, Iowa, Russelville, Ark., Oklahoma City and LaVergne, Tenn.
Steelworkers at the Bloomington, Ill., plant also voted to accept a separate contract.
“After a long struggle, we were able to successfully maintain pattern bargaining in the industry,” Steelworkers Executive Vice President John Sellers said in a statement. Workers covered under the master contract approved it by a 70 percent margin.
Under the contract, workers will see a cost-of-living wage increase of 48 cents an hour, with another 25 cents to come after April 23, 2006. The company also has slated 25 cents per hour for capital investment, pension funding and deferring increases in health care coverage costs. Most workers currently make between $18 and $25 per hour.
The new contract also includes no health care premiums for active or retired members, raising the monthly pension multiplier to $54 per year of service from $50 and 90 percent guaranteed staffing levels.
Another highlight is a provision known as “production ticket protection.”
“This prohibits them from exporting your job, your production to someplace else,” said Wayne Ranick, USW spokesman.
Bridgestone Firestone said in a statement that it was pleased with the voting results.
On June 17, the union at Bridgestone Firestone’s Warren County, Tenn., plant overwhelmingly rejected its tentative agreement and said members plan to strike next month. That contract covers nearly 800 workers.
Warren County union representative’s could not be reached immediately for comment about its strike plans.
Overall the USW represents 850,000 members in the U.S. and Canada. About 70,000 are employed in the rubber and plastics industry.
Nashville-based Bridgestone Firestone’s parent company is Bridgestone Corp., the world’s largest tire and rubber company, in Japan.
The LaVergne plant — which covers about 1,370 workers under the contract — was the only one to reject the master contract, largely because of the provision which allows the company to use so-called casual or student workers for up to 10 percent of the production workforce.
“This allows the company, in our case, to use up to 130 casual people at reduced wages with very little benefits unless they’re the child of an employee,” said Lewis Beck, president of the Local 1055 for the La Vergne plant. “Once you open that door, you have that problem. We’ve never had that to any degree.”
The La Vergne plant’s rejection, however, does not stop the master contract from taking effect, Ranick said. Union members cast their votes earlier this week.
A ratification vote for the tentative agreement reached for the maintenance group at the LaVergne tire plant was being held Thursday, officials said.
In early June, union leaders reached tentative agreements with Bridgestone Firestone and later held informational meetings at the various sites with union members who would vote on the proposal.
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 the tiremaker won’t commit to invest in its U.S. factories.