Bridgestone workers ratify contract

The union said workers voted on the three-year contracts on Wednesday. The plants include Akron, Ohio; Noblesville, Ind.; Des Moines, Iowa; Russellville, Ark.; La Vergne, Tenn.; and Oklahoma City.

Workers at the Warren County, Tenn., and Bloomington, Ill., approved individual contract offers that cover workers there.

The new agreements include a timeline for closing one plant but providing closure protection and investments to three others.

Some 52 percent of the membership covered by the master contract voted to accept the tentative agreement reached on April 4, while the separate pacts at Warren County and Bloomington also overwhelmingly passed.

The three-year contract will run through July 18, 2009, and provide closure protection to the plants in Warren County and Des Moines, as well as $100 million in investments. The LaVergne plant will become a protected facility if and when it adopts an incentive pay system. It would then become eligible to receive investments, according to union officials.

Current employees will receive wage-rate protection, and the contracts guarantee job protection of at least 90 percent of established levels, according to the union.

The master contract includes workers in Oklahoma City, where Bridgestone halted tire production at the end of 2006. Union officials say provisions in the new deal include a $23 million plant-closure package in addition to contractual benefits and life insurance coverage.