Rubatex, Teamsters reach five-year accord

COLT, Ark. (Aug. 31)—Rubatex Corp. and the Teamsters union local staffing its Colt foam rubber facility have a new five-year contract agreement following the union´s ratification vote Aug. 30. The deal, effective Sept. 1, will give the 140 members of Teamsters Local 878 and the 110 non-union workers in Colt a 4-percent initial pay raise and an 18-percent total wage increase over the contract´s life. The two sides also agreed to employee co-payments for medical benefits; a freezing of the defined pension benefits plan and the implementation of a new company-match 401(k) retirement plan; and the rewriting of mandatory overtime language.