Titan, USWA reach second tentative agreement in Natchez

NATCHEZ, Miss. (Nov. 20)—Titan International Inc. and the United Steelworkers local at its Natchez tire plant have reached a second tentative agreement to end the three-years-plus strike there, but there are still a few big steps to take before a contract is reached. Negotiators for the two sides signed the tentative pact Nov. 15, a union spokesman said. On Oct. 2, members of USWA Local 303 rejected a Titan offer that would have ended a strike that began Sept. 15, 1998. The uncertainty of when the Natchez plant will reopen and if Titan will honor the agreement were factors that led to the proposal's defeat. USWA officials want to tour the plant—mothballed this past spring as Titan pared down due to poor economic conditions—and see the state of the equipment and inventory before taking the proposal to the members. A tour date hasn't been set but it could take place as early as the week after Thanksgiving.