USWA gives Goodyear contract proposal

CINCINNATI (June 23)—The United Steelworkers of America's negotiating committee submitted a comprehensive master contract proposal to Goodyear June 21, with a June 27 self-imposed deadline looming. The offer includes employment protection for Goodyear's organized tire and rubber facilities covered by master contracts, a new health care plan, a process to "stimulate productivity improvements" at each plant, a dismantling of unnecessary and expensive layers of staffing at the company and a requirement for Goodyear to restructure itself to address its debt problems, the union said. The USWA rejected the company's formal proposal May 9. The two sides earlier this month targeted June 27 as the deadline for a tentative agreement, and since then the union has said it won't negotiate past that date. Talks began March 13, and the USWA chose Goodyear as its tire industry target for pattern bargaining on April 7. Union workers at Goodyear sites whose contracts expired in April have been working on day-to-day extensions.