Goodyear rejects USWA proposal; negotiation deadline is June 27

CINCINNATI (June 25)—Goodyear has rejected the United Steelworkers of America's June 21 master contract offer, the union reported June 25. A USWA spokesman said the Akron tire maker's response to the proposal was "disappointing" in that it didn't include commitments to job security, North American plant investment, debt restructuring and cutting Goodyear management positions. The company also wants to carve into retiree health care benefits, the union said. Progress has been made on some "minor" issues, but the two sides still are "miles apart" from a settlement. The company and union are only two days away from their self-imposed negotiating deadline of June 27. The USWA has said it will not accept a contract that fails to address job security at its 14 organized U.S. tire and rubber facilities, and won't continue talks in Cincinnati past the deadline. Workers at Goodyear and Dunlop plants have been working on day-to-day extension agreements—with 72-hour notice needed to terminate them—since their pacts expired April 19. The contract for hourly employees at Kelly-Springfield tire factories expires July 6.