FINDLAY, Ohio (Oct. 29, 2008) — United Steelworkers members at Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.'s Findlay tire plant want the company to commit to retaining its Findlay tire manufacturing operations.
The employees, along with U.S. Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill., Ohio AFL-CIO President Joe Rugola and others, held a news conference Oct. 28 making their plea to keep the plant open after Cooper announced it was conducting a 90-day review of its tire production capacity.
After the study, which began Oct. 21, is completed, the company probably will close one of its four U.S. tire factories, Cooper said.
Cooper responded to the news conference by saying no decisions will be made until after the study is finished, and any of the firm's U.S. plants may be affected, including Findlay.
The USW represents workers at the Findlay and Texarkana, Ark, factories, and Cooper's Albany, Ga., and Tupelo, Miss., facilities are non-union plants.
The tire maker said company executives have “begun a dialogue with local and state government officials regarding the Findlay plant.”