USW locals ratify pacts with Goodyear, Bridgestone and Sumitomo

AKRON—Now that the polls have closed across 12 United Steelworkers locals, one word sums up the new master agreements the unions ratified with their respective companies: Stability.

The USW passed new master agreements with Goodyear, Bridgestone Americas Inc. and Sumitomo Rubber USA L.L.C., covering more than 11,000 workers at 12 U.S. facilities. All three deals expire on July 29, 2022, provide each site with significant wage increases and help keep health care costs manageable.

"We concluded negotiations with good agreements," said Stan Johnson, USW international secretary treasurer. "We have done a lot of work over the last several years pursuing trade cases that we think had contributed substantially to the success the companies had. We went into these negotiations with the assumptions that we would come out with good agreements and I think the overall ratification votes in all three contracts proved that indeed that did happen."

Goodyear's deal covers about 7,200 workers at five sites—Local 2 in Akron; Local 12 in Gadsden, Ala.; Local 307 in Topeka, Kan.; Local 831 in Danville, Va.; and Local 959 in Fayetteville, N.C. The unions finished ratification on Aug. 24 with the deal passing by a 3-to-1 margin, and bring each site "significant wage increases," according to a Goodyear news release.

"We are pleased with the overwhelming approval of USW members on our contract, building on the strong partnership that Goodyear and the union have established over many years," Jim Allen, vice president of global labor relations, said in a statement. "This labor agreement positions both Goodyear and the USW for future success."

Bridgestone's contract covers more than 3,000 employees at six sites—Local 7 in Akron; Local 310 in Des Moines, Iowa; Local 787 in Bloomington, Ill.; Local 884 in Russellville, Ark.; Local 1055 in La Vergne, Tenn.; and Local 1155 in Warren County, Tenn.—according to a company spokeswoman.

"This outcome was reached following a lengthy and respectful negotiation process, resulting in a mutually satisfactory agreement for both parties that will benefit our teammates and the manufacturing facilities involved," Bridgestone said in a statement.

The Sumitomo pact covers its U.S. site in Tonawanda, N.Y., represented by Local 135. The facility transferred to Sumitomo from Goodyear after the two firms dissolved their alliance. The deal covers about 1,000 workers.

"Both parties in the negotiations were thorough in their preparations and leveraged a longstanding respectful relationship to come to a tentative agreement," Bill Jackson, SRUSA's vice president of human resources, said in a statement. "SRUSA looks forward to ratification and a continued productive relationship with the USW."

All three tire makers declined to comment beyond their statements. Johnson added that there were no changes to the plant protection clauses in all three contracts.

Relief from China

Johnson said one factor that led to unilateral wage increases across all 12 sites was the success the union has had in petitioning the International Trade Commission for antidumping relief on tires imported from Asian countries, most notably China.

"Anytime that you're able to inhibit the Chinese from dumping tires into the market it helps stabilize the market," he said. "It stabilizes the sales for the company, helps maintain pricing and certainly benefits the company overall. That was part, not all, but part of the overall economics that played well for all three companies."

On July 14, 2015, the U.S. ITC determined in a split vote that the U.S. tire manufacturing industry was suffering material injury because of passenger and light truck imports from China and levied both antidumping and countervailing duties on a variety of companies.

The union also successfully petitioned for tariffs in 2009, but those expired in 2012 leading to the most recent victory. The USW said at the time that the Chinese began swamping the market with unfairly priced tires.

While Goodyear or its local unions did not release a copy of the master contract, summaries for Bridgestone and Sumitomo deals disclosed wage increases across all levels and a significant reduction in the two-tiered wage system over the life of the deals. Health care costs were also stabilized for union members, relative to the market.

"We're highly productive," Johnson said. "The plants we're running are running at rates of productivity that are extremely good. When you have high productivity, you have a good market and a level of protection against dumped Chinese imports, it bodes well for the bottom line. And when it bodes well for the bottom line, it bodes well for negotiations. We certainly went in with that intent and believed that we capitalized on it."

The Sumitomo deal also outlined that 17 new jobs will be added to the graded mechanical division—including three hourly planners with 15 percent premium pay, seven to the capital work crew and seven utility mechanics.

Longer deals

All three deals are longer than their predecessors, which expired after four years on July 29. They are also longer than the deal covering two Michelin/BFGoodrich plants in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Local 351), and Fort Wayne, Ind. (Local 715).

The previous contract covering those two sites was on the same cycle as the Goodyear, Bridgestone and now Sumitomo deals, established in 2013. But the Michelin contract had an opt-out clause allowing those locals to terminate the deal a year early. The new deal, reached in 2016, runs through July 27, 2019.

"The unions and all three companies felt reasonably good about a five-year window," Johnson said. "When you can get to that point, stability is something to be provided for both the company and the unions. We have contracts that protect us in health care changes and have reasonable pay progression over the period, so it made sense for us and I think it made sense for the company to have that kind of stability going forward as well."

On the health care front, the Bridgestone locals received minimal changes to insurance coverage with premium increases capped at 4 percent for 2018-19 and 7 percent from 2020-22. Premiums will increase only if health care costs increase.

The Sumitomo employees saw some significant changes with a $1.50 per week increase in premiums from 2018-21 and no increases in 2022. A high-deductible plan with a health savings account will also be available. Employees may also opt out of health insurance if their spouse has employer-provided health insurance.

"We felt like we protected our members in the environment in which health care is operating today," Johnson said. "We think we gave them stability going forward, there were very few changes in the health care plans overall, and where there were changes they were more tweaks than anything else. We also captured how much increased cost should be shifted to employees, so we felt pretty good about what we came out with in health care."