Yokohama, USW reach tentative labor pact in Virginia

SALEM, Va.—The 500 United Steelworkers with Local 1023L at Yokohama Tire Corp.'s passenger car and light truck tire manufacturing plant have reached a tentative labor agreement with Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Virginia L.L.C.

The four-year contract has not yet been ratified by Local 1023L, according to USW spokesperson Tony Montana, based at the USW's headquarters in Pittsburgh. A ratification date had not been set as of Sept. 21.

The previous four-year labor pact, ratified in 2018, expired Sept. 12 and was extended until the tentative agreement was reached Sept. 14.

USW Local 1023L in Salem did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Yokohama did not immediately return requests for comment.

"Negotiations once again went well as both sides were professional and worked diligently throughout the process," Tetsuro "Tex" Murakami, president of YTMV, made the said in a Sept. 20 statement. "Representatives from both sides agreed this is a fair and equitable contract that's beneficial to all parties involved."

Yokohama's passenger and light truck tire plant in Salem is approximately 243,000 square feet, with just fewer than 700 total employees, according to Yokohama.

The plant, opened in 1968, has capacity for 6.2 million passenger and light truck tires per year, according to the latest data from Rubber News.

Yokohama Tire Corp. and Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Virginia are part of Yokohama Corp. of North America, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tokyo, Japan-based The Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. The tire maker, founded in 1917, is the eighth-largest tire maker worldwide.