AKRON—The United Steelworkers (USW) union has reached tentative new five-year master labor contracts with Goodyear, Bridgestone Corp. and Sumitomo Rubber USA L.L.C.
A union spokesman confirmed via email that summaries of all three contracts are being prepared for the upcoming ratification meetings, and from there the unions will schedule vote dates/times. He added that the process likely will take a couple of weeks.
Combined, the pacts cover more than 10,000 employees at 12 U.S. facilities. Details of the new agreements were not released.
The previous deals expired on July 29 at 12:01 a.m.
Earlier Goodyear outlined some of its goals for its contract, including flexibility and the ability to produce smaller lot sizes with quick change-overs in order to meet growing demand for high value-added tires and increasing product complexity.
The tentative agreement is subject to a ratification vote by 7,000 USW members at plants in: Danville, Va. (Local 831); Fayetteville, N.C. (Local 959); Gadsden, Ala. (Local 12); Topeka, Kan.(Local 307); and Akron (Local 2).
The two parties opened talks on the contract June 15 in Cincinnati.
Goodyear's only other U.S. tire plant, in Lawton, Okla., is a non-union factory, as is the plant in Napanee, Ontario.
"We believe we have crafted a new labor agreement that positions both Goodyear and the United Steelworkers for success in the future," Jim Allen, Goodyear's vice president of global labor relations, said in a statement.
A Bridgestone spokeswoman said its contract covers 3,000 employees at six sites — Akron; Des Moines, Iowa; Bloomington, Ill.; Russellville, Ark.; La Vergne, Tenn.; and Warren County, Tenn.
"After many rounds of respectful negotiation, we were able to reach a mutually satisfactory tentative agreement that we believe benefits our teammates and our manufacturing facilities involved.
Ratification votes will be held in the coming weeks," the Bridgestone spokeswoman said in an email.
The Sumitomo pact covers its U.S. site in Buffalo, ownership of which transferred to Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. from Goodyear after the two firms dissolved their global alliance in September 2015.
According to the company's website, the site employs about 1,300 people, but a breakdown of unionized employees was not provided.
Sumitomo officials could not be reached for comment.
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