What will it take to get the United Steelworkers (USW) back to the bargaining table with the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.?
In a letter recently posted on the USW's labor negotiation Web site from the union's bargaining committee, the USW tells Goodyear, "Be advised that the union is prepared to return to the bargaining table as soon as the company informs us that it is prepared to make a proposal that provides security to all Steelworker factories."
The USW also asks that if Goodyear uses a trust to provide retiree health care, that it "fund it with enough resources so that current employees can expect ro receive benefits consistent with the existing program when they retire."
These comments were made in response to a recent statement from Jim Allen, Goodyear's director, global labor relations, that Goodyear "remains ready to return to Cincinnati to continue bargaining toward a new labor agreement."
The USW has been on strike against Goodyear since Oct. 5, affecting some 15,000 USW members at 16 plants in North America.
Goodyear has announced plans to close its Tyler, Texas, facility and has said it wants to close two plants in North America.
The union says it has provided Goodyear "with numerous resonable alternatives" to closing the plants.
