Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC and United Steelworkers of America (USWA) negotiators will return to the bargaining table on April 18.
Negotiators have been forced to vacate their rooms in St. Louis, Mo., due to the upcoming NCAA Final Four Basketball Tournament, say USWA officials.
"Following that, several key members of our negotiating committee will be unavailable due to the upcoming merger convention with PACE (the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Worker union.)"
The union plans to present a counter-proposal to BFNT when talks resume.
"We are pleased by the reports we have received concerning (members') huge attendance and enthusiasm at recent strike preparation meetings" at BFNT plants, USWA officials wrote in a recent edition of the union's Solidarity News bulletin.
"Please stand ready to take action should the company continue to push its agenda and ignore ours."
