USW Members Ratify Contract with Bridgestone-Firestone

Contact: Randy Boulton, (515) 953-0783, rboulton@usw.org
   
PITTSBURGH (August 12) – Members of the United Steelworkers (USW) voted to ratify a new four-year contract with Bridgestone-Firestone covering 4,500 workers at six facilities.

The union and the tire company reached agreement in late July on a new collective bargaining agreement after several months of talks. Union members voted by a 2-to-1 margin to accept the new agreement.

“This contract represents a significant step forward,” said USW International Secretary-Treasurer Stan Johnson, who oversaw the talks for the union. “It provided for wage and pension improvements while protecting health care coverage. Substantial gains were also made for those hired in recent years, which was another goal set by the bargaining committees.” 

USW members wore shirts during negotiations that read “The Concession Stand is Closed” to highlight the fact that the membership was determined to make gains.

“We made sacrifices in the past when the company needed us to make them,” said Randy Boulton, Bridgestone-Firestone coordinator for the USW. “Now, with significant investments being made in the workers and in the plants, we’re looking forward to a prosperous future.”

The new agreement provides a signing bonus and general wage increases for all employees, as well as improvements to the wage tier and benefit systems for new hires, increased pension contributions and protection of retiree health care benefits.

The agreement covers workers at plants in Akron, Ohio; Des Moines, Iowa; Russellville, Ark.; LaVergne, Tenn.; Warren County, Tenn., and Bloomington, Ill.

The USW represents 850,000 members in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. It is the largest private-sector union in North America, representing workers in a range of industries including metals, mining, rubber, paper and forestry, oil refining, health care, security, hotels, and municipal governments and agencies.

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