USW reaches 4-year agreement with Veyance Technologies

Contact: R.J. Hufnagel, 412-562-2450, rhufnagel@usw.org

(PITTSBURGH) – After three months of negotiations, the United Steelworkers (USW) union has reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract with Veyance Technologies, Inc.

The settlement, which covers workers at four U.S. facilities, comes just a few days after members voted to authorize a strike against the Fairlawn, Ohio-based maker of auto parts and rubber engineered products. Members will vote to ratify the contract after informational meetings are held.

The contract covers more than 1,000 Veyance employees in Lincoln, Neb.; Marysville and St. Marys, Ohio; and Sun Prairie, Wis. Veyance is a spin-off of Goodyear’s Engineered Products division.

“We were committed to maintaining good, family-supporting jobs for our hard-working members, while also making sure Veyance can remain a strong player in a highly competitive global marketplace,” said Emil Ramirez, USW bargaining coordinator.

The new contract provides wage increases and improves job security provisions, while strengthening retirement and other benefits. If approved, it will run through July 2016.

“Both sides worked very hard to reach a fair agreement,” said USW International Vice President Tom Conway, who oversaw the talks for the union. “We are pleased to have a settlement that ensures economic stability for both our members and for the company.”

The USW represents about 850,000 workers in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean in a wide variety of industries, ranging from glassmaking to mining, paper, steel, tire and rubber to the public sector, service and health care industries.

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