Goodyear Target of Union Stike

December 17th, 2006

Lincoln, NE - Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is facing union members on stike at 150 or so of their retail stores to protest the company's use of replacement workers during the 2-month strike.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is facing union members on stike at 150 or so of their retail stores to protest the company's use of replacement workers during the 2-month strike.

"In the last bargaining agreement, the steelworkers made multiple concessions and they were promised that in this next go round, things would be significantly better," said Catherine Houston of Local 1304 of the Steelworkers Union.

The union claims the company is reducing health care benefits while sending more and more manufacturing jobs overseas.

Ed Markey, a spokesman for Goodyear in Akron, Ohio said the level of health care benefits must change for everyone's sake.

"Goodyear's contributions are capped and we are at that cap right now which means if we were to continue like this, the retirees would be responsible for the entire burden of the inflation of health care costs," he said.