Cooper Tire gets 2 new labour deals under its belt

ERJ staff report (TB)

Findlay, Ohio - Fleet truck drivers in Findlay, represented by Teamsters Local 20, have ratified a new three-year contract with Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., while United Steelworkers (USW) members at the company's plant in Clarksdale, Miss., also adopted a new labor pact.

Cooper said voting on the new contract covering fleet truck drivers in Findlay occurred last weekend, with final approval received on Feb. 18.

That pact was the second contract ratification within the week. Findlay-based Cooper said a new four-year labor agreement covering United Steelworkers (USW) Local 556L members at its Clarksdale factory “overwhelmingly” approving a new contract on Feb. 16.

In regard to the Teamsters contract, Douglas Lyon, Cooper's manager of fleet operations, said “this group of drivers continually works hard to operate safely and abide by all federal and state regulations, and at the same time control costs as much as they can. They have continued to put the company first and work very hard to maintain a safe and efficient record.”

Meanwhile, Cooper and USW Local 207L remain at an impasse in their contract negotiations at Cooper's Findlay tyre plant. The company locked out some 1,050 workers there in November after the union voted down Cooper's “last, best and final” contract proposal.

From Tire Business (A Crain publication)