Goodyear, Bridgestone, Sumitomo reach deal with US union

Akron, Ohio – The United Steelworkers union has reached tentative new five-year master labour contracts with Goodyear, Bridgestone Corp. and Sumitomo Rubber USA LLC.

A union spokesman confirmed via email that summaries of all three contracts are being prepared for the upcoming ratification meetings and from there the locals will schedule vote dates/times. He added that the process likely will take a couple of weeks.

Combined, the pacts cover more than 10,000 employees at 12 US facilities. Details of the new agreements were not released. The previous deals expired on 29 July at 12:01 am.

Goodyear said in a 29 July statement that its deal covers 7,000 workers at five sites – Akron, Ohio; Gadsden, Alabama.; Topeka, Kansas.; Danville, Virginia.; and Fayetteville, North Carolina.

"We believe we have crafted a new labour agreement that positions both Goodyear and the United Steelworkers for success in the future," Jim Allen, Goodyear's vice president of global labour relations, said in a statement.

A Bridgestone spokeswoman said its contract covers 3,000 employees at six sites – Akron, Ohio; Des Moines, Iowa; Bloomington, Illinois.; Russellville, Arkansas.; La Vergne, Tennessee.; and Warren County, Tennessee.

"After many rounds of respectful negotiation, we were able to reach a mutually satisfactory tentative agreement that we believe benefits our teammates and our manufacturing facilities involved. Ratification votes will be held in the coming weeks," the Bridgestone spokeswoman said in an email.

The Sumitomo pact covers its U.S. site in Buffalo, which transferred to Sumitomo from Goodyear after the two firms dissolved their alliance. According to the company's website, the site employs about 1,300 people, but a breakdown of unionized employees was not provided.

Sumitomo officials could not be reached for comment.