Goodyear wants $7 pay cuts fewer extras etc heard this before?

[Omaha Steve]

Full story: http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/business/15063068.htm




Posted on Tue, Jul. 18, 2006

USW says it, Goodyear have huge gap to bridge
Contract ends Saturday but wage and benefit cuts, closings on table
By Jim Mackinnon
Beacon Journal business writer

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is seeking dramatic changes in wages, job classification and benefits for thousands of union workers to save millions of dollars in North America, the United Steelworkers of America says.

The Akron tire maker and the USW are negotiating a new contract in Cincinnati, with the current three-year agreement expiring Saturday.

The two sides remain far apart, the union said Monday. In its latest Web site posting, the union said Goodyear is asking, among other things, for a contract that could slash wages by more than 40 percent for thousands of workers. The union has called Goodyear's proposal a ``cut and gut'' agenda.

Goodyear declined to comment on the Steelworkers' statements beyond referring to a communication sent out Friday to employees from Jon Rich, president of its North America Tire division.

The company needs a lower cost structure in North America; it needs the highest productivity in the world; and Goodyear needs to change future legacy liabilities for pensions and health care that are uncompetitive and unpredictable, Rich wrote.

Despite the distance between the Akron tire maker and union, it is likely that the two sides will agree to extend the current contract on a day-to-day basis, the union said. That announcement could come as soon as today, and would give each side the right to give several days notice to terminate the contract. The Steelworkers' locals have already taken strike authorization votes.

There have been no significant agreements on contractual issues since negotiations with Goodyear began last month, the USW said.

[havocmom]

1. And Cheney wonders why Americans aren't saving money

:eyes:

People are going into hock to put gas in the car to get to jobs where they are getting pay cuts.

Hello feudal system.