Below is the text of that letter.
By now, there is likely no one in Akron who has not heard of – or been personally affected by – the United Steelworkers’ strike against Goodyear that began Oct. 5.
By now, you also likely have heard a variety of opinions on the strike.
Leaving opinion aside, Goodyear’s goals in this negotiation have been clear since bargaining began in June. We want a contract that is fair to our associates and allows us to be competitive and win with customers. We will not agree to a contract that puts us at a disadvantage versus our foreign-owned competition.
We believe our current proposal is fair – for Goodyear, for our union associates, for our retirees, for our manufacturing facilities and for your community.
Why do we believe our current proposal is fair? Because the offer:
• Protects our current employees’ wages. The current wage level of every active associate in every circumstance, including those on layoff for less than two years, will be maintained or improved under Goodyear’s proposal. Cost-of-living adjustments would be continued for all current associates.
• Protects employees’ benefits. Goodyear will continue to provide the same outstanding benefits. While healthcare premiums would increase slightly, active employees would still pay only between $5 and $18 per week, depending on the plan chosen. By any measure, this is a very reasonable price for a very generous package of benefits.
• Preserves employees’ pension benefits. The pension benefit of $55 per month per year of service would be continued for all current associates. Additionally, we have offered to restore full service credit to current associates for the previous two-year pension freeze.
• Protects our retirees and their benefits. We have proposed an independent trust that would ensure medical benefits for current and future retirees for decades to come. The trust would secure our retirees’ benefits and make them more affordable than the current plans would be. In an era of soaring healthcare costs, this is an innovative solution.
• Provides for investment in plants. We have committed to investing a minimum of $447 million in the North American plants covered by this agreement. The investment would be geared toward making our award-winning premium products here at home. We are the only tire and rubber company making such a significant investment in American jobs and manufacturing.
• Provides greater job security for Akron employees. We are offering full protection for Goodyear’s Tech Center Manufacturing facility in Akron. In addition to our investment commitment, we have committed to no layoffs and no plant closures during the three-year life of the contract.
(Editor’s Note: While unconfirmed, it appears similar statements were made regarding other Goodyear facilties.)
At this point, I would suppose many people may be asking themselves, “So why aren’t we closer to an agreement? Why has the strike carried on for almost seven weeks?” It seems as though our proposal is being resisted for two reasons: our plan to close our facility in Tyler, Texas, and the amount of money Goodyear has offered to initially contribute to the retiree medical trust.
I’d like to address the second issue first.
The proposed retiree trust would commit $660 million up front from Goodyear to secure retiree benefits. We are confident this amount could provide decades of benefits at a level above those provided in the current contract.
It would give retirees peace of mind, as these benefits will be more secure and more affordable than they would be under the current system and benefit plan.
If the union wishes to negotiate the details of the proposed trust, we would be happy to do that. However, because of market conditions, our position on the first point of resistance – closing the Tyler plant – cannot change.
Why? In June, we announced a decision to withdraw from the wholesale private label business because of the substantial losses in this segment. The intense pressure from low-cost imports, rising costs and decreasing demand for the types of tires that Tyler is equipped to make has made the situation worse.
Goodyear cannot continue in this business. Refusing to face this reality would mean less money available to modernize factories, bring more new high-value-added products into production at USW plants, fund pensions, provide retirement benefits and fund other programs needed to continue our turnaround.
Our proposals are clear and available for anyone to see on our Web site: www.goodyearnegotiations.com. We encourage our union associates to read it and determine for themselves whether this is an acceptable proposal. If it is, they should ask their local leaders to put it to a vote. If not, we are open to returning to the table for additional negotiations.
Ultimately, we believe our employees should be heard. And, as we continue making products and serving our customers, we want all of our striking employees to know they are welcome to return to their jobs under the terms of the previous agreement.
Through the strike, our focus is where it always is, on delivering great value to our customers. We continue to manufacture and ship products to our customers. Our procedures, systems and technology personnel ensure that every Goodyear product meets our quality standards. If we let our customers down during this strike, there will not be jobs to return to when it ends. Customers are the only ones who can guarantee any real job security.
We all want Goodyear to flourish as a strong competitor in North America and to provide jobs and great products in this community for generations to come. We just want a chance to do so on a level playing field.
