Despite numerous reports that both sides were headed to a meeting with a federal mediator next week, it appears now that there will be no further negotiations between Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. and locked out USW workers at the tiremaker’s Findlay, Ohio, plant.
After both sides clearly stated that they would return to the bargaining table after the holidays and that a session with the mediator had been scheduled for Jan. 12, that supposed meeting was suddenly called off yesterday, with the tiremaker claiming that no such meeting was even scheduled.
The two sides have not met since Dec. 13. Cooper locked out the 1,050 USW workers at the plant on Nov. 28, and shortly thereafter began ferrying in an estimated 500 replacement workers, many of who were formerly employed at its now closed Albany, Ga., tire plant.
USW Local 207 president Rodney Nelson told local Findlay media that Cooper had backed out of the “planned” Jan. 12 meeting without giving a reason. A Cooper spokesperson, meanwhile, told WTOL-TV in Toledo that, “We did not cancel any negotiation sessions for the 12th or any day next week.” Still, no talks are scheduled between the two sides.
Meanwhile, Cooper reportedly has until Jan. 11 to challenge unemployment payments being made to the locked out workers. Those payments began between Christmas and New Year’s Day, and the tiremaker could challenge the legitimacy of those payments because the union workers are not on strike or were not laid off.
Some reports said that if Cooper is successful in a challenge, the workers could be forced to repay the state for the unemployment support.
The USW has reportedly angered USW Local 207 members by offering only $100 gift cards to help the locked out workers buy groceries, despite having a strike fund totaling $150 million, according to reports. Some USW Local 207 members are complaining bitterly, according to reports. “We’ve paid union dues all these years and what do we get – a gift card!” one worker told media. “You can’t use that to pay for electricity or rent.”
“The local union says we have to go back to the USW International to ask for more assistance,” another worker said. “We shouldn’t have to ask for anything. We’ve been paying into the union forever. You can’t imagine how many billions the USW must be sitting on in their banks.”
The one thing Cooper officials said they wanted to avoid was having the contract with the USW in Findlay overlap with the one it has with workers at its Texarkana, Ark., plant. That Texarkana contract reportedly expires on Jan. 20.
