After nearly two weeks of semi-confusion over the status of union contracts at its plants, nothing has really cleared up with Titan Tire.
All that is known for sure right now is that all three Titan U.S. plants are open and operating even though union workers at two of the plants rejected the tiremaker’s contract offer.
Union workers were locked out of the three plans on Dec. 19 after contract talks failed to result in a new pact. Still, union officials at the three plants put the contract proposal up for a vote, which was held Dec. 23. Without even waiting for the result of the votes to be announced, Titan reopened the plans as of Dec. 26.
According to a statement issued by Titan on Dec. 27, workers at Titan’s Des Moines, Iowa, plant ratified the new contract – termed as the company’s “last and best contract proposal” – on Dec. 23.
“Tire production started at all three factories on Sunday night, Dec. 26, 2010,” the statement said. “The Des Moines factory has a new contract. The other factories, even though they did not ratify the contract, will be working under the best and final offer.”
As part of the statement, Titan chairman and CEO Morry Taylor stated: “It is hard for anyone to accept change, but it is especially hard for a unionized workforce that for years believed they were entitled to various things. I appreciate the views the unions have, but at the end of the day, it was time to stop talking and move on. The new contract pays some of the highest wages and benefits in their respective areas and Titan expects top performance from its employees in production, quality and service. We are confident these new contracts will bring the tire group up to profit levels it should have.”
According to local media reports, the new contract would freeze wages at $22.04 per hour for two years with workers picking up three-quarters of the cost for health insurance, and vacations being reduced by two weeks. Union workers complained that the new contract was a step backward.
The question now is what happens with Titan’s plants in Bryan, Ohio, and Freeport, Ill., both of which rejected Titan’s contract offer. Workers returned to both plants on Dec. 27, but there are reports that the USW International is investigating the situation in light of Titan’s claim of an impasse and its imposition of its contract terms.
