With just 15 minutes to spare, negotiators from Yokohama Tire Corp. and United Steel Workers Local 1023 reached a tentative agreement Friday night for a new four-year labor contract for the company’s manufacturing plant in Salem, Va.
Steve Jones, president of Local 1023, said the previous four-year contract was due to expire at midnight Friday. If the contract had expired, the union could have agreed to extend negotiations or taken more drastic action, he said.
The plant has approximately 750 active members. Local 1023 will host meetings next week to introduce the tentative agreement and update members on the negotiations, said Jones.