Holiday Greetings From The Grinch Of The Year- GOODYEAR

[Jcrowley]

APRI Names Goodyear as

"Grinch" of the Year!



“Tis the season to be jolly, with the exception of our brothers and sisters who are in a struggle for justice at Goodyear”, says Clayola Brown, President of the A. Philip Randolph Institute. 

HERE ARE THE FACTS:

 More than 15,000 United Steelworkers members have been on strike at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company since October 5.  Workers from 15 facilities across the United States and Canada walked off the job to protest unfair contract proposals made by the company.  Twelve of the facilities are in the U.S. and are covered under a master contract.  Three Canadian facilities have separate contracts but also walked off the job in solidarity.  Goodyear workers vow to hold out “one day longer” than the company to obtain a fair and equitable contract that provides reasonable job security and for a fair deal on retiree health care.

By forcing this labor dispute, Goodyear is attempting to wash its hands of its health care obligation to current and future retirees.  This is unprecedented.  Retired workers at Goodyear, many of whom face illnesses and medical conditions directly related to their jobs, would soon be left without health care insurance coverage if Goodyear has its way.  If the company gets away with this, it will be bad news for all union workers struggling to maintain a decent standard of living for retirees.

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is the worlds largest tire company.  The company manufactures rubber tires for automobiles, trucks, buses, aviation, motorcycle, farm implements, earthmoving equipment, industrial equipment, and various other applications, as well as belts and hoses and rubber track for agricultural and construction equipment.  Goodyear is a multi-national corporation with more than 90 facilities in 28 countries.  It has marketing operations in almost every country around the world and Goodyear employs about 80,000 people worldwide.  Approximately half of the  Company’s $20 Billion in annual revenue is derived from the North American market where the Company employs 32,000 people. The 20 Billion in revenue sets a record in sales for Goodyear, a 7% increase from the previous year…”now tell me why is it so hard for the workers to share in that success”, says Brown. 

HOW CAN WE HELP?

The APRI is making an appeal to all workers and activist to support the USW members at Goodyear in this fight until Goodyear provides workers with security through investment at plants in North America, and keeps its promise to provide for workers after retirement by maintaining decent health care benefits for retirees and their spouse.  The issues in this strike are universal for all union workers.  Ultimately, the outcome of USW v. Goodyear will have an impact on every worker, both in the US and abroad.  The sheer size of this dispute means that the whole world is watching.  We ask all APRI members to join USW members in holding Goodyear accountable to its workers.  When Goodyear workers win, communities win.  Please visit Goodyear Grinch for a listing of the phone numbers and contact persons in the cities where actions will be held.

http://www.apri.org/

[Lucky Luciano]

1. I have been watching GoodYear's credit trade

for the last couple months - the people insuring their bonds have made their insurance cheaper of late, suggesting that the company may be winning this labor battle. That said, the bonds are definitely still considered high yield (a nice name for junk). One would need to pay 2.8% per year to insure the bonds - it was much more expensive to do so not too long ago - around 4% per year. So, they are a bit of a distressed name in the credit world, but they should do a better job with their workers. Healthcare is a must. Period.

[Indiana_Dem]

2. Some union members were standing outside the

Goodyear place yesterday with signs. There were 3 of them. It was a wonderful site. I commend their activism and bravery in standing up for their rights. I used to work in a hog slaughtering factory in a union for 6 years and my dh for 23 years. I saw the company close and then reopen non-union and hire immigrants for half the wages and benefits we were getting. There were plenty of good local workers there before the plant closed but when the plant re-opened, they wouldn't re-hire the locals with the experience...at least the ones who would still work their for the lower wages and benefits.

Reagan busted the unions and their power in the 80s. Then Clinton passed NAFTA and GATT without laws for working conditions/wages or enviromental concerns in the other countries. I don't see how things will ever turn around with these two variables seemingly immovable at this time.

[hfojvt]

3. slightly different facts here

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/nov2006/good-n21.shtml

One of the plants is in nearby Topeka and I remember our candidate supporting the strikers. Another plant is in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin close to where I once lived.

Also, in spite of its sales increases, it's profits have not been good
http://www.aftermarketnews.com/default.aspx?type=art&id=79691

This site says the CEO's salary was $7 million last year and that the Union made concessions in 2003.
http://blog.aflcio.org/2006/11/29/goodyear-workers-keep-heat-on-tire-maker/

Also, I read on one of those sites that Goodyear is the 3rd largest tire company, behind Goodrich and Firestone.