Goodyear Union Notified Of Another Layoff

Tyler Morning Telegraph, July 23, 2008

Workers at Tyler's Goodyear plant were notified on Tuesday of another
impending layoff.

Harold Sweat, president of United Steelworkers Local 746L, said the
layoff will occur Sept. 22-Oct. 6 and include about 70 people.

Goodyear referred to the layoffs as "permanent separation."

The company issued a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification
(WARN) Act notice of the layoffs, and the notice also contained a phrase
saying the plant "will be permanently closed," Sweat said.

"After many months of thorough review, Goodyear has decided to close the
entire Tyler plant," Sweat read from the notice.

This will leave the plant with about 25 to 30 people, he said.

The union and the company have agreed that some workers will stay on for
a longer period of time after this layoff. Sweat said the ones remaining
will work through a phase of the plant's closure. He said the company
has not provided the union with a list of jobs they will perform.

Tuesday's announcement was the second such WARN act notice received by
the plant in less than two months.

On June 6, Goodyear notified the union that about 110 people would be
laid off in August. Sweat said that layoff has been set for Aug. 8. He
said workers and their spouses will attend meetings in the plant on
Thursday to get details about benefits and compensation packages.

Workers released in this layoff, the just-announced September-October
layoff and an ultimate plant closure will be covered by the compensation
package in the Goodyear proposal that the union ratified on Friday.

Sweat said 94 percent of the members voting cast their vote for
ratification.

The master union contract stipulated the plant be kept open until the
contract expires, in July 2009, but the union's ratification of the
company's proposal gave Goodyear the right to close it early.

Efforts to reach the company on Tuesday were unsuccessful.

During the last contract negotiations between the company and the USW,
the union struggled to keep the Tyler plant open, and the three-year
master contract guaranteed the Tyler plant would be kept open through
Dec. 31, 2007.

The company, however, ceased tire production there, reduced the plant's
employee base by several hundred people and retained the plant as a
rubber-mixing operation.

Amy Brei, Goodyear manager of manufacturing communications, last week
said that a date for plant closure had not been set.

She said the company was seeking to close the plant early because of a
decrease in the requirement for rubber mixed in Tyler. Goodyear stock
closed up $1.49 to settle at $20.02 on Tuesday.

Workers at Goodyear Ratify Contract to Close Plant Early

CBS19.tv, July 18, 2008

UNION MEMBERS VOTE TODAY TO RATIFY THEIR CONTRACT WITH GOODYEAR SO THE TIRE GIANT CAN SHUT DOWN TYLER'S PLANT EARLIER THAN EXPECTED.

CBS 19'S MICHELE REESE JOINS US WITH THE RESULTS.

DURING THREE DIFFERENT VOTING MEETINGS TODAY... UNION MEMBERS VOTED TO ACCEPT GOODYEAR'S PROPOSAL TO SHUT THE PLANT DOWN EARLY......

WORKERS WE SPOKE WITH ....SAY WHILE IT WAS A TOUGH DECISION...GOODYEAR MADE A DEAL THAT WAS TOUGH TO PASS UP.

AT 7 O'CLOCK THIS MORNING...

"Its a real sad feeling."

WORKERS LIKE KEITH GOODMAN...FILED IN TO THE LOCAL STEELWORKERS UNION HALL TO VOTE TO CLOSE A PLANT..SO MANY FOUGHT SO HARD TO SAVE...

"Spending so many years in a place and to go out is a disappointing feeling."

"It's hard for me to let go.."

MARCUS HOWARD SAYS WHILE IT'S DIFFICULT CHECKING YES ON THE BALLOT...

AFTER HEARING GOODYEAR'S DEAL... IT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE TO SAY NO...

"It was sweet. Can't turn that down.It would be stupid to vote no."

MOST OTHER WORKERS AGREED..

"They say here and told us they were gonna close it down so I voted yes if we voted no we might come up empty handed."

"It was a real good deal.. Some people benefited better than others but we got all in all with the unions help negotiating everybody got a real good package out of it."

THE DEAL INCLUDES A PAYMENT FOR EACH YEAR OF SERVICE TO THE PLANT...

....AND WILL BE PAID IN A LUMP SUM.

"They had to buy us off and they did a good job..they opened up their checkbook."

"Probably the best way to get out of here so people can get on with their lives.."

SO AS UNION MEMBERS SAY "Goodbye to Goodyear.."

TYLER'S DREAMS OF KEEPING THE TIRE PLANT OPEN ARE DEFLATED...FOR GOOD.

WHEN THE PLANT WILL CLOSE FOR GOOD IS STILL UP THE AIR..

UNION PRESIDENT HAROLD SWEAT SAYS TODAYS VOTE GIVES GOODYEAR THE CHANCE TO CLOSE THE PLANT AS EARLY AS TOMORROW IF THEY WANT..

BUT GOODYEAR HAS STILL NOT GIVEN AN OFFICIAL CLOSURE DATE..

 

GOODYEAR-DUNLOP TO MAKE 402 JOB CUTS IN AMIENS

Les Echos, July 16, 2008

The management of US tyre manufacturer Goodyear-Dunlop has confirmed plans to axe 402 jobs at its plant in Amiens, France after trade union CGT exercised its right to oppose an agreement on the planned restructuring of working time at the factory.

Chairman and CEO Olivier Rousseau said CGT's rejection of the agreement, which was signed by only two unions, left the management with no choice but to reduce the site's output by 38 per cent. The job cuts will become effective in September.

Goodyear Employees Will Vote Friday on Proposal for Early Plant Closure

Tyler Paper, July 15, 2008

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. may close its Tyler plant prior to the expiration of the master union contract, thus releasing about 60 remaining employees early, if the local union membership votes to ratify an agreement for closure.Amy Brei, Goodyear manager of manufacturing communications, said the company seeks to close the plant because of a lack of demand for rubber.“The reason is there is decreased demand from our North American tire plants, which is where the rubber in our Tyler plant went, so the additional mixing capacity is no longer needed,” Ms. Brei said.Harold Sweat, United Steelworkers Local 746L president, said employees on each shift will vote Friday on the proposal when their shift is over.

“We will probably know (the vote results) as soon as that last meeting’s over, and I will have to contact our union staff representative and make him aware of the vote outcome,” Sweat said.

The union president said he did not want to comment on the proposal’s compensation package until he meets with the membership.

“Goodyear made an offer to the union to close the plant early, and the details of that agreement will be presented to the membership on Friday,” Sweat said. “They will vote on it, and if they accept it, the company will have the right to close the plant early.”

Ms. Brei said she was not made aware of the proposed compensation terms, and the company has a policy of not providing that type of information.All Goodyear tire plants have mixing capability. The Tyler plant and a plant in Valleyfield, Quebec, supply additional mixing capability, she said. Ms. Brei said the company does not have plans to close the Valleyfield facility.

The United Steelworkers’ master contract, which expires in July 2009, requires the company to shut down its Valleyfield, Quebec, plant before it closes the Tyler plant, but Ms. Brei said USW Local 746L ratification of the closure would remove that provision.

The closing would impact approximately 60 positions, which is in addition to a previously announced reduction of 110 positions that was to take effect in August.
Goodyear, in a statement, referred to the Tyler operation as a “rubber-mixing facility,” which it has been since January.

During the last contract negotiations between the company and the USW, the union struggled to keep the Tyler plant open, and the three-year master contract guaranteed the Tyler plant would be kept open through Dec. 31, 2007.

The company, however, ceased tire production there, reduced the plant’s employee base by several hundred people and retained the plant as a rubber-mixing operation.

Ms. Brei said the company has not decided if it will retain or sell the land and buildings, on Texas Highway 31 West, if the mixing operation is closed.

“There are no plans yet, one way or the other, for this facility,” she said.

Message from Sindicato de Trabajadores n°1 Goodyear de Chile

estimados compañeros:
 
es un honor recibir noticias globales de lo que pasa con los trabajadores de la compañia goodyear, en este lejano pais que es chile.
 
los trabajadores de goodyear en chile, hemos sido favorecidos con una inversion cercana a los 400 millones de dolares para dotar la planta con tecnologia de punta lo cual dara una alta estabilidad a los trabajadores que puedan adaptarse a estos cambios tecnologicos, pero a aquellos que no puedan adaptarse ( trabajadores antiguos)tendremos que buscarle una salida digna por todo el esfuerzo desplegado durante sus años de  sacrificio, como siempre lo ha hecho este historico sindicato que tiene a su haber 61 años de vida.
 
fuerza a los trabajadores franceses y que decidan lo mejor para ellos y sus familias, estamos con uds. para lo que estimen pertinente.
 
saludos
 
sindicato de trabajadores n°1 goodyear de chile

UNIONS DIVIDED OVER SHIFT PLAN AT FRENCH GOODYEAR SITE

Les Echos, July 9, 2008

At the French Amiens site of US tyre manufacturer Goodyear, the deadline set by management for unions to sign an agreement regarding a planned 4x8 shift pattern passed yesterday without the green light from the two main unions at the site, SUD and CGT. This gives rise to the risk of an escalation in the tense mood at the site, where management has been forced to suspend production since the week-end owing to violent incidents. The blockade by striking workers continued yesterday in spite of a court injunction ordering that it be lifted.

According to a bailiff's report submitted by unions, the vote on June 27, at which a 73-per-cent vote was obtained in favour of the new shift working plan, was beset by irregularities. This is expected to aggravate the rift between, on one hand, the unions CFE-CGC and CFTC, which gave their seal of approval to the plan, and, on the other, CGT, Force Ouvriere and SUD. While CGT, the main union at the site, has announced its intention to exercise its right to oppose, CFTC has said that there is no alternative, and that the 4x8 shift pattern would be preferable to job losses.

 

 

EMPLOYEES AT AMIENS VOTE FOR CHANGE IN SHIFT ROTATIONS

Le Figaro, June 28, 2008

Employees at the Goodyear-Dunlop site in Amiens, France, have voted in favour of a new, '4x8' shift pattern. Managers had announced that if the plans for the new rotation were rejected, they would cut 402 jobs and reduce investment in the site.

In an earlier vote a few weeks ago, staff had rejected the 4x8 pattern. The CGT union, which called on its members to boycott the vote, says that the majority of employees are against the change.