08/21/03
By GINA HANNAH
Times Business Writer ginah@htimes.com
Goodyear Tire Co.'s Huntsville plant will close, leaving 1,250 workers without jobs, under a tentative agreement reached by the tiremaker and the United Steelworkers union, the local union's spokesman said this morning.
The three-year contract agreement reached Wednesday night, which covers some 16,000 employees at 14 Goodyear plants, still must be ratified by the union, said Kevin Johnsen, spokesman for USW Local 915. He was unsure when a vote would take place, but said it could happen next week.
If the contract is approved, the Huntsville plant would likely be closed by the end of the year, Johnsen said.
Union negotiators declined to say whether the tentative agreement addresses the union's three major concerns: job security for workers at all 14 unionized U.S. plants, health and retirement benefits, and a further restructuring of Goodyear's debt to make the company stronger.
If the tentative agreement fails, the union could call a strike, Johnsen said.
"Everything is subject to the normal ratification process. Any number of things could happen," he said.
Goodyear spokesman Chuck Sinclair would not confirm the Huntsville plant was slated to be closed.
"Goodyear has made no such announcement," Sinclair said. "As has been our policy, any issues related to negotiation topics, I couldn't discuss."
The company has said it wants to close at least two plants to slash costs and become profitable again, after losing $1.3 billion during the past two years.
Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear acquired the Huntsville plant in 1999 when it bought Dunlop's tire business in North America and Europe from Japan's Sumitomo Rubber Industries for $1 billion.
The tentative agreement follows nearly five days of around-the-clock bargaining between company and union negotiators. Talks began in March and broke off in June before restarting last week.
"We've said all along we need an agreement that provides us financial flexibility and the capability to support our turnaround plans, and this agreement does it," Sinclair said. The company declined to say what the next steps of its turnaround plan would look like.
The plants covered by the contract, other than Hunts-ville, are located in Gadsden; Akron, Marysville and St. Mary's, Ohio; Union City, Tenn.; Topeka, Kan.; Dan-ville, Va.; Lincoln, Neb.; Sun Prairie, Wis.; Buffalo, N.Y.; Fayetteville, N.C.; Freeport, Ill.; and Tyler, Texas.
Johnsen said many employees at Goodyear's Huntsville plant have already started looking for work.
Steve Smith, who has worked for the plant for more than 20 years, said he's got his commercial driver's license and is hoping to find a new job, depending on what kind of retirement and medical severance package he gets from Goodyear. "I'm looking at options," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
