July 22: What a Deal!
RESPONSE: Amazing how two groups of people working for the same company are treated differently.
Goodyear Tire Co. is one example. Yes, you may have read in the paper about the vote the local union took July 18. The whole story was not told.
In 2006, Goodyear played Tyler against Gadsden, Ala., and Fayetteville, N.C., city, county and state governments. Goodyear asked for tax abatements, using the threat of shutting down one of these plants.
The United Steelworkers Union negotiated a deal with Goodyear agreeing Tyler would not be shut down until the Valleyfield, Canada, plant was shut down. Therefore they had to continue mixing rubber in Valleyfield and ship to Nappanee.
The Tyler plant has been sold to an investment group that bought the Huntsville, Ala., Dunlop plant when it closed. Goodyear had purchased Dunlop Tire Co. They want to take possession quickly. Therefore, Goodyear must reach an agreement with the United Steelworkers Local 746 in order to shut the plant down.
About June 6, 2008, Goodyear issued the Warren Act, giving Tyler employees 60 days notice of a permanent layoff effective Aug. 6 to Aug. 19. At this time there would be only 44 hourly and 16 salary workers left. This means about 100 hourly workers would lose their jobs. The benefit package they were to receive was $750 a week for 40 weeks plus 80 percent of their pay for different time periods based on the number of years of service. Some could be as long as four years. This is a supplemental unemployment benefit package negotiated by the union.
Goodyear knowing their need to get the plant shut down in order to close the sale of the plant they must negotiate with the union. They offered to pay each hourly worker $3,000 for each year of service, plus the $750 a week and 80 percent of their pay originally agreed. You do the math if you are getting permanently laid off, would you vote for the additional $3,000 for each year of service. The ones being laid off in August outnumber the ones that were to remain.
Involve the salaried employees. What is their compensation package? Very small in comparison. They also have a supplemental unemployment benefit package. As severance package they will draw 80 percent of their salary for a period of time based on the years of service. Goodyear will double this package if they will sign a waiver to not file a lawsuit.
But listen to this, an hourly worker with 10 years of service will receive $30,000 plus the other above mentioned benefits. A salaried worker with well over 30 years of service will receive less than $30,000 total severance package.
Goodyear is desperate to get this property off the tax rolls. Therefore, they had to compensate the union. But as they tell the salaried employees, you do not have representation.
R.R. Jones
B.D. Smith
Tyler
The Tyler plant has been sold to an investment group that bought the Huntsville, Ala., Dunlop plant when it closed. Goodyear had purchased Dunlop Tire Co. They want to take possession quickly. Therefore, Goodyear must reach an agreement with the United Steelworkers Local 746 in order to shut the plant down.
About June 6, 2008, Goodyear issued the Warren Act, giving Tyler employees 60 days notice of a permanent layoff effective Aug. 6 to Aug. 19. At this time there would be only 44 hourly and 16 salary workers left. This means about 100 hourly workers would lose their jobs. The benefit package they were to receive was $750 a week for 40 weeks plus 80 percent of their pay for different time periods based on the number of years of service. Some could be as long as four years. This is a supplemental unemployment benefit package negotiated by the union.
Goodyear knowing their need to get the plant shut down in order to close the sale of the plant they must negotiate with the union. They offered to pay each hourly worker $3,000 for each year of service, plus the $750 a week and 80 percent of their pay originally agreed. You do the math if you are getting permanently laid off, would you vote for the additional $3,000 for each year of service. The ones being laid off in August outnumber the ones that were to remain.
Involve the salaried employees. What is their compensation package? Very small in comparison. They also have a supplemental unemployment benefit package. As severance package they will draw 80 percent of their salary for a period of time based on the years of service. Goodyear will double this package if they will sign a waiver to not file a lawsuit.
But listen to this, an hourly worker with 10 years of service will receive $30,000 plus the other above mentioned benefits. A salaried worker with well over 30 years of service will receive less than $30,000 total severance package.
Goodyear is desperate to get this property off the tax rolls. Therefore, they had to compensate the union. But as they tell the salaried employees, you do not have representation.
R.R. Jones
B.D. Smith
Tyler
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