No strike: Steelworkers reach tentative agreement with Goodyear
Steelworkers at Goodyear Tire and Rubber, including workers at the plant in Fayetteville, will not be going on strike after reaching a tentative agreement with the company, union representatives announced Saturday.
The tentative agreement will go back to union membership for ratification, Rodney Thompson, vice president of United Steel Workers Local 959, said Saturday about an 5 p.m.
"If 50% of the membership votes yes, it will be ratified," he said.
According to Thompson, the 6 p.m. deadline for an agreement no longer applies, allowing work to continue at the plant while union members prepare to vote on the ratification of the agreement.
"The tentative agreement is a four (4) year contract with general wage increases (GWI) plus the renewal of our COLA provisions in which all employees will receive the COLA increases," the United Steel Workers/Goodyear Negotiating Committee said in a news release.
The agreement also includes improved healthcare plans and 401K pension plans, according to the release.
More: On hold: Fayetteville Goodyear averts strike — at least for 24 hours
The next step in the process is for committee members to proofread the documents and prepare a summary for union members, the release said. After that, according to the release, the committee will share "dates, times and locations for information meetings and ratification votes".
The Fayetteville plant, located on Ramsey Street, employs about 2,000 workers, many of whom belong to the union.
Goodyear's contract with the union was previously set to expire at 6 p.m. Friday, but officials agreed to a 24-hour "rolling extension" to allow negotiations to continue.
More details on the agreement should follow in the coming days, the committee said.
Public safety reporter Lexi Solomon can be reached at ABSolomon@gannett.com.
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This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Steelworkers union reaches tentative agreement with Goodyear
