Negotiations on Goodyear union contract nearing deadline

With the contract between Goodyear and the United Steelworkers of America union set to expire Saturday, union members were issued what is called a Solidarity Alert Tuesday from the union  warning members to “prepare for the financial struggle that may lie ahead.”  The union advised members that if they felt the need to apply for a 401K loan, that should be done before the contract expires at 11 p.m. Saturday.  The contract with Goodyear covers 8,000 workers at plants in Gadsden; Akron, Ohio; Buffalo, N.Y.; Danville, Va.; Fayetteville, N.C. and Topeka, Kan.  The union said that “little progress” had been made on the issues of wages, vacation time, health-care costs, pension issues and grandfathering of employees in some categories.  Contract talks are continuing in Cincinnati.  The company issued a statement stating that the companys  goal in the negotiations is to achieve a contract that improves its competitive position by addressing issues related to productivity and flexibility improvements in its factories, as well as pension and health-care benefits costs.The Negotiations began in April  And union  officials say they have a long way to go on a number of major issues, both economic and non-economic, saying we're going to continue negotiating and hopefully reach a fair agreement.”