Locked out Cooper Tire workers 'sticking together' in seventh week | Business

By Lou Wilin  - Findlay Courier Staff Writer

FINDLAY, OH (THE COURIER) - Nearly seven weeks after they were locked out, many unionized Cooper Tire & Rubber workers still are resolute about rejecting what the company called its last and best contract offer.

Union workers' vote to reject the contract proposal led the company to lock them out on Nov. 28.

Workers said Thursday they wish they could be back at their jobs, but they are sticking to their collective bargaining guns.

"I think everybody at the union realizes that we're all in this together," said 17-year employee Garry Lambert. "I think the employee morale is as good as could be expected under the circumstances."

It is critical that union workers keep perspective in their tough times, said 14-year employee Jay Wischmeyer, of Columbus Grove.

"Obviously, nobody wants to be locked out. We all wanted to work ... Everybody has to look at the big picture. There's a lot of issues over there. Job security is a big one, and I know they said we had to take pay cuts to keep our job security, but I don't know how far you can cut people's wages before enough is enough," Wischmeyer said. "We took concessions last time" in 2008, when the union approved a three-year contract.

Then, profitable years followed for Cooper. When top executives got double-digit pay increases in the year following the union concessions, it raised eyebrows. When Cooper then sought further concessions last fall, it raised workers' ire. When workers were locked out after rejecting the company proposal, they said it felt like a betrayal.

"It's crazy, sad," Lambert said.

The company has said it would put itself at risk if it met the union's demands. Tariffs on Chinese-made tires will end this fall, making many tires eligible for import to the U.S. at 25 percent less cost than currently, said Cooper Tire North America Operations President Chris Ostrander.

So the deadlock continues. Management and labor representatives have not talked in Findlay in a month. Union workers are getting by with unemployment compensation instead of paychecks.

They gather daily at the union hall to talk and eat. Some food is donated, some prepared by workers' families.

"The community support's been outstanding," Lambert said. "Just the acknowledgement of where we're at, how we stand and the whole situation of what's going on."

On Thursday, representatives of Hancock County United Way flanked a display at the union hall about the Hancock County 211 phone system, which connects callers to health and human services programs. By dialing 211 or 800-650-HELP, people can obtain food through the Salvation Army or Chopin Hall, for example.

"For the most part, guys are sticking steady," said 25-year Cooper Tire employee Mike Clinger, of Findlay.

It's tough, he said, because negotiations have not occurred in a month and no date has been set to resume talks.

"So everybody's in the dark, but guys are sticking together," he said.

Beyond the anger it spurred, the lockout had a unifying effect the company probably had not intended. It led to reunions among some of the 1,050 workers who had not seen each other in several years, since Cooper started employing people in 12-hour shifts on alternate days.

"I had a lot of good friends I hadn't seen in a long time, and that kind of helped morale to see all of your buddies again," 33-year employee Mark Brumbaugh said. "But other than that, everybody's struggling. There's no doubt about it. Trying to make the best of what we got."

They may be approaching a crossroad.

Cooper Tire's contract with unionized workers in Texarkana, Ark., expires in a week, and Cooper has said it wanted to avoid having work stoppages at both plants at the same time. Contract negotiations are under way there.

"We're going to probably know a lot more then. If they go (on strike in Texarkana), we've got a lot more bargaining power then. If they sign a contract, (Cooper leaders) might be hanging us out to dry. We don't know what we're going to end up with," Brumbaugh said. "Trying to keep everybody's head up right now, because we'll know a lot more next week."

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