From Tire Review

Posted: Nov. 17, 2006, 9 a.m., EST

CINCINNATI -- While renewed negotiations with Goodyear have reportedly made little ground, the United Steelworkers continues to bang away at the tiremaker.

Even as master contract negotiations restarted Monday after a six-week break, the USW took the company to task for its positions and announced a “nationwide day of action” against the company and its products.

Goodyear and the USW continue to meet in Cincinnati, restarting talks that ended when the Steelworkers elected to strike at 16 Goodyear plants in North America on Oct. 5. Both sides reported no progress had been made.

On Nov. 14, the day talks restarted, the USW published a Solidarity Alert bulletin on its website, calling Goodyear’s plan to handle retiree healthcare costs “an immoral and unworkable solution to this issue.” Goodyear proposes establishing a healthcare trust for retirees, which will seeded by $660 million from the company and then funded by union worker contributions.