**Date:** 7-10-67
**Source:** Unknown
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Local 45 (Footwear division), Local 216 (Chemical Division) and Local 308 (Synthetic Division), United Rubber Workers Union, issued a joint statement today to emphatically deny the rumors that the three locals were considering pulling out their respective policy committee members from the master contract negotiations with UniRoyal, Inc.
“At no time was any such action considered by any of the three locals executive boards or members,” Cy Blanchard, vice-president of Local 218, said this morning as spokesman for the three Locals. “All locals give their full support to their policy committee members in Cincinnati. We have the utmost confidence in the policy committees’ ability to reach an equitable and satisfactory settlement for all URW members.”
“There is no breach between the tire and non-tire workers of the UniRoyal policy committee section as they are solidified in their intent to reach a settlement with the company in the common interest of all the URW membership at heart,” Blanchard said.
Drawing up the statement were Blanchard, Raymond Mengacci, vice-president of Local 45, and Joseph Archacauskas, vice-president of Local 308.
When the strike was called, the company had stable inventories in many product lines which helped to cushion the impact of the strike sales. However, the impact on earnings is severe because necessary fixed costs in the striking plants continue without the production necessary to absorb them. As a consequence, net income in the second quarter will sharply lower than the $1.06 a common share in 1966.
The strike has closed 19 plants and idled 22,000 workers. These plants represent 50 per cent of the employes and over 70 per cent of the sales.
The letter states that four days of negotiations by the management with the union policy committee in Cincinnati, have given the utmost confidence in the policy committees’ ability to reach an equitable and satisfactory settlement for all URW members.
“There is no breach between the tire and non-tire workers or the UniRoyal policy committee section as they are solidified in their intent to reach a settlement with the company in the common interest of all the URW membership at heart,” Blanchard said.
AKRON, Ohio (UPI) — Negotiations were to resume today in the 80-day old rubber industry strike with a warning from a union official here that a walkout could spread.
John Nardella, president of Local 2, United Rubber Workers, said “a strong possibility” existed a strike deadline would be called in negotiations with the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
Other union sources indicated the deadline might be midnight Wednesday.
Nardella said Goodyear negotiators had indicated the company was ready to make a move on its offer, but had not yet done so.
Nardella gave a detailed report Sunday to the Local 2 membership on progress in contract negotiations. He said General had offered 43 cents an hour in wage increases over three years and an 80 per cent supplemental unemployment plan.
The other four firms have offered wage increases of 33 cents an hour to tire workers, 31 cents to non-tire workers and a 75 per cent unemployment plan.
The union policy committee “would initiate a new course of action” if no settlement was reached soon.
As of Friday, all contractual issues with Goodyear had been resolved except economic questions, including wages, pensions and vacations, Nardella said.
Work at Goodyear has continued on a day-to-day basis since April 20 when the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., U.S. Royal Inc., and the B. F. Goodrich Co. were struck. General Tire & Rubber was struck June 21.
A strike against Goodyear would idle some 21,000 men at 11 plants in addition to the 54,000 men already on strike across the nation.
The union has rejected as “inadequate” the latest offers from the five firms.