BEACON FALLS

7/12/67 [handwritten date in top right corner]

Rubber Strike Holds On Despite End-Soon Rumors

The 13-week-old rubber-industry strike is continuing, despite rumors that a settlement is imminent.

No new developments have been reported in negotiations between the two strikebound tire companies, Uniroyal and Goodyear, and the United Rubbers Workers (URW).

Uniroyal has plants at Beacon Falls and Naugatuck.

Agreements have been reached within the past eight days with Firestone, Goodrich and General Tire & Rubber Co. The strike, longest in rubber-industry history, has idled up to 76,000 workers across the nation.

Peter Bommarito, URW president, went yesterday to Cincinnati, where the talks are being conducted, to participate in the negotiations, with Goodyear and Uniroyal. Talks were scheduled to resume today.

What issue or issues prevented a settlement by the end of the week could not be learned.

Eleven URW locals in nine states began preparations for voting next week on a new three-year contract with the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co.

URW and company negotiators reached tentative agreement on a new pact Thursday night that calls for hourly increases of 43 cents over the period.

The Firestone agreement closely parallels settlements reached earlier with B. F. Goodrich and General Tire & Rubber Co.

All 1000 Firestone production workers will receive immediate 15-cents-an-hour raises, followed by another 15-cent raise next year and 13 cents the third year.

A Union Goal Met

Tire workers averaged $3.68 an hour under the old contract while non-tire workers averaged $.68. The 43-cent raise applies to both tire workers and non-tire workers, which was a major union goal.

A union spokesman said the contract also contains a “big step” toward a guaranteed annual wage in the form of an unemployment supplemental benefit plan giving laid-off workers 80 per cent of their regular pay.

Union and company officials said work would resume at the Firestone plants immediately after the contract was ratified.