UniRoyal Struck As Talks In Ohio Come To Stop
4-21-67 [handwritten notation]
PICKETS formed this morning on Maple St. in front of the Central Office of UniRoyal’s footwear division. Everything was done in an orderly fashion and no incidents have been reported. Negotiations between the rubber firm and the union broke down shortly after midnight today.
—(News photo by Nichols)
By CYNTHIA BARAN
and
RUTH NICHOLS
United Rubber Workers Union members struck UniRoyal, Inc., and three other giant rubber firms across the country today as contract negotiations in Ohio came to a halt.
Approximately 65,000 workers for the rubber firms are out, including some 22,000 UniRoyal employes, about 5,000 of which are in Naugatuck.
A company official said today it had offered to continue the contract on a day-to-day basis but that the union declined.
Negotiations broke down shortly after midnight this morning, and a new session has not been scheduled as yet.
The situation in Naugatuck is very quiet with everyone apparently keeping an eye to the Ohio negotiation scenes.
Local police, which has added 10 extra patrolmen to duty, reported no incidents.
UniRoyal workers maintained an all-evening vigil while waiting for word from the negotiation table in Cincinnati, Ohio. At 12:30 a.m., George Froehlich, president of Local 45, got a phone call through to headquarters with one word: Strike!
Within minutes, picketing was organized and third shift workers were pouring out of the gates. Several workers interviewed said they hoped the strike would end soon.
John Braziel, a member of Local 45, said, “Although we don’t like to go on strike, it is sometimes necessary to settle contract disputes.”
When asked what they will do during the strike, many workers, hoping the strike will not be too long, said they would “do spring cleaning in the house and in the yard,” “relax,” “picket.”
The strike affects four major rubber companies, Firestone, Goodrich, Goodyear and UniRoyal. In Naugatuck, the chemical, footwear and synthetic divisions will lie idle until the strike is settled.
Headquarters at the Portuguese Club were occupied all evening. Phone calls were frequent. By 11:30 the phones were ringing incessantly. At 11:45 Froehlich called informing the other union officials that Firestone had left the negotiation table, but that UniRoyal was still bargaining. He indicated that “it did not look good.”
It appears that the strike was called after the management of the company offered its counter proposal which did not satisfy the workers’ representatives.
Earlier in the evening, local residents speculated on the possibilities of a strike. “I think they’ll go on strike and if they do it’ll be a long one.” A store clerk, “I want one so I won’t be so busy here, but then again, I don’t want one because my mother will be home to keep a stricter eye on me.” Customer at a local gas station, “A strike is bad for any town.”