Raymond Mengacci

Uniroyal Official Says 81-Day Strike Having Severe Impact On Earnings

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Uniroyal Official Says 81-Day Strike Having Severe Impact On Earnings

8-10-63 [handwritten]

NAUGATUCK —The chairman and president of Uniroyal, Inc. reported in a letter to stockholders this weekend that the impact of the 81-day strike on earnings and income is severe.

George R. Vila, chairman and president, said that the “impact on earnings is severe because fixed costs in the striking plants continue without the production necessary to absorb them. As a consequence, net income for the second quarter will be sharply lower than the $1.06 a common share in 1966.”

Raymond Mengacci, executive vice president of Local 45 UIW, said today that he had read the letter and was not surprised at its content.

He said that the letter was almost the same as forwarded to the striking employes of the Footwear Division in May. He also said that it contained the original offer made by the company to URW and to his knowledge the offer has not been changed since then. Many of the strikers are also share holders of Uniroyal under a co-operative stock plan.

The 19 plants idle due to the strike represent about 50 per cent of the employes and over 70 per cent of sales in the United States, Vila said.

“When the strike was called, the company had sizeable inventories in many product lines which helped to cushion the impact on sales,” he explained.

Negotiations with the union started March 21 with initial union demands for wage increases and employee benefits of more than $1.40 per hour for a two-year period, exclusive of pensions and insurance, Vila told the stockholders.

“Several days before the strike deadline of April 20, the company offered a proposal on wages and benefits which totalled 28 cents per hour for a two-year period,” he said. The company estimated that a new pension and insurance agreement to be negotiated in September would add between 20 and 25 cents per hour. The total increased cost would be about 50 cents per hour over a two-year period. The union rejected the offer prior to the deadline.

The company proposed that the employes continue to work while negotiations proceeded. However, this was also rejected.

The company offered on June 5 a three-year contract covering 12 principal points. It totals approximately 72 cents per hour including pensions and insurance, the chairman said.

“It involves increases of 10.5 per cent for the first year, 2.2 per cent the second and 2.2 per cent the third year. This offer has also been rejected by the union,” he said.

Contract Proposals

Specific proposals include the following: wages — in tire plants, an increase of 16 cents per hour in 1967, 11 cents in 1968 and 11 in 1969. In non-tire plants, an increase of 13 cents, followed by two yearly increases of 9 cents.

Skilled trades — 10 cent increases in addition to the above increases, in 1967; vacation pay — two weeks pay for employes with one year of seniority and three weeks vacation pay for five years. The present provision of four weeks pay after 15 years and five weeks after 25 years would continue.

There would also be supplemental unemployment benefits increased from 65 per cent of average pay (plus up to $2 for up to four dependents, with a maximum payment of $50) to 75 per cent of average pay with no maximums for all employes on regular layoff, plus other provisions. The company contributions to the supplemental unemployment fund would be increased from five cents to six cents per hour when the fund falls below 100 per cent. The fund increased from $250 to $350 per employe.

A 60 per cent increase in regular pensions from $3.25 to $5.25 per month per year of service was included. A 60 per cent increase in disability pensions from $6.50 to $10.50 per month per year of service, and an increase of $1.50 per month per year of service for living pensioners who were retired after July 1, 1950.

Other increases included those affecting life insurance, hospitalization, X-ray and radium therapy, visiting nurse, surgical payments and sickness and accident benefits.

Union Warns Strike May Spread

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 the 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 union policy committee “would initiate a new course of action” if no settlement was reached soon.

Work at Goodyear has continued on a day to day basis since April 20 when the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., Uniroyal 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.

Uniroyal Strike Talks Reopen In 53rd Day

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Uniroyal Strike Talks Reopen In 53rd Day

6-13-67

NAUGATUCK— Bargaining sessions between the United Rubber Workers and five major rubber producers, including Uniroyal, reopened Monday in Ohio as a strike against three of the companies entered its 53rd day.

Although negotiators for the URW and Uniroyal management could either not be contacted or refused to comment Monday night, reliable sources pointed to the progress made during the past week and held out hope that a settlement might be reached before another week passes.

Although union members in the borough have expected that pensions would be discussed in September offers from the rubber companies, including Uniroyal, have lately included the pension and fringe benefit items.

Management sources have indicated a reluctance to face the cost of wage increases with the possible threat of a second strike in September over pension items.

While the latest word from Uniroyal was that wage increases in its offer were 38 cents for tire workers and 31 for non-tire workers it was learned that General Tire had boosted its wage increases to 40 cents for tire workers.

General Tire, however, has only 3,000 workers in two tire plants. In addition, General Tire is said to have boosted its supplemental unemployment benefits to 80 per cent, and offered a provision for six weeks of vacation for employes with over 30 years service.

It could not be determined Monday night whether Uniroyal had made a similar offer.

Reliable sources have called General Tire and Goodyear, who are both working on a day-to-day basis, pattern companies.

According to the sources, a settlement between the URW and these companies is expected to set a pattern for settlement with Uniroyal, B. F. Goodrich and Firestone, the struck companies.

During the past two weeks, all companies have been talking a three-year pact with the union, and some union sources have indicated a feeling that the final settlement would be for three years.

Local 45 Vice President Raymond Mengacci, in a statement to local newspapers Monday, said that although he didn’t want to enter a debate with Footwear Plant manager John Smith, he felt compelled to answer a letter sent to employes last week by the company.

Mengacci noted that both the company and the union committees “were having a hard enough time in Cincinnati, Ohio, to negotiate an agreement in Naugatuck,” without doing it through the newspapers.

Mengacci said when the union negotiating committee left for Cincinnati it was for the sole purpose of making a sincere effort to negotiate a contract and wage agreement with Uniroyal before the April 20 deadline. Negotiations began in Cincinnati March 21, and “it wasn’t until April 12 that the company made its first and final offer to the union on contract and wages, eight days before the deadline.

“This,” Mengacci stated, “has never happened in the history of my experiences on the negotiating committee or that of Pres. George Froehlich, that the first offer was also the last. No one can call this negotiating. This has never been done before. It wasn’t until a few days later that the union found out that this was being done in all of the Big Four rubber companies, not just Uniroyal. The union also found out these companies had made a mutual pact designed to protect any struck company against financial losses.

“We in the union were always led to believe these companies were in competition with one another, but found it is not so. They have a much better union than we have.”

Plant Manager Smith, in his letter, said the company had made an effort to open the pension and insurance agreement. “This, Mengacci said, “was correct, but the union informed the company this agreement does not terminate until Sept. 15, 1967, and the union was in no position to negotiate this agreement as it had not been discussed with their membership to determine what changes were wanted. Also they had made no preparation on pension and insurance to discuss this question intelligently with the company.

“Mr. Smith stated the union did not present to the company their full proposal until 11 a.m. April 19, just 37 hours before the strike deadline. This is correct, but why? The union felt if they received from the company the correct interpretation of the clauses in the working agreement now, and the way they were intended to be interpreted, at least in the union’s viewpoint, before there was a change in the head negotiator for the company, they would not have to make any changes.

“The union found out the company’s new head negotiator was not given the same interpretation. Therefore, the union came in with some new proposals as the union would not be able to live with some of the interpretations that were given to the new head negotiator, under Article 9, working conditions.

“These conditions are important to our members especially those working in the making and stitching departments. Production in many cases has increased by 25 to 30 per cent in the last few years, with the same amount of operators and in many cases less.

“Many of the employes can verify their weekly earnings are less now even though they have received two wage increases in the past few years. They cannot make anywhere near the efficiency they were making a few years ago and this is the reason the union had to make some late proposals to the company. If the company wanted to make a sincere effort to reach an agreement, they still had plenty of time to do so.”

Mengacci asserted the union does not believe the non-tire plants are putting the company in a “severe economic squeeze,” if they grant the same wage increases as the tire companies.” He noted wages increase of 41.6 per cent have been given to George R. Vila, president of Uniroyal, and 36.6 per cent to Walter D. Baldwin, vice president. “The union is not saying these men do not deserve the increase, but if the company wants to talk percentages, then talk percentages from top to bottom,” the Union official said.

“We are happy the company has seen fit to increase the vacation allowance for employes with one to five years of seniority, but what about the employe with 10 or more years of seniority.”

The union official also said that, although the company had improved some of the contract clauses, the union questions why the company would not give a letter of commitment, “which would not cost a penny to treat union members with decency and respect. If management expects our members to treat them with decency and respect, then we expect the same treatment. A written commitment would have gone a long way in reaching a settlement.”

No comments were made on the pension and insurance pact offered by the company. Mengacci said it had to be studied before a statement was made. However, he said he “was happy to see the company is negotiating with the union, even though it took from April 12 to June 5 to make their latest offer. The union rejection was a take-it-all or reject-it-all offer, which the union could not live with.

“I can assure Mr. Smith that George Froehlich and the rest of the union’s committee of Local 45 will do everything in their power to bring this dispute to a settlement as fast as possible,” Mengacci concluded.

Reuther Calls Rubber Offer “Miserly”

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Reuther Calls Rubber Offer "Miserly"

Reuther Calls Rubber Offer “Miserly”

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AKRON, Ohio (UPI)—The head of the United Auto Workers Union said Friday a wage offer to striking United Rubber Workers (URW) by major tire producers was “miserly.”

Walter Reuther, who has taken up the cause of the striking rubber workers by pumping more than $1 million into the URW’s strike fund, said a wage increase offer of 43 cents per hour by the “big five” tire producers was “miserable, inadequate and unacceptable.”

The 43-cent wage offer, which would boost the hourly pay of rubber workers to $4.11, was made by General Tire & Rubber Co., which was struck last week.

The 10-week-old walkout, longest in industry history, has idled 54,000 workers across the nation.

General also offered an 80 per cent supplemental unemployment payment plan.

Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., B. F. Goodrich, UniRoyal Inc., and Goodyear have offered to raise hourly pay by 40 cents, plus 75 per cent supplemental payments.

Goodyear, where work is continuing on a day-to-day basis, was the only one of the “big five” still operating. Firestone, Goodrich and UniRoyal were struck April 20.

No progress was reported in negotiations Friday.

Talks between bargainers for Goodyear and UniRoyal and the union were recessed until Wednesday while Goodrich and Firestone were to meet with union representatives again today.

Besides the wage issue, talks have deadlocked over union demands that the wage differential between tire and non-tire workers be eliminated.

Average pay for non-tire workers under the old contract was $2.69 per hour, 99-cents less than tire workers earned.

While talks continued, the 54,000 strikers were faced with an increasing financial burden.

The URW’s depleted strike fund can now pay only $15 per week to many of the union members in strike benefits. Union officials said the auto worker’s loan would only enable the union to continue benefit payments at that level, not increase them.

County welfare officials report many of the striking rubber workers have joined the welfare rolls, with more being added every day.

Few of the strikers have been able to find temporary jobs in an area dominated by the rubber industry.

Rumors yesterday in downtown Naugatuck to the effect that the strike had ended once again raised the hopes of many families feeling the pinch of the 71-day old United Rubber Workers strike against UniRoyal.

The fact that the company had asked permission of Local 45 to allow oilers to work in the plant, added to the knowledge that George Froehlich, president of Local 45 and Joseph Rzeszutek, president of Local 218, were returning to the borough for the long holiday weekend, was like adding fuel to the fire.

A second story circulating the borough yesterday sent many strikers to the Unemployment

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Reuther Calls Rubber
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Office in Waterbury seeking compensation.

Gov. John Dempsey signed into law yesterday a more liberal compensation act; however, the portion of that bill covering strikers receiving compensation was stricken from the bill before it was passed in the General Assembly.

Local 45 had not come to a decision yesterday as to whether it would permit oilers to work in the plant but, according to Vice President Raymond Mengacci, it would be discussed further today. He was unavailable for comment this morning.