**Date:** 7-25-67
**Source:** Unknown
—
Uniroyal employes were re-
uting to work today in Nau-
gatuck and Beacon Falls after
two of three striking local unions
voted to ratify a three – year
contract ending the 14-week
walkout.
Resumption of full – scale pro-
duction is expected to be de-
layed since many workers are
on annual vacation. About one-
quarter of the workers have
volunteered to postpone their va-
cations and return to the job
immediately, the company said
today.
Local 218 , United Rubber
Workers of America, Chemical
Division, approved the contract
last night by voice vote. About
125 of the 725 members were
present at Naugatuck High
School. Vacations kept most
away.
Unanimous Vote
Local 45, Footwear Division,
voted unanimously Saturday
night to accept the contract.
The third local, 308, Synthetic
Division, will vote tonight. It is
expected to approve the con-
tract.
About eight men walked out
Sunday night before casting
their ballots and about five
were heard to vote “no.”
A local spokesman for Uni-
royal said the “new agreement
will cost approximately 80 cents
an hour and represents an aver-
age increase of more than 6
per cent a year for
three years” of the contract.
Wages alone, will show a 43-
cent hike over the period, he
said.
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When asked about this from
the floor Sunday, Rzesnick re-
plied: “That’s the way it’s been
for 20 years.”
One union member, who
walked out before the vote Sun-
day, said:
“I just spent 14 weeks (on
strike) for that contract, and
now they tell me I’ve got to
wait 45 days before we get the
benefits.”
In addition to the 80 per cent
guaranteed annual wage, one of
the significant gains appears to
have been in company-paid sur-
gical plan, which now has
unique and untried aspects.
Instead of the $450 maximum
for surgical operations, Rzesnik
reported, the company will
pay the entire bill as long as it’s a
“customary and reasonable
charge.”
Undoubtedly, the local presi-
dent told the membership,
“we’re going to have some
(court) test cases on this.” He
said he hoped to get the cooper-
ation of local doctors on this
clause regarding “customary
and reasonable” medical bills.
The union leader expressed
specific pride in improvement of
“time spent in grievance meet-
ings.” Also, he said the union
won pay for any time spent in
arbitration proceedings, “up to
40 hours.”
One other aspect of the con-
tract yet unreported was com-
plete medical coverage of wife
and dependants of a worker,
who dies on the job and who is
at least 55 years old with 15
years of company service.