
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, January 19, 1995                   TAG: 9501190075
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder Newspapers
DATELINE: AKRON, OHIO                                  LENGTH: Medium

BRIDGESTONE/FIRESTONE POISED TO QUASH RUBBER WORKERS' STRIKE

After six months on the picket lines, after watching most of its workers get replaced and a quarter of its strikers give up, the United Rubber Workers finally went back to the bargaining table Wednesday with a proposal for returning to work.

It was the union's first meeting with Bridgestone/Firestone in six months.

Company negotiators ``will take the [union's] proposal and say `Thank you' and put it in the briefcase and go back to Nashville [headquarters],'' said one insider before the session.

Bridgestone/Firestone is in a position of strength. The struck plants are back to full production. It has hired 2,300 replacements and accepted back more than 900 strikers. It has imposed its last offer as its operating contract.

The union, on the other hand, has to make a move. The Akron-based union wants to create an opening that will lead to more talks. The union's goal is to save the jobs of the 3,000 members still on strike and to get all 4,000 members who initially walked to work under a negotiated contract.

There was no discussion of what was contained in the union's proposal and how closely it resembled the company's stance, unfaltering since March.

At that time, the URW asked Bridgestone/Firestone to follow the pattern set by an agreement worked out with Goodyear. Bridgestone/Firestone said ``no way.''

David Meyer, a labor expert at the University of Akron, says the best the union can hope for is to return to work under the company's terms.

Sources say the union's proposal addresses key demands made by the company, particularly the tire maker's request for continuous operations and for workers to pay part of their health benefits. Other demands by the company are widespread work rule changes and pay raises tied to productivity.

A close observer, however, said the union's proposals aren't likely to represent enough movement to satisfy the company, which wants total capitulation to its final contract offer.

``There's not enough pressure on the company to get off their position,'' the observer said. ``Sure it's nice to have President Clinton and the labor secretary involved, but they can't really do anything.''

Both Clinton and Labor Secretary Robert Reich criticized the subsidiary of Japan's Bridgestone Corp. for replacing strikers in Noblesville, Ind.; Decatur, Ill.; Des Moines, Iowa; and Oklahoma City, Okla. The company's move, though controversial, is legal.

Moreover, observers say, Bridgestone/Firestone could create more headaches for itself by changing its position at the bargaining table.

by CNB