ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, July 3, 1996 TAG: 9607030074
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
Leaders of the steelworkers union vowed to continue pressing for a consumer boycott of products by Bridgestone-Firestone Inc. as long as contract terms and labor practices remain in dispute.
The United Steelworkers of America stepped up its campaign against the Firestone tire maker this week by urging buyers of new Saturn vehicles to request another brand of tires.
Union spokeswoman Debbie Fowler said she did not know of any such activities planned by Roanoke Valley steelworkers at the region's only Saturn dealer in Salem.
George Becker, the union's president, said he hoped to persuade Bridgestone-Firestone to return to the bargaining table.
He said union members will stand outside Saturn dealers and urge customers to take advantage of the willingness by General Motors Corp.'s Saturn division to replace Firestone tires with another brand on request. Bridgestone-Firestone is Saturn's exclusive supplier for tires.
``For our part, we will keep up the lawful economic pressure on this ugly corporate citizen until all our workers are back on the job with a decent contract and back pay,'' Becker said.
The National Labor Relations Board has scheduled an October hearing in Pittsburgh to consider several union complaints, including a request for back pay and benefits for workers who the union said were fired illegally during a 10-month strike.
The steelworkers union, which absorbed the former United Rubber Workers a year ago Monday, represents the Bridgestone-Firestone workers, who ended a strike last year without reaching a contract agreement.
Saturn officials, seeking to avoid engaging publicly in the labor dispute, said the company's willingness to replace the tires does not represent a departure from past practice.
``Because Saturn is dedicated to building and maintaining customer enthusiasm, our retailers respond to customer needs on a case-by-case basis,'' Vice President Joe Kennedy said in a statement.
Trevor Hoskins, a spokesman for Bridgestone-Firestone, disputed the union's characterization that Saturn has taken the steelworkers' side. He said his company was continuing to supply Saturn with tires that ``have been designed to allow the car to operate with optimum performance.''
About 4,000 Bridgestone-Firestone workers at five U.S. plants walked off the job in July 1994, saying the company was inflexible in contract negotiations.
The company, which said it needed major changes in work rules affecting deployment of workers, hired replacements and in January 1995 said the replacements would stay on permanently.
Bridgestone-Firestone, a unit of Japan's Bridgestone Corp., has its U.S. headquarters in Nashville, Tenn.
Staff writer Jeff Sturgeon contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 58 linesby CNB