Employees at Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. pass new contract

12/9/2008
BLADE STAFF

FINDLAY - Members of United Steelworkers Local 207L passed by more than two-to-one a new contract at Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. that includes wage cuts for most workers and a temporary freeze on pension accruals.

Unionized employees at the plant ratified the three-year pact Monday by a vote of 648 to 264. It replaces an agreement that expired Oct. 31 and comes amid deliberations by corporate officials over which of four North American plants to close.

Cooper Tire, which is based in Findlay, is the nation’s second-largest tire-maker. Jack Hamilton, manager of the firm’s Findlay factory, earlier predicted that the new pact would "position the plant in a competitive manner."