Goodyear Pausing Production at Fayetteville Plant

Goodyear will stop production at its Fayetteville, US factory between December 24 and January 2, reports the Fayetteville Observer. According to the newspaper, the week and a half pause was officially announced on 5th December, although it hardly came as a surprise. We’ve known it was coming,” the paper quotes Daryl Jackson, president of United Steelworkers Local 959, as saying.

As employees are paid for the Christmas Day and New Year’s Day holidays during that time, they won’t be off work long enough to qualify for unemployment claims, Jackson added. During previous production halts, workers have been able to collect unemployment. Any money held in the “sub-pay” trust fund contracted between Goodyear and the USW will be made available.

According to Jackson, union members are, in general, relieved that Goodyear didn’t opt for a longer halt than this. The situation facing Detroit’s ‘Big Three’ is weighing on people’s minds, he said. “It’s like I told the membership – with the Big Three in the shape that they’re in, we’re fortunate that we’re 99.9 per cent in the replacement market.”

The Fayetteville factory had already halted production for a total of four weeks during 2008; the Goodyear said these stoppages took place to bring inventory in line with demand.