Goodyear workers ratify new contract after contentious negotiations

Akron, OH – United Steelworkers members have ratified a new contract with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., securing a multiyear agreement covering roughly 2,600 workers at plants in Ohio, Kansas and Virginia.

The agreement, approved by union members Sunday, runs through April 28, 2029, according to the United Steelworkers. The contract follows months of negotiations over wages, benefits, job security and other workplace protections.

Union officials said the agreement preserves key economic protections while providing additional compensation and benefits for workers.

“This agreement provides additional security for earnings without sacrificing COLA or abandoning our health care,” United Steelworkers International Vice President Emil Ramirez, who chaired the negotiations, said in a statement.

The contract includes lump-sum payments, enhanced severance provisions and a new Income Security Benefit, according to the union. Workers also retained cost-of-living adjustments and health care provisions that union leaders said had been targeted for reductions during negotiations.

The union said Goodyear had proposed eliminating profit sharing and reducing vacation, overtime and premium pay. Those changes were not included in the final agreement.

The contract covers Goodyear facilities in Akron, Topeka and Danville. A fourth facility in Fayetteville, North Carolina, is not part of the continuing production footprint. Goodyear announced in July that it planned to permanently close the Fayetteville plant as part of a broader effort to reduce production capacity and costs, a move expected to eliminate about 1,750 jobs.

The new agreement comes as Goodyear restructures its U.S. manufacturing operations. The company said the Fayetteville closure and related measures are expected to improve its Americas segment operating income by about $270 million annually beginning in 2028.

USW represents workers in a range of industries, including rubber and tire manufacturing. The union’s Goodyear master agreement covers issues including wages and cost-of-living adjustments, vacation, health care, retirement, safety and new-hire progression.

The ratification gives workers covered by the agreement a new contract after the previous master agreement expired July 30.

The agreement is separate from contracts negotiated by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Teamsters represent workers at some Goodyear-related operations, including certain Goodyear Commercial Tire & Service Centers, but the 2026 national Goodyear manufacturing agreement was negotiated by USW.