Union to Educate Customers about Illegal Lockout at Tire Kingdom, Other Retailers

PITTSBURGH, Feb. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that on Sat., Feb. 25, 2012, thousands of union members and supporters throughout the country will be distributing information about Cooper Tire's (NYSE: CTB) unfair and illegal lockout of 1,050 Findlay, Ohio, workers at over 100 Tire Kingdom and other retail tire stores and service centers throughout the country.

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The union is seeking to educate potential customers about the lockout and to ask store owners and managers to sign onto a letter asking Cooper CEO Roy Armes and North American President Chris Ostrander to end the lockout and return to the bargaining table to negotiate with the USW in good faith for a fair contract.

Store actions will take place nationwide and the union is focusing on the Tire Kingdom chain because it is a major seller of Cooper tires, though the union also plans to visit other stores. For example, participants in the Journey for Justice, a joint project of the USW and Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM), will be educating customers at National Tire and Battery, a Tire Kingdom subsidiary, in Chicago as the 1,000-mile road trip to call attention to employer lockouts continues its six-day track from American Crystal Sugar's home in Fargo, N.D., to Cooper's corporate headquarters in Findlay.

The USW represents about 850,000 working men and women in the United States and Canada in a wide variety of industries, ranging from glass making to mining, paper, steel, tire and rubber and other manufacturing environments to the public sector, service and health care industries.

ATTN: Editors, Assignment Desks – Photo Opportunity, Literature (hand-outs), Interviews
NOTE: - Contact tmontana@usw.org (or via telephone below) for specific actions in your area.

Who: USW members and supporters
What: National Day of Action to support locked-out Cooper Tire workers in Findlay, Ohio
When: Saturday, Feb., 25, 2012 – Times will vary by location.
Where: Over 100 Tire Kingdom, Big O, Merchant and other stores nationwide, including:
Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Akron, Warren and Findlay, Ohio; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Portland, Maine; Buffalo, N.Y.; Chicago; Merrillville and Indianapolis, Ind.; Birmingham, Ala.; Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre, Penn.; Oklahoma City, Oak.; Dallas and Houston, Texas; and Baton Rouge, La.

More information, contact: Tony Montana, USW – 412-562-2592

SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)

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