The Tennessean (Nashville, Tennessee), August 16, 2007, Thursday

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The Tennessean (Nashville, Tennessee)

August 16, 2007 Thursday

ONLINE Edition

SECTION: BUSINESS

HEADLINE: Incentive pay is key Bridgestone labor issue

BYLINE: JANELL ROSS {dcidc}Janell Ross can be reached at 726-5982 or jross1@tennessean.com

BODY:

Staff Writer

Workers at Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC's plant in La Vergne are facing what could be a difficult choice.

When they vote Aug. 23, they can ratify the last part of a labor agreement that company officials say would grant tire makers the ability to earn 20 percent more than they do now and guarantee that at least 90 percent of the entire factory's work force has a job for the next two years.

Or, they can reject a plan the union says would require tire makers already engaged in physically demanding work to work harder and faster, only to possibly see jobs reduced or the plant close in two years when the contract expires.

"For certain people, the issue of protecting your job for two years is significant and meaningful," said Lee Adler, who teaches labor law at Cornell University's Industrial and Labor Relations School.

"For other people, they feel it's better to take the risk and start to looking now," he said. "Really, predicaments like the one happening in this plant are on the rise for both U.S. manufacturers and U.S. workers, everywhere, in all sorts of industries."

{}New quotas

Under the terms of the plan, Bridgestone would establish new daily production quotas for tire makers producing passenger, truck and bus tires in La Vergne, company spokesman Dan MacDonald said.

Base pay would remain the same, but tire makers who exceed daily production quotas would be paid a bonus, MacDonald said. Workers could earn up to 20 percent more than they do today, he said. Tire makers currently earn $13 to $25.48 an hour, depending on tenure.

"We see this as an opportunity for our team members and our company" MacDonald said. "If teammates take the proper steps to improve productivity there is every reason in the world for the company to invest in this plant and keep it open.

"If they don't, the company has serious reason to think differently," he said.

Garry Manning, president of United Steelworkers Local 1055L, said union leaders worry that tying pay to production will drive tire makers to work too hard and too fast.

MacDonald said, "Safety is absolutely central to what we do. There is no reason to believe that just because productivity and efficiency increase that safety has to suffer."

{}Vote questioned

The union also is consulting its attorney on the legality of a factory-wide vote on a provision that affects only tire makers. Only 312 of the plant's 1,195 hourly workers are tire makers, MacDonald said. Manning said the union is contesting the company's position that the plant's roughly 60 non-union laborers should be allowed to vote on the agreement under Tennessee law.

Manning said another concern is that Bridgestone still may close or cut the number of jobs at the plant after the contract expires in July 2009.

The threat of job losses and worker knowledge of market pressures can give many a strong impetus to accept an incentive-pay program that treats some workers differently than others, said Adler, the labor law professor. In this way, production incentives can undermine union solidarity.

LaVergne workers historically have rejected incentive-pay proposals, Manning said. "I am not expecting this time to be any different. We have a strong membership."

{dcidc}Janell Ross can be reached at 726-5982 or jross1@tennessean.com