10/31/06-Tyler
From East Texas real estate to our children's resources, the economic impact of the Goodyear plant closure will be felt far and wide. Another hit will be felt by East Texas non-profit agencies.
Many of the 1100 employees at the Goodyear plant contribute generously to local charities. Now, those charities face a new realization. Those Goodyear employees, who've given millions over the years, may soon need their services. More >> 10/29/06-Tyler
About 1,100 workers at Tyler's Goodyear Tire and Rubber tire plant are facing unemployment. That's after the Akron, Ohio-based company's announcement today that it plans to close the Tyler plant.
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Some viewers have written KLTV 7 asking 'why did union workers go on strike, if Goodyear was already planning to close the Tyler plant?'
We posed that question to the union Tuesday.
"It was just an announcement that it was closing. You can make an announcement now and withdraw it and change your mind so we're going to stick it out," says Goodyear employee Charles Fields holding a union sign.
"We had no other choice because they said they were going to close it down and we're just trying to prove that it's not necessary," says retired Goodyear employee Gerald Masters.
"If Goodyear was doing this announcement for the Gadsden, Alabama plant we would stay on strike here until they back away from it. That is unity and that's what a union is about," says local union president Jim Wansley.
Wansley says the union was anticipating Goodyear's decision and if they didn't stand up to Goodyear back in 2003, it would have shut the Tyler plant down then.
Christine Nelson reporting. cnelson@kltv.com
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