Firestone, Union Continue Talks; 8,400 Workers Ready to Strike

Union negotiators and Bridgestone/Firestone continued talks Saturday night as more than 8,400 workers at nine tire plants remained poised to go on strike.

The negotiators have been meeting since the union indefinitely postponed a strike deadline Friday night. A company spokeswoman said late Saturday that the tone of the talks was constructive.

“If it were going backward or stalled, we would be on strike,” United Steelworkers of America spokesman John Duray said Saturday night.

The strike postponement was welcome news to Nashville-based Bridgestone/Firestone Inc., which has increased its production after recalling 6.5 million tires under investigation in 88 U.S. deaths. The federal government also issued a Labor Day weekend warning that 1.4 million more tires might have problems.

The company has said a strike would have minimal effect on production.