Cooper employees head to work

[struggle4progress]

By AARON BRAND
Texarkana Gazette

Workers at Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.'s Texarkana plant began heading back to work Monday morning, leaving the picket lines in favor of the production lines. <snip>

Mike Penney, spokesman for the United Steelworkers Local 752L, said the union was able to win some changes between Cooper's previous contract offer and the one accepted Sunday.

Those changes included less time for new employees to reach 100 percent of a job's pay, a reduction in the out-of-pocket health insurance payment, contract language and individual department changes.

Another compromise was with job bidding, giving the right to the union to identify premium jobs, said Penney. <snip>

http://www.texarkanagazette.com/articles/2005/04/12/local_news/news/news02.txt