Goodyear, strikers reach tentative contract accord

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and a union representing about 12,600 active U.S. workers tentatively agreed to a contract that would end an 11-week strike over healthcare benefits and Goodyear’s plan to close a tire factory in Texas.

The deal would allow Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear to stick with its plan to close the plant in Tyler, Texas, but not immediately. It provides for a one-year transition period during which workers could take retirement buyouts. The plant employs 1,100.

The previous three-year labor agreement expired July 22. Members of the United Steelworkers union are scheduled to vote at ratification meetings Thursday.

The union said it had agreed to a company-financed trust of more than $1 billion that would secure medical and prescription drug benefits for current and future retirees.