The August 18 announcement came as a months-long scandal over defective Firestone tires deepened. By latest count, 62 deaths and 100 injuries have resulted from car crashes involving vehicles, mostly Ford Explorers, using Firestone tires.

The contract talks between the USWA and Bridgestone/Firestone bosses have dragged out for months, and the unionists have been working "day to day" under an extension of the last pacts.

Workers at six plants are covered under the "master agreement" that expired in April. Separate contracts at three other plants have also expired, and the union is seeking to win a new pact bringing together all nine plants.

In 1994-95 a hard-fought strike was lost by the United Rubber Workers (URW) at Firestone. The URW was merged into the USWA, as the unionists fought to get back into the plants with their union intact. For the most part, a new contract signed in December 1996 was on the bosses' terms.

Twelve-hour shifts and a drastic speedup were imposed as continuous operations were established. Unionists returning to the job following the strike faced harassment from floor supervisors. Rights to bid on jobs in the plant by seniority were stripped in the name of "flexibility." An extremely strict attendance policy was put in place.

Repetitive-motion injuries are common among rubber workers. Those who blend the rubber that is used to make tires are paid a misnamed "carbon-black bonus" of a few cents per hour. This amounts to a cynical recognition of health dangers workers face.

In June, Bridgestone/Firestone presented a proposal to union negotiators demanding the right to impose mandatory overtime, cuts in vacation time, forced holiday work, and further restrictions on seniority rights in job bidding.

The proposal would make workers pay health-care insurance premiums and allow the use of "temporary" workers.

"I'm not going to do mandatory overtime, that's a fact," said Ross Anderson, a young worker at the Bridgestone/Firestone agricultural tire plant here.

"That right there, alone, would be enough to strike over," added Jim McCarty, a tire inspector with 24 years on the job.

In July, workers at the Morrison, Tennessee, plant rejected a contract proposal by a vote of 589 to 14. The terms of that deal were similar to the June proposal. The Morrison plant was built some 10 years ago, and was not part of the 1994-95 strike.