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Winning Global CamRetirees Fought Continental Tire onLarry Little did all he could to fight back when ContinentalTire North America dramatically slashed what it pays forretiree health care in the United States.A retired USW member from Charlotte, N.C., Little joineda union delegation that traveled to Europe last year to confrontthe German-based parent company and tell the retirees’ storyto anyone who would listen.They attended Continental shareholder meetings, handbilled Continental work sites and tire stores, met with unionshop stewards and gave media interviews whenever possible.Restoration demandedIt was all part of a global campaign launched by the USWto demand restoration of adequate retiree health care and a fairseverance package for laid-off workers.“It was a full-court press,’’ said John Sellers, former headof the union’s Rubber/Plastics Industry Council and a retiredUSW vice president who accompanied the retirees to Europe.In Hanover, Germany, Continental’s headquarters city,retirees told a panel of prominent residents how the dramaticrise in costs forced many to pay as much as three-fourthsof their pensions for health care coverage or to drop healthcare altogether.“My biggest fear is not being able to pay for an operation ifI have a heart attack and lose my health insurance,’’ said Little,who was forced into the hospital for quadruple bypass surgerythree months after his 2004 retirement.A lean man who thought he was fit until his heart troubles,Little worked at the now-closed Charlotte plant for 30 years,lifting hundreds of tires every day.“I will probably die from this heart condition,” he testified,“but I would like to die fighting for something rather thanfrom Continental’s greed.”Ineffective marketing strategyThe campaign challenged Continental’s world-wide strategyof shifting tire production to low-cost countries and criticized10 summer 2008 • USW@Work