They join more than 19,000 USW members already working at Goodyear facilities in the United States and Canada.

"This is just the first of many victories we expect to have over the coming months," said Andrew "Lefty" Palm, USW Vice President and Chairman of the Goodyear Negotiating Committee. "The key is that we have set up a system to continue building relationships with workers in unorganized Goodyear facilities."

The workers, who produce tire molds for Goodyear, were organized through a neutrality agreement in the 2003 USW-Goodyear labor agreement. It says the Union will be recognized as the workers’ bargaining agent if a majority of workers sign USW authorization cards.

The neutrality agreement also provides Statesville workers with a guaranteed first contract without the risk of a work stoppage. Unresolved bargaining issues can be submitted to binding arbitration, if needed. Work will soon begin on negotiating a first contract.

"This is a great victory for the workers of Statesville and all of North Carolina," said USW District 9 Director Connie Entrekin. "We look forward to moving ahead the process and getting a high-quality first contract so the workers can have a real voice in their workplace."

Statesville becomes the first Goodyear production facility to organize with a Union in more than 30 years. The last was Fayetteville, NC in 1972. The United Rubber Workers union merged with the USW in 1995.

The USW represents more than 1.2 million active and retired workers in North America in a wide variety of occupations and vocations.