GOODYEAR Contract deadline looms today

The two sides remain far apart on job security and health benefits.
AKRON (AP) -- The Goodyear Tire & amp; Rubber Co. set a deadline of noon today for negotiators to reach a tentative agreement on a new contract after months of talks with the United Steelworkers of America.
The company's contract with the Steelworkers expired April 19 but has been extended.
The two sides confirmed they have reached agreements over some undisclosed issues in recent days. But they remain far apart on job security and health benefits for workers and retirees.
The company didn't say what it would do if the deadline wasn't met.
Goodyear could declare an impasse and implement its last offer, a move that could prompt a national strike.
Goodyear spokesman Chuck Sinclair said negotiators in Cincinnati were advised of the deadline on Wednesday.
The contract talks cover about 19,000 workers at 14 plants in Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Illinois, Alabama, Nebraska, Wisconsin, New York, Kansas, Texas and Tennessee.
"We need to run our business, and we have been holding off for some time, and we're not going to do that for very much longer," Sinclair said.
Union standing
Officials with the Steelworkers union declined to speculate on what Goodyear might announce if an agreement is not reached.
"The bargaining is continuing," union spokesman Wayne Ranick said. "We are prepared to keep working in the best attempts to reach a settlement that works for everyone."
The union told members in a newsletter that it intends to try to reach a settlement, up to a point. A settlement, the union said in the newsletter, "will require agreement on correct and acceptable contract terms, not threats from company leadership."
The company also has declined to provide guarantees of job security to the union, calling the demand unrealistic. The industry is suffering from worldwide overcapacity and weak demand. The company has talked about closing two or three U.S. plants.
The union has said several times it is prepared to strike if necessary. Some analysts say a strike would cost Goodyear between $3 million and $4 million a day.
Trimming loss
Goodyear has racked up losses in seven of the last 11 quarters. It posted losses of $1.3 billion in the last two years.
The company wants to trim as much as $1.5 billion in costs by 2005 to shore up its North American tire operations and to control costs so it can compete with foreign plants.