As John Tuohy's recent article shows ("300 to lose jobs when Bridgestone Firestone shuts Noblesville plant in '09," June 30), the tire company has little respect for the rights of its workers.

The Firestone Industrial Products representative even explicitly says that part of the reason for closing the plant is because it is its only unionized factory. Farther down Firestone's supply chain, it has operated a rubber plantation in Liberia for 82 years where there is child labor, widespread abuse of workers' rights and environmental destruction. The Liberian workers have finally won a democratic and independent union after long years of struggle, but the company's anti-worker policies around the world should raise serious concerns. Readers and consumers should let Firestone know that they expect more from the world's largest tire company.

Timothy Newman



Washington, D.C.