Its engineers recently torched 4, 000 tires at once to test the sprinkler heads in a mock BFGoodrich warehouse.

FORBES: By the Numbers

There's been no talk of a strike, and it wasn't clear whether the union would use the talks as a pattern to set the stage for negotiations during the summer with tire makers Bridgestone-Firestone and Michelin-BFGoodrich.

WSJ: Goodyear, union begin contract talks for 6 plants