Buying Union! How to be sure you're buying USW-made tires.

The U.S. Department of Transportation requires that all tires sold in the United States carry a code which shows, among other things, the company and plant that made the tire. The code would look like this:

DOT BE XX XXX XXX

The two symbols (either two letters or a letter and a number) which follow “DOT” indicate the company and the plant where a tire was manufactured. For example, the above code indicates a tire made by B. F. Goodrich in Tuscaloosa, AL. The following is a listing of U.S. unionized tire plants and their DOT codes. By comparing this list to the code on the tire you are buying, you can be certain you are getting a USW-made tire.

In addition to company brands, these codes will also appear on “Associate Brand” and “Private Brand” tires manufactured at the above plants. The key, then, to being sure of getting a USW-made tire is the DOT code. Be sure and check it with this listing.