Woodland mill strike averted with new vote

Over 130 union workers at the Woodland Pulp mill will not be going on strike after all, following a vote to accept a new offer made by the company. The mill's United Steelworkers (USW) Local 27 had previously voted to authorize a strike when an agreement could not be reached over a wage increase to reflect the higher cost of living caused by inflation.
On December 20 and 21 union members voted overwhelmingly to accept the company's latest offer, which includes a one-time payment of approximately $4,000 to the union workers, with about 90% of the 134 members voting.
Mike Higgins, USW labor representative, says members of the union had met with company representatives on Thursday, December 15, to further negotiate a new three-year contract, following the strike vote on December 5 and 6. "We had told our members that if the company came back and made a significant offer that we would bring it back for a vote." He adds, "We felt the amount was significant enough to take back to the membership."
Higgins notes that a majority of a union committee made up of some officers and rank-and-file members that represents the union membership recommended to accept the offer.
While the offer was not what the union was seeking for a wage adjustment, and Higgins says it was "far from it," the company did offer the one-time cash amount. Also, the union members will be receiving a 4% wage increase the first year of the contract, 3% the second year and 3% the third year. Because of inflation, the union had been seeking an additional $1 an hour increase in both the first and second years of the contract.
Of the contract agreement, Higgins says, "I think most are OK with it, although we were not successful in getting the company to adjust for the cost of living. The members understood that. A 10% increase over the life of the contract is a good wage increase."
In addition, the company made some concessions on vacation time. In 2012, union members who had accrued five or six weeks of vacation time were grandfathered in. After that time, union members could only accrue four weeks of vacation a year. The union then pointed out that all other paper mills in the state offer a pathway to six weeks of vacation. The company then agreed to a pathway for five weeks of vacation, and Higgins says at the end it was agreed that some of the most senior employees could have up to six weeks.
As for whether the fact that the strike would have started just before Christmas affected the vote, Higgins says, "I think that played a little into things. It's not the best time for us to force the company's hand."
"I can't tell how every member felt. Every family has their own take on things. Some are financially sound and might have no problem going on strike. But younger families maybe not, and it would have been a hardship for them."
Higgins adds, "It's a small community," and those who are paid hourly and those who are salaried talk among themselves. "The company knew some didn't want to go on strike," although it was prepared for a strike. "This has been a conversation at the kitchen table," he says. "In the end both parties will be fine, and we'll move forward. I expect good things to come in the future at this place, and we're looking forward to being part of it."
If the members had voted down the offer, then the union would have extended its 10-day notice of going on strike for an additional 48 hours, in order to give the company time to either shut down the mill or prepare for running it without the Local 27 workers. Higgins believes the company would have used their salaried workers and supervisors to operate the equipment that union members ran. "I have no idea if they would have brought in scabs," he says, referring to non-union workers who are brought in to work during a strike.
The latest contract expired in August, and for the past few months union members have been working under an automatic contract extension.
A total of 340 workers are employed at the Woodland Pulp mill, which is owned by International Grand Investment Corp. (IGIC), a U.S.-based company for a Chinese investment firm. IGIC-owned companies employ a total of 470 workers in Baileyville, with another 90 workers at St. Croix Tissue, which uses the pulp from the mill to produce tissue paper, and 40 at St. Croix Chipping, the former Fulghum Fibres operation that supplies the wood chips for Woodland Pulp.