Woodland mill union planning to go on strike

More than 130 workers at the Woodland Pulp mill in Baileyville could be facing a bleak holiday season, after the mill's United Steelworkers (USW) union voted to go on strike, which could happen the week before Christmas.
"A strike is a hardship for everybody," says Mike Higgins, USW labor representative, with the Christmas holidays nearing. "We hope the company will want to sit down and bargain again, but if they don't call us, our members will be on strike."
On December 6, USW Local 27 members at the mill voted to reject the company's latest contract offer and to authorize a strike, with 85% of the members who voted favoring a strike. A total of 123 workers, or 92% of the 134 union members, cast votes, with 105 supporting a strike and 18 willing to accept the company's offer. While concessions had been made by the company during negotiations, agreement could not be reached on an increase in wages to reflect the higher cost of living caused by inflation.
"The wages and benefits we are requesting are not unreasonable and are necessary for us to keep up with inflation. If I felt that our demands were excessive, I would be the first to stand before the membership and say so," says USW Local 27 President Shawn Howland. "These negotiations have left us feeling unappreciated and unvalued, considering the hard work and resilience our members showed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our production numbers are at an all time high, largely due to the efforts of the hourly employees here at Woodland."
Union leaders noted that Woodland Pulp received roughly $6.7 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program loans during the COVID-19 pandemic, and all of it was forgiven. However, the mill never closed due to the pandemic, and USW 27 members were forced to take time off without pay when they or their family members tested positive for COVID 19.
"We dutifully went into work at the mill every day, at risk to our families and ourselves. While company management was able to work from home, one of our members died of COVID 19 following a coronavirus outbreak at the mill," Howland says. "USW 27 members have sacrificed a lot during the past few years, and the workers deserve to be compensated fairly for their hard work and dedication."
Woodland Pulp spokesman Scott Beal says, "We're disappointed in the voting results, as one might expect. The company believes the contract which was voted down is very competitive. Based on information we have received concerning recently concluded labor negotiations, the financial components of the offer are above the national average for our industry. Also, it's important to note the company has not asked for any concessions during these negotiations, and none were included in this or any previous offer to the union."
Beal adds, "Woodland Pulp is hopeful the union membership will reconsider their position and thus their vote."
However, Higgins says, "We understand that the company has offered good general wage increases for the paper industry, and in a normal year our members would take it. But inflation is really eating into their paychecks, and we know the company is adjusting its prices for inflation. Local 27 members just want to make sure they don't fall behind."
The latest contract expired in August, and for the past few months union members have been working under an automatic contract extension. Higgins says the company did make some concessions during contract negotiations. "Typically in the paper industry they ask for a three-year contract," he says. At first Woodland Pulp only wanted to offer a one-year contract, with Higgins speculating that was because of the uncertainty in the economic climate. The company then agreed to a two-year contract, and at the last bargaining session a three-year one. However, Higgins says, "There was no movement on the wage amount."
Concerning the negotiations, Higgins says, "We are far apart. We're looking for a cost of living adjustment, and the company is not willing to give us any relief on that end." He notes that workers at other mills are asking for a $1 increase. "We don't feel that's out of the question," he says. While the company is offering a general wage increase that is fair for the paper industry as a whole, he says, "The problem is people are feeling the pinch at the pumps and the grocery stores. We want to make sure our members don't get left behind. That's what this is all about."

Company plans to keep mill running
The day after the vote, the union sent a certified letter to the company concerning the strike, and 10 days after Woodland Pulp receives the letter the strike can begin. However, it's still possible a strike might not happen, if the company decides to sit back down with the union workers. Higgins says, "We're open to continue bargaining, if that's what the company desires."
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.
As for the pulp mill itself, Higgins says, "We've been told that the company plans to run their facility, but we don't know how they'll do it. We're not sure if they have enough workers to keep it running or not." But he adds, "We fully expect the company will try to run it." As for the St. Croix Tissue mill, he says, "They say they have an inventory of pulp to run the tissue machines." None of the union workers who voted to strike work at the tissue mill.
Higgins says it's possible the company could bring in other workers to replace those on strike. "They could potentially be replaced. They understand that. Even knowing their jobs could be replaced, eight out of 10 of our members who walked through that door voted to strike. It should send a message that there is a disconnect between the hourly workers and this company."
He says he can't speculate on how long a strike might last, and he believes that the last paper industry strike in Maine may have been the one at International Paper's mill in Jay in 1987. That strike lasted 16 months.
Last spring, the United Steelworkers had threatened a strike at the Sappi paper mill in Skowhegan, before union workers and the company agreed upon a contract with a 3% wage increase each year for three years. Higgins says, "In the end they got a contract. We hope that will happen here, too. We'll consider any offer they give us."