IP to shut Louisiana plant, 550 workers affected
In August, IP completed the $6 billion purchase of Weyerhaeuser’s containerboard packaging segment. The sale IP management announced Nov. 21 it would indefinitely shut down the Bastrop, La., pulp mill due to a continuing decline in demand and global economic weakness. This comes a week after the company announced it would shut
down one paper machine at its mill in Franklin, Va. USW Vice President Jon Geenen said, “The USW is in bargaining with management at these plants and is fighting for a fair severance agreement for union workers at IP who are being affected in these difficult economic times.”
Weyerhauser locals meet in Nashville
Weyerhauser local unions participated in a special meeting in Nashville Sept. 17-18. Weyerhauser was purchased by IP in August 2008. Local unions had a presentation on the IP Union Conference’s building power plan called “Common Goals, New Beginnings.”
Members talked extensively about joining fellow IP locals in the building power program. Weyerhauser workers voiced support for the plan. They bring a lot of experience to the table, and are looking forward to increased solidarity with IP locals through the IP Union Conference.
About Our Union...
When the USWA and the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers (PACE) International Union merge on April 14, 2005 we formed the largest industrial union in North America under the banner of the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW). Our union has more than 850,000 active members in over 8,000 bargaining units. The combined union is
the dominant union in paper, forestry products, steel, aluminum, tire and rubber, mining, glass, chemicals, petroleum and other basic resource industries. For more information about the union, check the USW website at www.usw.org
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
IP workers meet for safety and health conference
The union’s first joint IP health & safety conference recently took place in Birmingham, Ala. Members had a chance to discuss the hazards in their workplace and develop strategies to address the problems.
The conference had a union-only session on Sept. 16 and a joint labor/management session on Sept. 17. 76 USW local union officers attended, as well as health and safety representatives from IP’s 14 mills.
Workers voiced concerns over long hours that cause fatigue on the job, the push for production and needed training. Strategies were discussed to address these problems, such as effective H&S committees, prioritize safety issues and getting
management to address them.
Union members also discussed the strengths and limitations of current health & safety committee structures, health & safety victories, long-standing unresolved issues, worksite health and safety programs and plans for the future. During the joint session, labor and management from each mill discussed problems, what is happening that is good and what H&S programs should be started. A follow-up meeting is scheduled in 18 months to report on the progress in identified areas.
Stan Benton, Local 1803 in Augusta, Ga., said of the meeting, “This program helped people from our mill learn about the common problems in all the mills that we can work on together.”
The conference had a union-only session on Sept. 16 and a joint labor/management session on Sept. 17. 76 USW local union officers attended, as well as health and safety representatives from IP’s 14 mills.
Workers voiced concerns over long hours that cause fatigue on the job, the push for production and needed training. Strategies were discussed to address these problems, such as effective H&S committees, prioritize safety issues and getting
management to address them.
Union members also discussed the strengths and limitations of current health & safety committee structures, health & safety victories, long-standing unresolved issues, worksite health and safety programs and plans for the future. During the joint session, labor and management from each mill discussed problems, what is happening that is good and what H&S programs should be started. A follow-up meeting is scheduled in 18 months to report on the progress in identified areas.
Stan Benton, Local 1803 in Augusta, Ga., said of the meeting, “This program helped people from our mill learn about the common problems in all the mills that we can work on together.”
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
International Paper -- Union Conference News -- October 28, 2008
Getting to Know International Paper
International Paper is a global paper and packaging company with a major presence in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. Last year the company was ranked as the world’s 93rd largest publicly traded company with $22 billion in sales.
Purchase of Weyerhauser’s Containerboard Packaging Segment
In August, IP completed the $6 billion purchase of Weyerhaeuser’s containerboard packaging segment. The sale included 9 containerboard mills, 72 packaging locations, 10 specialty-packaging plants, four kraft bag and sack locations and 19 recycling plants. Twenty-six USW represented facilities with 2,845 USW members were included in the sale. Because of contract protection provisions that the USW negotiated last year with Weyerhaeuser and IP in the framework agreements, the transition in ownership has taken place without serious problems so far. IP recognized contracts at USW represented locations and all 2,845 fellow union members kept their jobs and seniority rights, as well as their wages, pensions and benefits. As part of the transition to the IP Union Conference, Weyerhauser local unions met in Nashville, Tennessee to discuss important issues and priorities.
Who’s Running This Company
The top executive at IP is CEO John Faraci. Faraci and the company’s other top managers answer to an 11 member Board of Directors, which is elected by the company’s shareholders. As of March 2008, Morgan Stanley/Van Kampen Asset Management was the largest single shareholder with 9.3% of IP’s stock.
Our Union @ IP
With the addition of the brothers and sisters from former Weyerhauser locals, the IP Union Conference represents almost 13,000 workers at IP. District 9 Director Stan Johnson chairs the IP Union Conference, International Vice President Jon Geenen is co-chair, and Assistant to the President Leeann Anderson is the Conference Secretary.
Union Workers and Our Rights
Remember that although we work on company property, and must obey management’s work
rules and the terms of our labor agreements, this does not mean we surrender all of our
rights at the front door when we come to work.
Two important rights we should never forget about are our right to Free Speech, which means our ability to communicate with each other and fellow union workers at other plants, and our right to Concerted Activity, which means we are legally protected when we lawfully act together as a group for our mutual self-interest as employees of IP.
Both of these rights are important tools in the efforts of union workers to improve our
conditions of employment, and those of IP workers across the country!
For more information about the IP Union Conference – seeking to strengthen, unite and advance the interests of union workers at International Paper – check out the conference web site: www.SolidarityatIP.org
International Paper is a global paper and packaging company with a major presence in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. Last year the company was ranked as the world’s 93rd largest publicly traded company with $22 billion in sales.
Purchase of Weyerhauser’s Containerboard Packaging Segment
In August, IP completed the $6 billion purchase of Weyerhaeuser’s containerboard packaging segment. The sale included 9 containerboard mills, 72 packaging locations, 10 specialty-packaging plants, four kraft bag and sack locations and 19 recycling plants. Twenty-six USW represented facilities with 2,845 USW members were included in the sale. Because of contract protection provisions that the USW negotiated last year with Weyerhaeuser and IP in the framework agreements, the transition in ownership has taken place without serious problems so far. IP recognized contracts at USW represented locations and all 2,845 fellow union members kept their jobs and seniority rights, as well as their wages, pensions and benefits. As part of the transition to the IP Union Conference, Weyerhauser local unions met in Nashville, Tennessee to discuss important issues and priorities.
Who’s Running This Company
The top executive at IP is CEO John Faraci. Faraci and the company’s other top managers answer to an 11 member Board of Directors, which is elected by the company’s shareholders. As of March 2008, Morgan Stanley/Van Kampen Asset Management was the largest single shareholder with 9.3% of IP’s stock.
Our Union @ IP
With the addition of the brothers and sisters from former Weyerhauser locals, the IP Union Conference represents almost 13,000 workers at IP. District 9 Director Stan Johnson chairs the IP Union Conference, International Vice President Jon Geenen is co-chair, and Assistant to the President Leeann Anderson is the Conference Secretary.
Union Workers and Our Rights
Remember that although we work on company property, and must obey management’s work
rules and the terms of our labor agreements, this does not mean we surrender all of our
rights at the front door when we come to work.
Two important rights we should never forget about are our right to Free Speech, which means our ability to communicate with each other and fellow union workers at other plants, and our right to Concerted Activity, which means we are legally protected when we lawfully act together as a group for our mutual self-interest as employees of IP.
Both of these rights are important tools in the efforts of union workers to improve our
conditions of employment, and those of IP workers across the country!
For more information about the IP Union Conference – seeking to strengthen, unite and advance the interests of union workers at International Paper – check out the conference web site: www.SolidarityatIP.org
Thursday, September 18, 2008
International Paper - Union Conference News - September 2008
Joint Union-Company Committee Tackles Heath Insurance at Mills
The Joint Mill Health Care Committee, consisting of local union leaders, International union staff and company representatives, was established under the IP Mills global agreement. It met last month with a positive outcome. The premiums for our mill-employee only PPO plan will be reduce from $240.75 per month for family and $87.55 per month for single, to $219.60 and $79.87 respectively. This adds up to a total savings of $253.80 per family per year and $92.16 per individual per year.
At a time in history when health care insurance premiums are skyrocketing, this premium reduction is very good news and a good first step towards normalizing the premium split at 80% company, 20% worker. Normally, this only occurs if benefit levels are decreased, however, in this case, our benefit levels stay the same due to our global agreement. This represents continued movement towards 80/20 cost sharing for family health care coverage.
The Committee realizes there is more work to be done beyond reviewing claims, rating methodology and premiums. We committed to further work together to reduce costs to this PPO plan by exploring some innovate initiatives. The Committee will meet again in February and will continue to share information in the months between.
IP Agreement Paying Off
National paper bargaining started taking off in 2005 when just months after the PACE merger, top USW and International Paper officers met. Through these discussions and the persistence of members, we achieved a major breakthrough: Successorship for the mills that IP would be selling. This marked a big change in labor relations at IP where disputes and conflict had been the norm for years.
The successorship clause quickly paid off when IP sold its coated free sheet assets to private equity and other firms. Two of the sold mills in Sartell, Minn., and Bucksport, Maine, were purchased by a private equity firm now known as Verso Paper. By having successorship, the Verso mills were able to build on their contracts in 2007 bargaining and obtain a common expiration date, which strengthens workers’ bargaining power.
Ongoing discussions with IP also produced a landmark global agreement. It included immediate successorship for all the mills, and addressed economic and other job security issues for the company’s 14 USW-represented mills.
IP mill membership overwhelmingly ratified the agreement, which included a method of funding retiree health care benefits that was worth millions of dollars. Family health care insurance was secured, and the pension multiplier was increased to $50 in an industry where employers are demanding 401k plans instead of a guaranteed pension. The global agreement also allows for local contracts and bargaining to remain in place; no changes can be made to those local agreements without the approval of the locals’ membership.
“We did away with IP’s ability to adjust our insurance, and the global agreement also left us the autonomy to negotiate our contract on local items,” said Randy Burkett, an IP member at the Cantonment, Fla., mill. “Job security in today’s world is not easy to get. With the power of 14 union mills coordinating our bargaining with IP, we were able to secure our jobs.”
Converters Get Protection, Too
The IP discussions then proceeded to a global agreement covering over 30 IP converters—the largest agreement of its kind ever in the paper industry. Successorship was obtained; the wage pattern was improved by 100%; the workers got the best pension multiplier in the converter sector; and the PPO active medical health care plan cannot be changed unless the union agrees to it. Local unions maintained their ability to negotiate local issues, and management will not be able to force changes to the contract without the local’s approval. As with the mills, the converter master agreement also restricts reduction in the converter work force to volunteers or attrition except during temporary layoffs or where partial or complete closures occur.
The Joint Mill Health Care Committee, consisting of local union leaders, International union staff and company representatives, was established under the IP Mills global agreement. It met last month with a positive outcome. The premiums for our mill-employee only PPO plan will be reduce from $240.75 per month for family and $87.55 per month for single, to $219.60 and $79.87 respectively. This adds up to a total savings of $253.80 per family per year and $92.16 per individual per year.
At a time in history when health care insurance premiums are skyrocketing, this premium reduction is very good news and a good first step towards normalizing the premium split at 80% company, 20% worker. Normally, this only occurs if benefit levels are decreased, however, in this case, our benefit levels stay the same due to our global agreement. This represents continued movement towards 80/20 cost sharing for family health care coverage.
The Committee realizes there is more work to be done beyond reviewing claims, rating methodology and premiums. We committed to further work together to reduce costs to this PPO plan by exploring some innovate initiatives. The Committee will meet again in February and will continue to share information in the months between.
IP Agreement Paying Off
National paper bargaining started taking off in 2005 when just months after the PACE merger, top USW and International Paper officers met. Through these discussions and the persistence of members, we achieved a major breakthrough: Successorship for the mills that IP would be selling. This marked a big change in labor relations at IP where disputes and conflict had been the norm for years.
The successorship clause quickly paid off when IP sold its coated free sheet assets to private equity and other firms. Two of the sold mills in Sartell, Minn., and Bucksport, Maine, were purchased by a private equity firm now known as Verso Paper. By having successorship, the Verso mills were able to build on their contracts in 2007 bargaining and obtain a common expiration date, which strengthens workers’ bargaining power.
Ongoing discussions with IP also produced a landmark global agreement. It included immediate successorship for all the mills, and addressed economic and other job security issues for the company’s 14 USW-represented mills.
IP mill membership overwhelmingly ratified the agreement, which included a method of funding retiree health care benefits that was worth millions of dollars. Family health care insurance was secured, and the pension multiplier was increased to $50 in an industry where employers are demanding 401k plans instead of a guaranteed pension. The global agreement also allows for local contracts and bargaining to remain in place; no changes can be made to those local agreements without the approval of the locals’ membership.
“We did away with IP’s ability to adjust our insurance, and the global agreement also left us the autonomy to negotiate our contract on local items,” said Randy Burkett, an IP member at the Cantonment, Fla., mill. “Job security in today’s world is not easy to get. With the power of 14 union mills coordinating our bargaining with IP, we were able to secure our jobs.”
Converters Get Protection, Too
The IP discussions then proceeded to a global agreement covering over 30 IP converters—the largest agreement of its kind ever in the paper industry. Successorship was obtained; the wage pattern was improved by 100%; the workers got the best pension multiplier in the converter sector; and the PPO active medical health care plan cannot be changed unless the union agrees to it. Local unions maintained their ability to negotiate local issues, and management will not be able to force changes to the contract without the local’s approval. As with the mills, the converter master agreement also restricts reduction in the converter work force to volunteers or attrition except during temporary layoffs or where partial or complete closures occur.
Joint Union-Company Committee Tackles Heath Insurance at Mills
The Joint Mill Health Care Committee, consisting of local union leaders, International union staff and company representatives, was established under the IP Mills global agreement. It met last month with a positive outcome. The premiums for our mill-employee only PPO plan will be reduce from $240.75 per month for family and $87.55 per month for single, to $219.60 and $79.87 respectively. This adds up to a total savings of $253.80 per family per year and $92.16 per individual per year.
At a time in history when health care insurance premiums are skyrocketing, this premium reduction is very good news and a good first step towards normalizing the premium split at 80% company, 20% worker. Normally, this only occurs if benefit levels are decreased, however, in this case, our benefit levels stay the same due to our global agreement. This represents continued movement towards 80/20 cost sharing for family health care coverage.
The Committee realizes there is more work to be done beyond reviewing claims, rating methodology and premiums. We committed to further work together to reduce costs to this PPO plan by exploring some innovate initiatives. The Committee will meet again in February and will continue to share information in the months between.
IP Agreement Paying Off
National paper bargaining started taking off in 2005 when just months after the PACE merger, top USW and International Paper officers met. Through these discussions and the persistence of members, we achieved a major breakthrough: Successorship for the mills that IP would be selling. This marked a big change in labor relations at IP where disputes and conflict had been the norm for years.
The successorship clause quickly paid off when IP sold its coated free sheet assets to private equity and other firms. Two of the sold mills in Sartell, Minn., and Bucksport, Maine, were purchased by a private equity firm now known as Verso Paper. By having successorship, the Verso mills were able to build on their contracts in 2007 bargaining and obtain a common expiration date, which strengthens workers’ bargaining power.
Ongoing discussions with IP also produced a landmark global agreement. It included immediate successorship for all the mills, and addressed economic and other job security issues for the company’s 14 USW-represented mills.
IP mill membership overwhelmingly ratified the agreement, which included a method of funding retiree health care benefits that was worth millions of dollars. Family health care insurance was secured, and the pension multiplier was increased to $50 in an industry where employers are demanding 401k plans instead of a guaranteed pension. The global agreement also allows for local contracts and bargaining to remain in place; no changes can be made to those local agreements without the approval of the locals’ membership.
“We did away with IP’s ability to adjust our insurance, and the global agreement also left us the autonomy to negotiate our contract on local items,” said Randy Burkett, an IP member at the Cantonment, Fla., mill. “Job security in today’s world is not easy to get. With the power of 14 union mills coordinating our bargaining with IP, we were able to secure our jobs.”
Converters Get Protection, Too
The IP discussions then proceeded to a global agreement covering over 30 IP converters—the largest agreement of its kind ever in the paper industry. Successorship was obtained; the
wage pattern was improved by 100%; the workers got the best pension multiplier in the converter sector; and the PPO active medical health care plan cannot be changed unless the union agrees to it. Local unions maintained their ability to negotiate local issues, and management will not be able to force changes to the contract without the local’s approval. As with the mills, the converter master agreement also restricts reduction in the converter work force to volunteers or attrition except during temporary layoffs or where partial or complete closures occur.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Pulp Truth Special Edition
Solidarity Works! Three-and-a-half Years of Success in Paper
As summer draws to a close, we recap and celebrate the resounding success we’ve had in paper bargaining. We’ve achieved this success despite overwhelming odds in an industry that has seen unprecedented change because of mergers and acquisitions; the emergence of China and Russia’s insatiable demand for fiber to supply world-class paper machines that produce paper that is exported and illegally dumped on our shores; the rise of paper imports; a weakening economy; an increase in electronic communications; and high energy and transportation costs.
Our members’ solidarity, increased communication and mobilization made our victories possible.
Successorship, otherwise known as a contract protection clause, has been the backbone of our success. When a successorship provision is in our contracts, your job, wages, benefits and
workplace rights stay in place if your mill or converter is sold. Without this provision and the power of our membership and union, our sector would have been in shambles.
IP Successorship
National paper bargaining started taking off in 2005 when just months after the merger, USW International President Leo W. Gerard met with CEO John Faraci of International Paper
(IP), the industry’s largest player. Through these discussions and the persistence of our members, we achieved a major breakthrough: Successorship for IP’s 14 mills.
This marked a significant change in collective bargaining and labor relations at IP where disputes and conflict had been the norm for years.
The successorship clause quickly paid off when IP sold its coated free sheet assets to private equity and other firms. Two of the sold mills in Sartell, Minn., and Bucksport, Maine, were
purchased by a private equity firm and are now known as Verso Paper. By having successorship, the Verso mills were able to build on their contracts in subsequent bargaining in 2007 and
obtain a common expiration date, which builds true bargaining power.
Smurfit-Stone Container Successorship
When Smurfit-Stone was looking to spin off assets as well, our union moved to protect our members by securing successorship for the company’s transactions with private equity firm,
Texas Pacific Group, and Kapstone. During these negotiations, a pattern for successorship agreements was reached that immediately covered all USW-represented workers employed by
Smurfit-Stone. It was also agreed that the health care coverage workers had in 2005 would apply to contracts negotiated in 2005-08.
“In today’s time, it is not so much about making progress on health care as it is in making sure we hold the line on health care and not go back,” said Smurfit-Stone worker Eddie Wingfield. With national paper bargaining (NPB), you feel more confident you won’t go into a contract bargaining situation and come out with less than the NPB goals.”
Stora Enso Global Agreement
After over 21 months of bargaining, all contracts with Stora Enso were open or near expiration. This created the pressure necessary to getting the first global contract of its kind in the paper sector. A common expiration date and successorship were obtained, which proved important when NewPage, owned by private equity firm Cerberus, bought Stora Enso. NewPage has to now honor the global agreement, which includes job security, gain sharing of profits, industry-leading wages, and pension and health care provisions. The common expiration dates enable the
former Stora Enso mills to bargain from a position of power with NewPage.
Landmark IP Agreement
As part of the ongoing discussions with IP that the IP membership approved and endorsed, a landmark global agreement on economic and job security issues was reached for the company’s
14 USW-represented mills. IP mill membership overwhelmingly ratified the agreement, which included a method of funding retiree health care benefits that was worth millions of dollars. Successorship was expanded to the 14 mills, health care was secured, and the pension multiplier was increased to $50 in an industry where employers are demanding 401k plans instead of a guaranteed pension. The global agreement also allows for local contracts and bargaining to remain in place; no changes can be made to those local agreements without the approval of
the locals’ membership.
“We did away with IP’s ability to adjust our insurance, and the global agreement also left us the autonomy to negotiate our contract on local items,” said Randy Burkett, an IP member at
the Cantonment, Fla., mill. “Job security in today’s world is something unheard of to get. With the power of 14 mills and coordinated bargaining, we were able to secure our jobs.”
IP Converters Get Protection Too
The IP discussions then proceeded to a global agreementcovering over 30 IP converters—the largest agreement of its kind ever in the paper industry. Successorship was obtained; the wage pattern was improved by 100%; the workers got the best pension multiplier in the converter sector; and the PPO active medical health care plan cannot be changed unless the union agrees to it. Local unions maintained their ability to negotiate local issues, and management will not be able to force changes to the contract without the local’s approval. The master agreement also restricts reduction in the converter work force to volunteers or attrition except during temporary layoffs and partial or complete closures.
Weyerhaeuser Workers Get Job Protection
Upon hearing that Weyerhaeuser might sell its containerboard packaging and recycling business, the Weyerhaeuser council immediately pursued a deal for the industry pattern successorship
clause. Besides immediately getting this clause in their contracts, workers also got longer term deals in exchange for substantial wage increases that would preserve their contracts for a longer period of time in the event of a sale. This move paid off when IP bought Weyerhaeuser’s assets, and the transition was seamless for over 2,800 USW-represented Weyerhaeuser employees.
“The Weyerhaeuser council knew successorship was an important issue, and little did we realize eight months later that successorship language was going to be the most important thing we negotiated,” said Weyerhaeuser council president Robert Tapp. “The one great benefit was we didn’t have to reapply for our jobs. I have seen in other facilities where workers did not have that successorship clause and they had to either reapply for their jobs or start over with a new owner at less pay. The day of the Weyerhaeuser-IP transaction was business as usual.”
Grassroots Solidarity Results in Domtar Agreement
Grassroots solidarity in bargaining for all locations at one table helped the Domtar council secure an umbrella master agreement covering economic and job security issues. The deal locked in members’ health care coverage for the remainder of the current local union agreements and the next four-year local contracts. Besides obtaining an increase in the pension multiplier by $5 in the first year of each contract, Domtar workers also got successorship language to protect their jobs and contracts in case their facilities are sold.
Global Agreement Reached for PCA Mills
In mid-August, the USW reached a global agreement with Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) that covers over 1,200 workers at the company’s four mills. This five-year agreement
provides important employment security provisions, immediate successorship language, the best wage increases in the paper sector, a $6 per year of service pension increase that immediately is put in place and the best health care in the paper sector that is locked in until 2013 and 2015 in some cases. This deal paves the way for a global agreement with the PCA converters.
Local union members enthusiastically endorsed all these deals, with ratification votes well over 80%in every case.
Taking the Offense in Health and Safety
Working in the paper sector can be hazardous. Arms are caught in paper machines; workers’ heads are scalped in converter operations. Workers are killed in devastating explosions, such as the one at IP’s Vicksburg, Miss., mill and the more recent explosion at PCA’s Tomahawk mill that killed three.
To change the way our union and the paper industry approach health and safety in the paper workplace, we have sent out to local union mill officers a survey that is the first of its kind. We are trying to gauge what is being done at the mills regarding health and safety and what is needed to support local union leaders, rank-and-file members and the communities in which they work.
To make sure every mill returns its survey, the deadline has just been extended until September 19. An analysis of the results will be done, a report issued and a health and safety plan created. Our goal is to push for changes in and better regulation of the paper industry.
As summer draws to a close, we recap and celebrate the resounding success we’ve had in paper bargaining. We’ve achieved this success despite overwhelming odds in an industry that has seen unprecedented change because of mergers and acquisitions; the emergence of China and Russia’s insatiable demand for fiber to supply world-class paper machines that produce paper that is exported and illegally dumped on our shores; the rise of paper imports; a weakening economy; an increase in electronic communications; and high energy and transportation costs.
Our members’ solidarity, increased communication and mobilization made our victories possible.
Successorship, otherwise known as a contract protection clause, has been the backbone of our success. When a successorship provision is in our contracts, your job, wages, benefits and
workplace rights stay in place if your mill or converter is sold. Without this provision and the power of our membership and union, our sector would have been in shambles.
IP Successorship
National paper bargaining started taking off in 2005 when just months after the merger, USW International President Leo W. Gerard met with CEO John Faraci of International Paper
(IP), the industry’s largest player. Through these discussions and the persistence of our members, we achieved a major breakthrough: Successorship for IP’s 14 mills.
This marked a significant change in collective bargaining and labor relations at IP where disputes and conflict had been the norm for years.
The successorship clause quickly paid off when IP sold its coated free sheet assets to private equity and other firms. Two of the sold mills in Sartell, Minn., and Bucksport, Maine, were
purchased by a private equity firm and are now known as Verso Paper. By having successorship, the Verso mills were able to build on their contracts in subsequent bargaining in 2007 and
obtain a common expiration date, which builds true bargaining power.
Smurfit-Stone Container Successorship
When Smurfit-Stone was looking to spin off assets as well, our union moved to protect our members by securing successorship for the company’s transactions with private equity firm,
Texas Pacific Group, and Kapstone. During these negotiations, a pattern for successorship agreements was reached that immediately covered all USW-represented workers employed by
Smurfit-Stone. It was also agreed that the health care coverage workers had in 2005 would apply to contracts negotiated in 2005-08.
“In today’s time, it is not so much about making progress on health care as it is in making sure we hold the line on health care and not go back,” said Smurfit-Stone worker Eddie Wingfield. With national paper bargaining (NPB), you feel more confident you won’t go into a contract bargaining situation and come out with less than the NPB goals.”
Stora Enso Global Agreement
After over 21 months of bargaining, all contracts with Stora Enso were open or near expiration. This created the pressure necessary to getting the first global contract of its kind in the paper sector. A common expiration date and successorship were obtained, which proved important when NewPage, owned by private equity firm Cerberus, bought Stora Enso. NewPage has to now honor the global agreement, which includes job security, gain sharing of profits, industry-leading wages, and pension and health care provisions. The common expiration dates enable the
former Stora Enso mills to bargain from a position of power with NewPage.
Landmark IP Agreement
As part of the ongoing discussions with IP that the IP membership approved and endorsed, a landmark global agreement on economic and job security issues was reached for the company’s
14 USW-represented mills. IP mill membership overwhelmingly ratified the agreement, which included a method of funding retiree health care benefits that was worth millions of dollars. Successorship was expanded to the 14 mills, health care was secured, and the pension multiplier was increased to $50 in an industry where employers are demanding 401k plans instead of a guaranteed pension. The global agreement also allows for local contracts and bargaining to remain in place; no changes can be made to those local agreements without the approval of
the locals’ membership.
“We did away with IP’s ability to adjust our insurance, and the global agreement also left us the autonomy to negotiate our contract on local items,” said Randy Burkett, an IP member at
the Cantonment, Fla., mill. “Job security in today’s world is something unheard of to get. With the power of 14 mills and coordinated bargaining, we were able to secure our jobs.”
IP Converters Get Protection Too
The IP discussions then proceeded to a global agreementcovering over 30 IP converters—the largest agreement of its kind ever in the paper industry. Successorship was obtained; the wage pattern was improved by 100%; the workers got the best pension multiplier in the converter sector; and the PPO active medical health care plan cannot be changed unless the union agrees to it. Local unions maintained their ability to negotiate local issues, and management will not be able to force changes to the contract without the local’s approval. The master agreement also restricts reduction in the converter work force to volunteers or attrition except during temporary layoffs and partial or complete closures.
Weyerhaeuser Workers Get Job Protection
Upon hearing that Weyerhaeuser might sell its containerboard packaging and recycling business, the Weyerhaeuser council immediately pursued a deal for the industry pattern successorship
clause. Besides immediately getting this clause in their contracts, workers also got longer term deals in exchange for substantial wage increases that would preserve their contracts for a longer period of time in the event of a sale. This move paid off when IP bought Weyerhaeuser’s assets, and the transition was seamless for over 2,800 USW-represented Weyerhaeuser employees.
“The Weyerhaeuser council knew successorship was an important issue, and little did we realize eight months later that successorship language was going to be the most important thing we negotiated,” said Weyerhaeuser council president Robert Tapp. “The one great benefit was we didn’t have to reapply for our jobs. I have seen in other facilities where workers did not have that successorship clause and they had to either reapply for their jobs or start over with a new owner at less pay. The day of the Weyerhaeuser-IP transaction was business as usual.”
Grassroots Solidarity Results in Domtar Agreement
Grassroots solidarity in bargaining for all locations at one table helped the Domtar council secure an umbrella master agreement covering economic and job security issues. The deal locked in members’ health care coverage for the remainder of the current local union agreements and the next four-year local contracts. Besides obtaining an increase in the pension multiplier by $5 in the first year of each contract, Domtar workers also got successorship language to protect their jobs and contracts in case their facilities are sold.
Global Agreement Reached for PCA Mills
In mid-August, the USW reached a global agreement with Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) that covers over 1,200 workers at the company’s four mills. This five-year agreement
provides important employment security provisions, immediate successorship language, the best wage increases in the paper sector, a $6 per year of service pension increase that immediately is put in place and the best health care in the paper sector that is locked in until 2013 and 2015 in some cases. This deal paves the way for a global agreement with the PCA converters.
Local union members enthusiastically endorsed all these deals, with ratification votes well over 80%in every case.
Taking the Offense in Health and Safety
Working in the paper sector can be hazardous. Arms are caught in paper machines; workers’ heads are scalped in converter operations. Workers are killed in devastating explosions, such as the one at IP’s Vicksburg, Miss., mill and the more recent explosion at PCA’s Tomahawk mill that killed three.
To change the way our union and the paper industry approach health and safety in the paper workplace, we have sent out to local union mill officers a survey that is the first of its kind. We are trying to gauge what is being done at the mills regarding health and safety and what is needed to support local union leaders, rank-and-file members and the communities in which they work.
To make sure every mill returns its survey, the deadline has just been extended until September 19. An analysis of the results will be done, a report issued and a health and safety plan created. Our goal is to push for changes in and better regulation of the paper industry.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Pulp Truth -- Issue 16
Unsafe Working Conditions Caught Up to Workers in July
In Pulp Truth issue 15, we reported that Peter Conley of Local 449 in Waterville, Maine, suffered a massive stroke at the Huhtamaki plant where he worked. Brother Conley, 44, died
July 23 at Maine Medical Center and left behind three children ages 19, 12 and 5.
In addition to the three July accidents reported in Pulp Truth issue 15, four more incidents occurred in July.
Shortly before midnight on July 18, Local 1017 member Shawn Sharrow was injured when his arm and shoulder were caught in a winder machine at Dunn Paper in Port Huron, Mich.
Sharrow, who was 20 at the time of the incident, was airlifted to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, where he was listed as critical but stable for four days. He suffered broken bones in his shoulder and neck, cracked ribs, internal injuries and corneal abrasions in both eyes. There was concern about permanent nerve damage to his arm and neck.
Sharrow’s mother, Kim, said doctors at the medical center called his survival a miracle and attributed it to his age and general condition. Sharrow is now back home in Port Huron.
USW Emergency Response Team (ERT) representative Hilary Chiz assisted the family and those who helped with Sharrow’s rescue. USW Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Assistant Director Dave Ortlieb conducted the investigation and provided the company with changes that could be done to prevent a repeat of the incident.
At the NewPage facility in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, Local Union 2-94 member Kurt Resheske, 33, was severely burned July 29 while working near a washer inspection door. He sustained second and third-degree burns over 60 percent of his body. ERT representative Duronda Pope assisted the family and HSE representative Steve Sallman responded to the incident.
On July 29, 2008 a high density recycling fiber storage tank explosion at Packaging Corporation of America’s paper mill in Tomahawk, Wisconsin, fatally injured three employees. The tank that exploded was used to store recycled fiber storage, and the three individuals were engaged in maintenance activities which included welding on the top of the tank’s high density spreader when the explosion occurred. A fourth employee, who was standing on the tank’s catwalk was also injured, but he was treated and released and is recovering from his injuries.
Two of the employees fatally injured in the explosion, Steven C. Voermans, 52, and Randy J. Hoegger, 55, were local union members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 1713. The third fatally injured employee was Don Snyder, 46, a salaried employee. The fourth injured employee was a college student and member of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 1713. ERT representative Duronda Popeand HSE representative Steve Sallman responded to the incident.
After reportedly having a dispute with a supervisor, Edmund Giasson of Local 900 at the NewPage mill in Rumford, Maine, died from a heart attack July 28. Giasson, 53, had worked at the mill close to 30 years and was known to be “very, very serious about his job,” according to local president Gary Hemingway. Giasson had a history of heart problems.
These incidents point to the need for paper mill locals (and later those with converting operations) to fill out the Paper RAP survey they received in mid-August. See story on the next page.
Contracts that Reopened in August
If the re-opener date for your local contract is not listed here, please contact PT editor Lynne Baker at lbaker@usw.org to have your contract listed. Not listed last month was the Temple-Inland Orange, TX contract that expired July 31.
Georgia-Pacific, Monticello, MS, Aug. 1
Georgia-Pacific, Akron, OH, Aug. 1
Georgia-Pacific, Monticello, GA, Aug. 1
International Paper, Geneva, NY, Aug. 1
Corrugated Carton, Newark, NJ, Aug. 1
Schiffenhause Pkg. Corp. North, Suffern, NY, Aug. 1
Pactiv Corporation, Red Bluff, CA, Aug. 1
Schiffenhause Pkg. Corp. South, Newark, NJ, Aug. 1
Schweitzer-Maudit, Ancram, NY, Aug. 1
RTS Packaging, Merced, CA, Aug. 1
Smurfit-Stone Cont., St. Cloud, MN, Aug. 1
Temple-Inland, Gilroy, CA, Aug. 1
Weyerhaeuser Co., Anaheim, CA, Aug. 1
Precision Products, College Park, MD, Aug. 6
Sonoco, Hutchinson, KS, Aug. 6
Shelby Co., Westlake, OH, Aug. 6
International Paper/Shorewood Pkg., Waterbury, CT, Aug. 7
International Paper (div), Pineville, LA, Aug. 10
Rand Whitney, Worcester, MA, Aug. 11
Georgia-Pacific, Memphis, TN, Aug. 15
Unsafe Working Conditions
Caught Up to Workers in July
Mill Leaders Must Complete Paper RAP Health & Safety Survey
“The time for after-the-fact investigation is over. We must take a proactive approach to ensure paper workers don’t lose their life or get injured when they go to work,” said International Vice President Jon Geenen.
Around August 19, each local union president of a mill received the Paper RAP health and safety survey that VP Geenen’s comment refers to. The survey’s success depends on a very high response rate. So:
• If you are paper mill leadership, please prioritize completing the survey.
• If you work in a paper mill, please offer to assist the local leadership to accomplish this important task.
• If you work in a converter within a council that has mills, encourage mill leadership to get this done. (FYI: We’ll later focus on converters.)
A few things about the survey:
• Complete one survey per mill
• Get input from key members as needed
• Make the September 12, 2008 deadline
• For another copy, contact Joyce Russotto (920-722-1085; jrussotto@usw.org) or your international representative.
Together, we will use the survey’s results to leverage change at the local, industry and national policy levels to protect our brothers and sisters.
A Model in Coordinated Bargaining: U.S. Steel Agreement
The new tentative, four-year agreement at U.S. Steel shows what is possible when collective bargaining evolves and we coordinate our strength.
Workers obtained very significant wage hikes and substantial bonus and pension increases. Benefit programs were improved for active and retired employees, and health care premiums
were reduced for retirees.
Job security was improved by a requirement in the tentative agreement that U.S. Steel make capital investments in its plants so that they can compete in the world economy. The contract
also looks toward the future by creating an “Energy Efficiency and Carbon Emissions Task Force” to address the threat of global warming and its impact on the steel industry.
Another job security provision in the agreement is that the outsourcing of work will return to the jurisdiction of USW members.
The tentative agreement covers some 16,000 workers employed at 14 U.S. Steel locations.
PCA Mill Global Agreement Secures Workers’ Future
A new five-year global agreement negotiated with Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) contains wage increases totaling 13.75 percent, increases pension and other benefits, maintains
existing health care plans and premiums, offers job security and makes it easier to organize nonunion PCA facilities.
The agreement covers about 1,200 workers at four PCA mills in Valdosta, Ga., Counce, Tenn., Filer City, Mich., and Tomahawk, Wisc. USW members at the four mills overwhelmingly
approved the contract in a vote on Aug. 14.
Items not covered in the master agreement are negotiated at local union bargaining tables upon renewal of the local union’s contract. If an agreement is not reached on these items, the
renewal contract remains unchanged. This prevents management from imposing contract terms on the local union. The local union renewal contracts are also five years in length.
Health care benefits and employees’ 20 percent contribution toward health care premiums were locked in immediately after ratification of the global agreement for the period of the local union contract. Also enacted upon ratification was a contract and job protection clause in case a PCA facility is sold; a restriction to work force reductions unless a facility is partially or completely shut down; and a ban on negative attacks during organizing campaigns.
Increases in wages, pensions, short-term disability benefits, life/accidental death and dismemberment benefits and retiree life insurance benefits will occur the day after the expiration of the current local union agreements. The monthly service multiplier for mill workers’ pensions will be increased by $6 to $46.62, which is one of the highest flat dollar pension benefits in the industry. Short-term disability benefits will be increased $70 over the term of the renewal contracts. Life/accidental death and dismemberment benefits will increase a total of $9,000. Retiree life insurance benefits will be secured at $10,250.
In Pulp Truth issue 15, we reported that Peter Conley of Local 449 in Waterville, Maine, suffered a massive stroke at the Huhtamaki plant where he worked. Brother Conley, 44, died
July 23 at Maine Medical Center and left behind three children ages 19, 12 and 5.
In addition to the three July accidents reported in Pulp Truth issue 15, four more incidents occurred in July.
Shortly before midnight on July 18, Local 1017 member Shawn Sharrow was injured when his arm and shoulder were caught in a winder machine at Dunn Paper in Port Huron, Mich.
Sharrow, who was 20 at the time of the incident, was airlifted to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, where he was listed as critical but stable for four days. He suffered broken bones in his shoulder and neck, cracked ribs, internal injuries and corneal abrasions in both eyes. There was concern about permanent nerve damage to his arm and neck.
Sharrow’s mother, Kim, said doctors at the medical center called his survival a miracle and attributed it to his age and general condition. Sharrow is now back home in Port Huron.
USW Emergency Response Team (ERT) representative Hilary Chiz assisted the family and those who helped with Sharrow’s rescue. USW Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Assistant Director Dave Ortlieb conducted the investigation and provided the company with changes that could be done to prevent a repeat of the incident.
At the NewPage facility in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, Local Union 2-94 member Kurt Resheske, 33, was severely burned July 29 while working near a washer inspection door. He sustained second and third-degree burns over 60 percent of his body. ERT representative Duronda Pope assisted the family and HSE representative Steve Sallman responded to the incident.
On July 29, 2008 a high density recycling fiber storage tank explosion at Packaging Corporation of America’s paper mill in Tomahawk, Wisconsin, fatally injured three employees. The tank that exploded was used to store recycled fiber storage, and the three individuals were engaged in maintenance activities which included welding on the top of the tank’s high density spreader when the explosion occurred. A fourth employee, who was standing on the tank’s catwalk was also injured, but he was treated and released and is recovering from his injuries.
Two of the employees fatally injured in the explosion, Steven C. Voermans, 52, and Randy J. Hoegger, 55, were local union members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 1713. The third fatally injured employee was Don Snyder, 46, a salaried employee. The fourth injured employee was a college student and member of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 1713. ERT representative Duronda Popeand HSE representative Steve Sallman responded to the incident.
After reportedly having a dispute with a supervisor, Edmund Giasson of Local 900 at the NewPage mill in Rumford, Maine, died from a heart attack July 28. Giasson, 53, had worked at the mill close to 30 years and was known to be “very, very serious about his job,” according to local president Gary Hemingway. Giasson had a history of heart problems.
These incidents point to the need for paper mill locals (and later those with converting operations) to fill out the Paper RAP survey they received in mid-August. See story on the next page.
Contracts that Reopened in August
If the re-opener date for your local contract is not listed here, please contact PT editor Lynne Baker at lbaker@usw.org to have your contract listed. Not listed last month was the Temple-Inland Orange, TX contract that expired July 31.
Georgia-Pacific, Monticello, MS, Aug. 1
Georgia-Pacific, Akron, OH, Aug. 1
Georgia-Pacific, Monticello, GA, Aug. 1
International Paper, Geneva, NY, Aug. 1
Corrugated Carton, Newark, NJ, Aug. 1
Schiffenhause Pkg. Corp. North, Suffern, NY, Aug. 1
Pactiv Corporation, Red Bluff, CA, Aug. 1
Schiffenhause Pkg. Corp. South, Newark, NJ, Aug. 1
Schweitzer-Maudit, Ancram, NY, Aug. 1
RTS Packaging, Merced, CA, Aug. 1
Smurfit-Stone Cont., St. Cloud, MN, Aug. 1
Temple-Inland, Gilroy, CA, Aug. 1
Weyerhaeuser Co., Anaheim, CA, Aug. 1
Precision Products, College Park, MD, Aug. 6
Sonoco, Hutchinson, KS, Aug. 6
Shelby Co., Westlake, OH, Aug. 6
International Paper/Shorewood Pkg., Waterbury, CT, Aug. 7
International Paper (div), Pineville, LA, Aug. 10
Rand Whitney, Worcester, MA, Aug. 11
Georgia-Pacific, Memphis, TN, Aug. 15
Unsafe Working Conditions
Caught Up to Workers in July
Mill Leaders Must Complete Paper RAP Health & Safety Survey
“The time for after-the-fact investigation is over. We must take a proactive approach to ensure paper workers don’t lose their life or get injured when they go to work,” said International Vice President Jon Geenen.
Around August 19, each local union president of a mill received the Paper RAP health and safety survey that VP Geenen’s comment refers to. The survey’s success depends on a very high response rate. So:
• If you are paper mill leadership, please prioritize completing the survey.
• If you work in a paper mill, please offer to assist the local leadership to accomplish this important task.
• If you work in a converter within a council that has mills, encourage mill leadership to get this done. (FYI: We’ll later focus on converters.)
A few things about the survey:
• Complete one survey per mill
• Get input from key members as needed
• Make the September 12, 2008 deadline
• For another copy, contact Joyce Russotto (920-722-1085; jrussotto@usw.org) or your international representative.
Together, we will use the survey’s results to leverage change at the local, industry and national policy levels to protect our brothers and sisters.
A Model in Coordinated Bargaining: U.S. Steel Agreement
The new tentative, four-year agreement at U.S. Steel shows what is possible when collective bargaining evolves and we coordinate our strength.
Workers obtained very significant wage hikes and substantial bonus and pension increases. Benefit programs were improved for active and retired employees, and health care premiums
were reduced for retirees.
Job security was improved by a requirement in the tentative agreement that U.S. Steel make capital investments in its plants so that they can compete in the world economy. The contract
also looks toward the future by creating an “Energy Efficiency and Carbon Emissions Task Force” to address the threat of global warming and its impact on the steel industry.
Another job security provision in the agreement is that the outsourcing of work will return to the jurisdiction of USW members.
The tentative agreement covers some 16,000 workers employed at 14 U.S. Steel locations.
PCA Mill Global Agreement Secures Workers’ Future
A new five-year global agreement negotiated with Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) contains wage increases totaling 13.75 percent, increases pension and other benefits, maintains
existing health care plans and premiums, offers job security and makes it easier to organize nonunion PCA facilities.
The agreement covers about 1,200 workers at four PCA mills in Valdosta, Ga., Counce, Tenn., Filer City, Mich., and Tomahawk, Wisc. USW members at the four mills overwhelmingly
approved the contract in a vote on Aug. 14.
Items not covered in the master agreement are negotiated at local union bargaining tables upon renewal of the local union’s contract. If an agreement is not reached on these items, the
renewal contract remains unchanged. This prevents management from imposing contract terms on the local union. The local union renewal contracts are also five years in length.
Health care benefits and employees’ 20 percent contribution toward health care premiums were locked in immediately after ratification of the global agreement for the period of the local union contract. Also enacted upon ratification was a contract and job protection clause in case a PCA facility is sold; a restriction to work force reductions unless a facility is partially or completely shut down; and a ban on negative attacks during organizing campaigns.
Increases in wages, pensions, short-term disability benefits, life/accidental death and dismemberment benefits and retiree life insurance benefits will occur the day after the expiration of the current local union agreements. The monthly service multiplier for mill workers’ pensions will be increased by $6 to $46.62, which is one of the highest flat dollar pension benefits in the industry. Short-term disability benefits will be increased $70 over the term of the renewal contracts. Life/accidental death and dismemberment benefits will increase a total of $9,000. Retiree life insurance benefits will be secured at $10,250.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
International Paper - Union Conference News - August 2008
Common Goals New Beginnings
IP delegates to National Paper Bargaining Conference earlier this year agreed on multi-year plan to build a stronger union conference at IP. All agree that it is more important than ever to coordinate our activities and use our strength in numbers at IP for the benefit of all. As the old labor slogan goes: United We Stand, Divided We Fall!
Conference Website is UP!
Your online place to get news about the IP union conference is now up and running. Here’s how to get there: www.SolidarityatIP.org. It included conference newsletters since last summer. You can hit the site, read the news, make comments and discuss with your union brother and sisters. But remember, the internet is no substitute for face to face contact. IP Conference members are encouraged to continue having newsletter distributed by CAT Team or local union leaders at work!
Membership Training
As requested by local union activists at the National Paper Bargaining Conference, the International union is now preparing a comprehensive publication outlining all training programs offered by the USW. As soon as it’s completed, this publication will be made available to all IP Conference members.
Conference Communication and Action Team Organized
As per requests from IP union members, all “Conference CAT” positions are initially being filled by USW staff, but interested activists are being identified in each part of the country. As soon as possible, the transition will be made to a more member-driven structure. This Conference CAT plan was a major component of the program to build union power at IP that was developed at the Common Goals, New Beginning Conference. For more information, check the conference website.
Weyerhaeuser Plants Now Under IP Ownership
Since the announcement was made March 17 that Weyerhaeuser was selling containerboard, packaging and recycling facilities to IP, union-represented workers from Weyerhaeuser have been preparing for a seamless transition which was completed August 4th. The Weyerhaeuser Council had only 8 months earlier worked to successfully negotiate a contract protection clause (successorship). A special meeting has now been called by USW Vice President Jon Geenen for representatives of Weyerhaeuser local unions on Sept. 17-18 in Nashville. More on this in upcoming issues of this newsletter.
IP delegates to National Paper Bargaining Conference earlier this year agreed on multi-year plan to build a stronger union conference at IP. All agree that it is more important than ever to coordinate our activities and use our strength in numbers at IP for the benefit of all. As the old labor slogan goes: United We Stand, Divided We Fall!
Conference Website is UP!
Your online place to get news about the IP union conference is now up and running. Here’s how to get there: www.SolidarityatIP.org. It included conference newsletters since last summer. You can hit the site, read the news, make comments and discuss with your union brother and sisters. But remember, the internet is no substitute for face to face contact. IP Conference members are encouraged to continue having newsletter distributed by CAT Team or local union leaders at work!
Membership Training
As requested by local union activists at the National Paper Bargaining Conference, the International union is now preparing a comprehensive publication outlining all training programs offered by the USW. As soon as it’s completed, this publication will be made available to all IP Conference members.
Conference Communication and Action Team Organized
As per requests from IP union members, all “Conference CAT” positions are initially being filled by USW staff, but interested activists are being identified in each part of the country. As soon as possible, the transition will be made to a more member-driven structure. This Conference CAT plan was a major component of the program to build union power at IP that was developed at the Common Goals, New Beginning Conference. For more information, check the conference website.
Weyerhaeuser Plants Now Under IP Ownership
Since the announcement was made March 17 that Weyerhaeuser was selling containerboard, packaging and recycling facilities to IP, union-represented workers from Weyerhaeuser have been preparing for a seamless transition which was completed August 4th. The Weyerhaeuser Council had only 8 months earlier worked to successfully negotiate a contract protection clause (successorship). A special meeting has now been called by USW Vice President Jon Geenen for representatives of Weyerhaeuser local unions on Sept. 17-18 in Nashville. More on this in upcoming issues of this newsletter.
Friday, August 1, 2008
PULP TRUTH -- INDUSTRY WIDE NEWS
Contracts that Reopened in July
If your local is not listed here, please contact PT editor Lynne Baker at lbaker@usw.org to have your contract listed.
Appleton Papers, Appleton, WI., July 2
International Paper, Statesville, NC, July 2
Mid-Atlantic, Montgomerville, Pa., July 2
New York Folding Box, Stanhope, NJ, July 2
Georgia-Pacific, Blue Rapids, KS, July 3
Monadnock Paper, Bennington, NH, July 3
Newark Group, Mobile, AL, July 3
Georgia-Pacific, St. Marys, GA, July 8
Art Kraft Container, Tullytown, PA, July 8
Island Container, Wheatley Heights, NY, July 17
Heritage Container, Brooklyn, NY, July 17
Delta Corrugated, Palisades Park, NJ, July 17
Norampac, Maspeth, NY, July 17
P.C.A., Valdosta, GA, July 17
Rock-Tenn, Lynchburg, VA, July 17
Smurfit-Stone Cont., West Point, VA, July 17
Green Bay Packaging, Ft. Worth, TX, July 18
Smurfit-Stone Cont., Philadelphia, PA, July 18
SCA Tissue, Cherokee, AL, July 23
USW Assists Graphic Packaging in Getting Tax Credits
Our union assisted Graphic Packaging International, Inc. in obtaining economic development tax credits from the State of Michigan and the City of Kalamazoo for a $27 million planned expansion of the company’s Kalamazoo operations.
More than 500 employees work at the site. Our union represents the hourly workers. The expansion is expected to add up to 160 local jobs.
The Kalamazoo operations include a coated-recycled paperboard mill and a production facility where folding cartons are manufactured for a wide variety of food, beverage and consumer products packaging.
This is another example of how a union can help a company succeed in today’s tough global marketplace.
Rising Price of Crude Oil Prompts Temporary Shutdown
As of Aug. 1, Graphic Packaging is shutting down its No. 2 machine, which produces coated unbleached kraft paper generally used in the production of beverage cartons, at its West Monroe, La., mill. The rising price of crude oil has caused higher costs for key mill production inputs like fiber, natural gas and petro-based chemicals. To compensate, the company is idling certain older, higher-cost assets. Whether or not the machine is started up in January will depend on the company’s assessment.
Producing about 100,000 tons of paper annually, the machine is operated by a 24-person crew. Local 364 President Al Hamby told The News Star, “As of now, they’re not laying anybody off, but they aren’t guaranteeing anything in the future. If they lay off the employees, they would be
hard to replace because they are skilled, experienced workers. It’s hard to just go out on the street and find 24 people who can operate one of these machines. So if they plan to restart the machine, they’ll probably need to keep them.”
Canadian Government Gives Energy Rebates to Paper Companies
To help paper companies compete, the Canadian government gives quarterly energy rebates to pulp and paper mills in Ontario that purchase a minimum of 50,000 megawatt hours annually and commit to increased energy efficiency.
Companies participating in the $140-million, three-year Northern Pulp and Paper Electricity Transition program have already received over $51 million in total. Nine mills are currently
participating. The rebates are designed to help lower a company’s energy costs by 15 percent.
In June, Domtar’s Ontario pulp and paper mills in Espanola and Dryden received C$4.3 million in electricity rebates to help lower their energy costs.
Other steps the Canadian government has taken to address electricity costs include encouraging large power consumers in the forest sector to undertake self-generation power projects
through the Forest Sector Prosperity Fund and Loan Guarantee program; extending the rate cap on Ontario Power Generation’s non-prescribed supply; having a co-generation power procurement program under the Ontario Power Authority; and having an Ontario Power Authority program to compensate companies for load shedding and shifting during high cost power peaks.
Latest Health & Safety Incidents in the Paper Industry
Unfortunately, this is turning out to be a record year for health and safety incidents. It could be because U.S. manufacturers are emphasizing production at all costs in order to compete with other manufacturers in low-wage nations like China.
One of our members had a fatal accident at around 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 22 at Haverhill Paperboard in Haverhill, Massachusetts. According to The Eagle-Tribune, the victim, Lloyd “Butch” Benjamin, 49, a member of Local 204, fell about 25 feet from a ladder and struck his head. He was working inside the plant at the time of the incident and was taken by ambulance to the local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Kim Nibarger from the USW Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Department is conducting an investigation of the incident. Al McDougall, coordinator of the USW Emergency Response Team (ERT) program is assisting the family. Haverhill Paperboard is part of the Newark Group, which has USW members at 11 of its mills.
Local 2-21 members Trudy Broman and Paul Nelson, who work at the NewPage mill in Escanaba, Mich., were on top of a tank that once had sodium chlorate in it that they were assigned to wash out with water. An explosion occurred—the cause is unknown at this time—and Broman sustained severe third degree burns on 50 to 60 percent of her body. She was in critical condition and was transported to a hospital in Milwaukee. Her doctors were concerned about the condition of her lungs and she has a long road of recovery ahead of her. Nelson sustained second-degree burns on his hands and is recovering from his injuries. HSE representative Kim Nibarger is investigating the incident, which occurred July 8, and ERT representative Duronda Pope is assisting the family.
USW member Grady Olson of Local 2-469 was seriously injured when his right arm was caught between a roll of paper and a powered “paster roll” in a paper coating machine at the Appleton Paper facility in Appleton,Wisconsin. Brother Olson is recovering from the July 11, 2008, accident at Appleton Medical Center’s intensive care unit.
Around 1:30 p.m. on July 15, Local 449 member Peter Conley, who works at the Huhtamaki Paper facility in Waterville, Maine, became dizzy and ultimately lost consciousness while he was at work. After a protracted rescue effort, he was taken to a local hospital and later was transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine. Conley is in the cardiac intensive care unit and his family has been told he suffered massive damage, probably due to a stroke, with ancillary heart damage. HSE assistant director Dave Ortlieb is conducting the investigation and ERT representative Hilary Chiz is assisting the family.
Don’t Forget to Register for Health & Safety Conference
It’s not too late to register for the USW Health & Safety conference being held in Pittsburgh Aug. 18-22 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and Westin Convention Center hotel. There will be over 42 workshops covering such topics as Permit Required Confined Space, Introduction to Systems of Safety, Hazards of Noise Exposure, Introduction to USW’s Triangle of Prevention Program, Hazard Mapping Your Workplace and Hours of Work.
Besides the workshops there will be plenary speakers and time for union-only and joint company meetings. This is a joint labor-management conference, so you are encouraged to invite management representatives from your workplace to attend. On Aug. 18 there will be a union-only session. The joint labor-management sessions start Aug. 19. The conference adjourns at noon on Aug. 22.
The deadline to register for the conference is Friday, Aug. 1. To register on-line and for more information on hotel reservations, flight arrangements and the conference fee, go to http://www.usw.org/.
Increased Energy Costs Force 106-year-old Mill to Close
Increased costs for natural gas and electricity to run machinery and excess industry capacity for 100% recycled paperboard prompted The Newark Group Inc. to decide to shut down the 106-year-old Haverhill Paperboard Corp. in Haverhill, Mass., Aug. 29.
Cost of raw materials, such as waste paper, have doubled for the mill because China continues to import greater amounts of paper for its new mills; the increased demand causes the cost to rise ever higher.
Plant officials are moving the Haverhill operation to a facility in South Carolina that powers machinery by burning coal, which is substantially cheaper.
The plant closing affects 174 full- and part-time employees. Plant managers have said that even if the employees worked for free they still could not keep the plant running.
Dennis Clifton, president of Local 4-204, which represents about 140 workers, told The Eagle Tribune the mill closing is a “bad situation all the way around. It’s not a good feeling, and like everyone else, I have house and car payments and the bills keep coming in. It’s a bad situation for our employees and for the city, which stands to lose a lot of tax money.”
Clifton said he understands the reasons for closing the plant. “I’ve heard it spends $35,000 a day on fuel. The union has programs that might help, unless the company has this closing etched in stone.”
Haverhill takes recycled paper and turns it into solid multilayer products, such as book covers and foldable cartons for the food and gift industries.
If your local is not listed here, please contact PT editor Lynne Baker at lbaker@usw.org to have your contract listed.
Appleton Papers, Appleton, WI., July 2
International Paper, Statesville, NC, July 2
Mid-Atlantic, Montgomerville, Pa., July 2
New York Folding Box, Stanhope, NJ, July 2
Georgia-Pacific, Blue Rapids, KS, July 3
Monadnock Paper, Bennington, NH, July 3
Newark Group, Mobile, AL, July 3
Georgia-Pacific, St. Marys, GA, July 8
Art Kraft Container, Tullytown, PA, July 8
Island Container, Wheatley Heights, NY, July 17
Heritage Container, Brooklyn, NY, July 17
Delta Corrugated, Palisades Park, NJ, July 17
Norampac, Maspeth, NY, July 17
P.C.A., Valdosta, GA, July 17
Rock-Tenn, Lynchburg, VA, July 17
Smurfit-Stone Cont., West Point, VA, July 17
Green Bay Packaging, Ft. Worth, TX, July 18
Smurfit-Stone Cont., Philadelphia, PA, July 18
SCA Tissue, Cherokee, AL, July 23
USW Assists Graphic Packaging in Getting Tax Credits
Our union assisted Graphic Packaging International, Inc. in obtaining economic development tax credits from the State of Michigan and the City of Kalamazoo for a $27 million planned expansion of the company’s Kalamazoo operations.
More than 500 employees work at the site. Our union represents the hourly workers. The expansion is expected to add up to 160 local jobs.
The Kalamazoo operations include a coated-recycled paperboard mill and a production facility where folding cartons are manufactured for a wide variety of food, beverage and consumer products packaging.
This is another example of how a union can help a company succeed in today’s tough global marketplace.
Rising Price of Crude Oil Prompts Temporary Shutdown
As of Aug. 1, Graphic Packaging is shutting down its No. 2 machine, which produces coated unbleached kraft paper generally used in the production of beverage cartons, at its West Monroe, La., mill. The rising price of crude oil has caused higher costs for key mill production inputs like fiber, natural gas and petro-based chemicals. To compensate, the company is idling certain older, higher-cost assets. Whether or not the machine is started up in January will depend on the company’s assessment.
Producing about 100,000 tons of paper annually, the machine is operated by a 24-person crew. Local 364 President Al Hamby told The News Star, “As of now, they’re not laying anybody off, but they aren’t guaranteeing anything in the future. If they lay off the employees, they would be
hard to replace because they are skilled, experienced workers. It’s hard to just go out on the street and find 24 people who can operate one of these machines. So if they plan to restart the machine, they’ll probably need to keep them.”
Canadian Government Gives Energy Rebates to Paper Companies
To help paper companies compete, the Canadian government gives quarterly energy rebates to pulp and paper mills in Ontario that purchase a minimum of 50,000 megawatt hours annually and commit to increased energy efficiency.
Companies participating in the $140-million, three-year Northern Pulp and Paper Electricity Transition program have already received over $51 million in total. Nine mills are currently
participating. The rebates are designed to help lower a company’s energy costs by 15 percent.
In June, Domtar’s Ontario pulp and paper mills in Espanola and Dryden received C$4.3 million in electricity rebates to help lower their energy costs.
Other steps the Canadian government has taken to address electricity costs include encouraging large power consumers in the forest sector to undertake self-generation power projects
through the Forest Sector Prosperity Fund and Loan Guarantee program; extending the rate cap on Ontario Power Generation’s non-prescribed supply; having a co-generation power procurement program under the Ontario Power Authority; and having an Ontario Power Authority program to compensate companies for load shedding and shifting during high cost power peaks.
Latest Health & Safety Incidents in the Paper Industry
Unfortunately, this is turning out to be a record year for health and safety incidents. It could be because U.S. manufacturers are emphasizing production at all costs in order to compete with other manufacturers in low-wage nations like China.
One of our members had a fatal accident at around 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 22 at Haverhill Paperboard in Haverhill, Massachusetts. According to The Eagle-Tribune, the victim, Lloyd “Butch” Benjamin, 49, a member of Local 204, fell about 25 feet from a ladder and struck his head. He was working inside the plant at the time of the incident and was taken by ambulance to the local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Kim Nibarger from the USW Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Department is conducting an investigation of the incident. Al McDougall, coordinator of the USW Emergency Response Team (ERT) program is assisting the family. Haverhill Paperboard is part of the Newark Group, which has USW members at 11 of its mills.
Local 2-21 members Trudy Broman and Paul Nelson, who work at the NewPage mill in Escanaba, Mich., were on top of a tank that once had sodium chlorate in it that they were assigned to wash out with water. An explosion occurred—the cause is unknown at this time—and Broman sustained severe third degree burns on 50 to 60 percent of her body. She was in critical condition and was transported to a hospital in Milwaukee. Her doctors were concerned about the condition of her lungs and she has a long road of recovery ahead of her. Nelson sustained second-degree burns on his hands and is recovering from his injuries. HSE representative Kim Nibarger is investigating the incident, which occurred July 8, and ERT representative Duronda Pope is assisting the family.
USW member Grady Olson of Local 2-469 was seriously injured when his right arm was caught between a roll of paper and a powered “paster roll” in a paper coating machine at the Appleton Paper facility in Appleton,Wisconsin. Brother Olson is recovering from the July 11, 2008, accident at Appleton Medical Center’s intensive care unit.
Around 1:30 p.m. on July 15, Local 449 member Peter Conley, who works at the Huhtamaki Paper facility in Waterville, Maine, became dizzy and ultimately lost consciousness while he was at work. After a protracted rescue effort, he was taken to a local hospital and later was transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine. Conley is in the cardiac intensive care unit and his family has been told he suffered massive damage, probably due to a stroke, with ancillary heart damage. HSE assistant director Dave Ortlieb is conducting the investigation and ERT representative Hilary Chiz is assisting the family.
Don’t Forget to Register for Health & Safety Conference
It’s not too late to register for the USW Health & Safety conference being held in Pittsburgh Aug. 18-22 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and Westin Convention Center hotel. There will be over 42 workshops covering such topics as Permit Required Confined Space, Introduction to Systems of Safety, Hazards of Noise Exposure, Introduction to USW’s Triangle of Prevention Program, Hazard Mapping Your Workplace and Hours of Work.
Besides the workshops there will be plenary speakers and time for union-only and joint company meetings. This is a joint labor-management conference, so you are encouraged to invite management representatives from your workplace to attend. On Aug. 18 there will be a union-only session. The joint labor-management sessions start Aug. 19. The conference adjourns at noon on Aug. 22.
The deadline to register for the conference is Friday, Aug. 1. To register on-line and for more information on hotel reservations, flight arrangements and the conference fee, go to http://www.usw.org/.
Increased Energy Costs Force 106-year-old Mill to Close
Increased costs for natural gas and electricity to run machinery and excess industry capacity for 100% recycled paperboard prompted The Newark Group Inc. to decide to shut down the 106-year-old Haverhill Paperboard Corp. in Haverhill, Mass., Aug. 29.
Cost of raw materials, such as waste paper, have doubled for the mill because China continues to import greater amounts of paper for its new mills; the increased demand causes the cost to rise ever higher.
Plant officials are moving the Haverhill operation to a facility in South Carolina that powers machinery by burning coal, which is substantially cheaper.
The plant closing affects 174 full- and part-time employees. Plant managers have said that even if the employees worked for free they still could not keep the plant running.
Dennis Clifton, president of Local 4-204, which represents about 140 workers, told The Eagle Tribune the mill closing is a “bad situation all the way around. It’s not a good feeling, and like everyone else, I have house and car payments and the bills keep coming in. It’s a bad situation for our employees and for the city, which stands to lose a lot of tax money.”
Clifton said he understands the reasons for closing the plant. “I’ve heard it spends $35,000 a day on fuel. The union has programs that might help, unless the company has this closing etched in stone.”
Haverhill takes recycled paper and turns it into solid multilayer products, such as book covers and foldable cartons for the food and gift industries.
Friday, April 25, 2008
IP Converter Facilities Approve Master Agreement
USW members at 32 International Paper converting facilities overwhelmingly approved a four-year master economic and security agreement last week. With the addition of the converters, all USW-represented IP facilities are covered by a framework agreement. Last summer, a master economic and security agreement was reached between the USW and IP for the paper mills.
"Never before have we had a single agreement covering so many issues at so many converter locations," said USW president Leo W. Gerard. "This contract not only contains strong economic and job security provisions essential for our membership, but it also enables IP to compete globally."
"Our members' ratification of this new master agreement for the converter facilities is an indicator of the quality of the agreement and a sign of progress in our relationship with International Paper," said USW International Vice President Jon Geenen. "The activism and unity of members made this contract possible. They've been involved in the process since the development of a basic bargaining agenda at meetings a year ago."
"This converter master agreement covers wages, retirement benefits, health insurance benefits, job security issues and joint labor-management efforts in health and safety and public policy, and is similar in structure to the IP master mill agreement ratified last summer," said USW District 9 Director Stan Johnson. "It provides real security for our members and their families that they didn't have before."
Local issues and non-economic bargaining will be handled at local union bargaining tables, and the local unions will still have their own contract expiration dates. Because neither party is permitted to engage in a work stoppage during the terms of the master and subsequent renewal agreements, any changes to the local agreements will be permitted only by mutual agreement, bringing a halt to an era of difficult and hard bargaining.
Effective immediately in all local union contracts is a successorship clause that keeps the contract in place when a facility is bought or sold. Without a successorship clause, the new company is not required to hire any current employees, an if the company does not hire 50% + 1 of current employees their right to union representation is gone.
The master agreement restricts reduction in the converter work force to volunteers or attrition except during temporary layoffs and partial or complete closures. Both parties agreed to ground rules during organizing campaigns that include a ban on negative attacks and threatening, interrogating or coercing employees.
Voting for the IP converter master agreement was completed by April 20. Ratification required the approval of a majority of members who voted. The converter master agreement covers IP facilities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.
"Never before have we had a single agreement covering so many issues at so many converter locations," said USW president Leo W. Gerard. "This contract not only contains strong economic and job security provisions essential for our membership, but it also enables IP to compete globally."
"Our members' ratification of this new master agreement for the converter facilities is an indicator of the quality of the agreement and a sign of progress in our relationship with International Paper," said USW International Vice President Jon Geenen. "The activism and unity of members made this contract possible. They've been involved in the process since the development of a basic bargaining agenda at meetings a year ago."
"This converter master agreement covers wages, retirement benefits, health insurance benefits, job security issues and joint labor-management efforts in health and safety and public policy, and is similar in structure to the IP master mill agreement ratified last summer," said USW District 9 Director Stan Johnson. "It provides real security for our members and their families that they didn't have before."
Local issues and non-economic bargaining will be handled at local union bargaining tables, and the local unions will still have their own contract expiration dates. Because neither party is permitted to engage in a work stoppage during the terms of the master and subsequent renewal agreements, any changes to the local agreements will be permitted only by mutual agreement, bringing a halt to an era of difficult and hard bargaining.
Effective immediately in all local union contracts is a successorship clause that keeps the contract in place when a facility is bought or sold. Without a successorship clause, the new company is not required to hire any current employees, an if the company does not hire 50% + 1 of current employees their right to union representation is gone.
The master agreement restricts reduction in the converter work force to volunteers or attrition except during temporary layoffs and partial or complete closures. Both parties agreed to ground rules during organizing campaigns that include a ban on negative attacks and threatening, interrogating or coercing employees.
Voting for the IP converter master agreement was completed by April 20. Ratification required the approval of a majority of members who voted. The converter master agreement covers IP facilities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Weyerhaeuser Sells Containerboard, Packaging and Recycling To International Paper for $6 Billion in Cash
REPOST FROM COMPANY PRESS RELEASE
FEDERAL WAY, Wash., — Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE: WY) today announced the sale of its Containerboard Packaging and Recycling business to International Paper (NYSE: IP) for $6 billion in cash, subject to post closing adjustments. Weyerhaeuser said it expects to use a substantial portion of the after-tax proceeds from the sale to pay down debt.
The transaction includes nine containerboard mills, 72 packaging locations, 10 specialty-packaging plants, four kraft bag and sack locations and 19 recycling facilities. (See list at end of release for locations.) The transaction affects approximately 14,300 employees.
Steven R. Rogel, chairman and chief executive officer, said the announcement completes the company’s strategic review of the CBPR business.
“We are pleased with the outcome and we will continue to focus on those areas that present the greatest opportunities for the future,” Rogel said. “This future begins with the trees and the land, and our outstanding stewardship of these resources. To this we add our unique expertise in growing and extracting value from the trees and the land on which they grow.
“I want to thank the CBPR employees for their dedication, patience and professional approach during this review. Their efforts continue to improve the performance of this business and I’m confident that this transaction positions CBPR for an even more successful future.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory review and receipt of financing by International Paper. The transaction is currently expected to close in the second half of 2008. International Paper has committed financing for the entire purchase price. Weyerhaeuser CBPR and International Paper will continue to operate separately until the transaction closes.
Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Weyerhaeuser in the transaction.
Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world's largest forest products companies, was incorporated in 1900. In 2007, sales were $16.3 billion. It has offices or operations in 13 countries, with customers worldwide. Weyerhaeuser is principally engaged in the growing and harvesting of timber; the manufacture, distribution and sale of forest products; and real estate construction, development and related activities. Additional information about Weyerhaeuser's businesses, products and practices is available at http://www.weyerhaeuser.com.
FEDERAL WAY, Wash., — Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE: WY) today announced the sale of its Containerboard Packaging and Recycling business to International Paper (NYSE: IP) for $6 billion in cash, subject to post closing adjustments. Weyerhaeuser said it expects to use a substantial portion of the after-tax proceeds from the sale to pay down debt.
The transaction includes nine containerboard mills, 72 packaging locations, 10 specialty-packaging plants, four kraft bag and sack locations and 19 recycling facilities. (See list at end of release for locations.) The transaction affects approximately 14,300 employees.
Steven R. Rogel, chairman and chief executive officer, said the announcement completes the company’s strategic review of the CBPR business.
“We are pleased with the outcome and we will continue to focus on those areas that present the greatest opportunities for the future,” Rogel said. “This future begins with the trees and the land, and our outstanding stewardship of these resources. To this we add our unique expertise in growing and extracting value from the trees and the land on which they grow.
“I want to thank the CBPR employees for their dedication, patience and professional approach during this review. Their efforts continue to improve the performance of this business and I’m confident that this transaction positions CBPR for an even more successful future.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory review and receipt of financing by International Paper. The transaction is currently expected to close in the second half of 2008. International Paper has committed financing for the entire purchase price. Weyerhaeuser CBPR and International Paper will continue to operate separately until the transaction closes.
Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Weyerhaeuser in the transaction.
Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world's largest forest products companies, was incorporated in 1900. In 2007, sales were $16.3 billion. It has offices or operations in 13 countries, with customers worldwide. Weyerhaeuser is principally engaged in the growing and harvesting of timber; the manufacture, distribution and sale of forest products; and real estate construction, development and related activities. Additional information about Weyerhaeuser's businesses, products and practices is available at http://www.weyerhaeuser.com.
Weyerhaeuser Sells Containerboard, Packaging and Recycling To International Paper for $6 Billion in Cash
REPOST FROM COMPANY PRESS RELEASE
FEDERAL WAY, Wash., — Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE: WY) today announced the sale of its Containerboard Packaging and Recycling business to International Paper (NYSE: IP) for $6 billion in cash, subject to post closing adjustments. Weyerhaeuser said it expects to use a substantial portion of the after-tax proceeds from the sale to pay down debt.
The transaction includes nine containerboard mills, 72 packaging locations, 10 specialty-packaging plants, four kraft bag and sack locations and 19 recycling facilities. (See list at end of release for locations.) The transaction affects approximately 14,300 employees.
Steven R. Rogel, chairman and chief executive officer, said the announcement completes the company’s strategic review of the CBPR business.
“We are pleased with the outcome and we will continue to focus on those areas that present the greatest opportunities for the future,” Rogel said. “This future begins with the trees and the land, and our outstanding stewardship of these resources. To this we add our unique expertise in growing and extracting value from the trees and the land on which they grow.
“I want to thank the CBPR employees for their dedication, patience and professional approach during this review. Their efforts continue to improve the performance of this business and I’m confident that this transaction positions CBPR for an even more successful future.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory review and receipt of financing by International Paper. The transaction is currently expected to close in the second half of 2008. International Paper has committed financing for the entire purchase price. Weyerhaeuser CBPR and International Paper will continue to operate separately until the transaction closes.
Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Weyerhaeuser in the transaction.
Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world's largest forest products companies, was incorporated in 1900. In 2007, sales were $16.3 billion. It has offices or operations in 13 countries, with customers worldwide. Weyerhaeuser is principally engaged in the growing and harvesting of timber; the manufacture, distribution and sale of forest products; and real estate construction, development and related activities. Additional information about Weyerhaeuser's businesses, products and practices is available at http://www.weyerhaeuser.com.
FEDERAL WAY, Wash., — Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE: WY) today announced the sale of its Containerboard Packaging and Recycling business to International Paper (NYSE: IP) for $6 billion in cash, subject to post closing adjustments. Weyerhaeuser said it expects to use a substantial portion of the after-tax proceeds from the sale to pay down debt.
The transaction includes nine containerboard mills, 72 packaging locations, 10 specialty-packaging plants, four kraft bag and sack locations and 19 recycling facilities. (See list at end of release for locations.) The transaction affects approximately 14,300 employees.
Steven R. Rogel, chairman and chief executive officer, said the announcement completes the company’s strategic review of the CBPR business.
“We are pleased with the outcome and we will continue to focus on those areas that present the greatest opportunities for the future,” Rogel said. “This future begins with the trees and the land, and our outstanding stewardship of these resources. To this we add our unique expertise in growing and extracting value from the trees and the land on which they grow.
“I want to thank the CBPR employees for their dedication, patience and professional approach during this review. Their efforts continue to improve the performance of this business and I’m confident that this transaction positions CBPR for an even more successful future.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory review and receipt of financing by International Paper. The transaction is currently expected to close in the second half of 2008. International Paper has committed financing for the entire purchase price. Weyerhaeuser CBPR and International Paper will continue to operate separately until the transaction closes.
Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Weyerhaeuser in the transaction.
Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world's largest forest products companies, was incorporated in 1900. In 2007, sales were $16.3 billion. It has offices or operations in 13 countries, with customers worldwide. Weyerhaeuser is principally engaged in the growing and harvesting of timber; the manufacture, distribution and sale of forest products; and real estate construction, development and related activities. Additional information about Weyerhaeuser's businesses, products and practices is available at http://www.weyerhaeuser.com.
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