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.
Thursday, September 18, 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.
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.
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