We are the USW Local 8-675 here in Covington, VA! We are currently organizing members to become the Bargaining Unit for the hourly workers at the MeadWestvaco Covington Mill from the weak Coviington Paperworkers Union!
We currently have about one-half, and growing, of the hourly workforce
staunchly united together as one.
Interested in joining us and becoming a Covington USW associate member?
Contact us at (540) 962-4971!
Headlines
Labor Contract Implemented at Wallula Paper
This is a statement from Boise Incorporated:
In its two-year existence, Boise Inc. has faced intense challenges. We proved in 2009 that we can meet these challenges head on and be successful. While the worst of the recession might be behind us, risk remains in both the domestic and international markets. To remain competitive, we must reduce costs.
We are a medium-sized company competing with much larger organizations.
Our bargaining strategy is centered on the need to balance providing fair and competitive employment practices with positioning the company for future success.
As part of this strategy, we have proceeded with two major initiatives that we have already completed with salaried employees and some union
employees: freezing the defined benefit pension plan and making changes to healthcare benefits.
At Wallula, we have pursued labor negotiations in good faith with the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers (AWPPW) Local 69 Union, and a federal mediator, for over 11 months.
The company believes we made a tremendous amount of progress together - which resulted in a fair and competitive offer on the table. The company made three offers, the final of which was recommended by union leadership. All of these were voted down. The union's bargaining team indicated that they understood and appreciated everything that the company had done. The company also expressed appreciation for the efforts of the union negotiating team. Unfortunately, it was apparently not enough.
The company notified the union negotiating team on February 11, 2010, that we have reached impasse with our negotiations and that we intended to move toward implementing those items in our last offer not dependent on ratification. We then implemented the contract at Wallula on February 22, 2010.
Click here to read the inferior contract that is being implemented, which was recommended by the AWPPW, that includes many losses such as the hourly employees losing their standard pension multiplier.
Union Asks Court to Restore Century Aluminum Benefits
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Workers who retired from Century Aluminum in Ravenswood recently lost many health benefits provided under Century's contract with the United Steelworkers of America, and the union has asked a federal judge to restore those benefits.
"At the end of October, Century informed the union they were going to eliminate retiree insurance benefits for people over 65 who were eligible for Medicare," said Joe Stuligross, a lawyer for the United Steelworkers in Pittsburgh.
"For those under 65, Century made significant alterations in their benefits, increasing their costs, primarily in premiums. Prior to this year, they paid no premiums," he said.
Local 12-1189 members at the Cascade Pacific Pulp LLC mill in Halsey, Oregon, understand why it is important to have a successorship (job protection) clause.
At the beginning of February their mill was sold to a group of investors from Hong Kong-based International Grand Investment Corp. Since Local 12-1189 members negotiated a successorship
clause into their agreement they didn’t have to worry about losing their jobs and their union contract when their company was sold.
Nothing changed.
That wasn’t the case when Pope & Talbot sold the mill to Cascade Pacific Pulp LLC, an affiliate of Wayzata Investment Partners, a private equity firm. Wayzata recognized the union, but wanted to negotiate the contract from scratch and pay lower wages. There wasn’t a successorship clause in the local union contract to prevent that.
Local 12-1189 members pressured Wayzata for a fair agreement through the media and by holding a protest at the company’s headquarters in Minnesota. Their solidarity and persistence paid off.
They got all their contract language back and virtually the same provisions they had under Pope & Talbot. Now, their wages are higher than at a lot of the mills in their area.
Most importantly, they negotiated a successorship clause so they wouldn’t have to renegotiate the contract again when their mill was sold.
