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Steelworkers Ratify Contract at Georgia Pacific’s Brewton, Ala. Mill
For Immediate Release May 23, 2008
Birmingham, Ala.—Members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 888 and Local 941 ratified a four-year labor agreement by a margin of three-to-one yesterday at the Georgia-Pacific (GP) paper mill in Brewton, Ala., that provides wage and benefit increases, improves retiree health care and pensions in addition to restoring all seniority rights that existed on Sept. 27, 2007, under the plant’s previous owner.
“When Smurfit Stone sold our mill to Georgia-Pacific in September of 2007, we all had to re-apply for our jobs,” said Local 888 President Dennis Shipp. “Our labor agreement did not have a successorship clause, so while we stood in line and filled out job applications, we also mobilized our membership and our community in a struggle to see that every worker who wanted to keep working here would have the opportunity.
“With the help of our International Union and the unyielding solidarity of our sisters and brothers in other paper mills, we were successful in preserving our seniority and vacation schedule that we had worked decades building up,” he said. “The new contract has a strong successorship clause and the overwhelming ratification vote shows how solidarity among workers can work miracles.”
Workers will receive wage increases of 2 percent the first year, $1,000 lump sum in the second, 2 percent the third year and $1,000 lump sum in the fourth year, which is in line with the USW/GP umbrella framework agreement negotiated by the International Union. The initial wage increase will be paid retroactive from Nov. 1, 2007.
“This new contract gives us stability in our health care plan and costs,” said Local 941 President Thomas Miller. “GP won’t be able to change our health care without negotiating with our union first, and our contribution toward premiums is limited at 25 percent.
“Important strides were also made in retiree pensions and health care,” he said. “Our pension will be $60 per month times years of service going forward for all employees working for the company prior to May 26, 2008. Employees hired after that date will get a $50 multiplier. All workers hired at the Brewton mill between Sept. 27, 2007 and Nov. 1, 2007 will be fully vested in the pension plan.
“There also is an addendum to the Retiree Health Plan that gives access to the plan to employees who retire on or after Jan. 1, 2009, are between the ages of 55 and 64, and who were hired between Sept. 27, 2007 and Nov. 1, 2007,” Miller said.
“Getting to this agreement was a long and arduous struggle,” said USW District 9 Director Stan Johnson. “The entire labor movement salutes these workers. While union paper workers across the country demonstrated support in many ways for the rights of these men and women, the rank-and-file members of Locals 888 and 941 were on the firing line. They stood together, stood firm and stood on the high moral ground. In the end, justice prevailed.”
The USW is the largest industrial union in North America, representing more than 850,000 members, including some 130,000 paper workers. The union represents 10,000 GP workers at 43 locations. www.usw.org
CONTACT: Emory Barnette, USW Intl. Rep., (cell) 205-299-2035
Stan Johnson, District 9 Director, (o) 615-831-6702
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2008 RELEASES AND ADVISORIES
