Baldacci to meet with Irving
Gov. John Baldacci on Friday said he would convene a meeting with Irving Woodlands to settle a dispute over a Maine labor law.
Irving Woodlands created news last week when it purportedly laid off 80 workers, and threatened to lay off 300 more, in protest of a 2004 law that took effect June 1. The law allows independent forest workers to enter into a collective bargaining agreement, which Irving argued was "punitive" and would hurt the company's competitiveness, according to the Bangor Daily News. Baldacci told the paper that he believes those Irving laid off are already back at work. J.D. Irving Ltd., Irving Woodlands' parent company, did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Sen. Troy Jackson (D-Allagash), a logger who co-sponsored the bill that created the law, called Irving's move "blackmail" and initially told the Bangor Daily News he doubted the law would be repealed. However, Jackson has changed his tune, telling the paper he believes Baldacci will repeal the law in the face of Irving's actions. "We were the only state in this country that allowed that kind of collective bargaining and we never got the chance to use it," Jackson told the paper. "I won't vote for a repeal, but I won't fight it, either."
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