Contract talks stall at Katahdin mill
Unions representing 435 Katahdin Paper Co. millworkers broke off contract negotiations Friday, in talks that have continued intermittently since May 20.
Workers at the East Millinocket mill are trying to claim rights to negotiate pension and health care benefits, and to insert a successor clause into the new contract that would require a buyer of the mill to keep the unions and their contract intact should a mill sale occur, according to the Bangor Daily News.
The mill is managed by the former Fraser Papers Inc., now known as Twin Rivers Paper Co., and owned by parent company Brookfield Asset Management of Toronto, which shut down a sister mill in Millinocket in 2008 because of high oil prices. Management declined to comment on specifics of the negotiations, saying only that good progress had been made, according to the paper.
If negotiations fail to resume before the contract lapses on June 30, the union can continue to work without a contract, get locked out by mill management or go on strike. The Main Street mill employs about 450 workers who make directory-grade paper and newsprint and is one of the region's top three employers.
Go to the article in the Bangor Daily News >>
Mainebiz web partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments