Fraser unions OK wage cuts
Unionized employees at Fraser Paper Inc.'s Madawaska mill voted yesterday in favor of a three-year contract that includes an immediate 8.5% wage cut.
Sixty-five percent of the 460 employees represented by the three United Steelworkers unions voted in favor of the agreement, though employees expressed their dissatisfaction with the deal, according to the Bangor Daily News. "They don't consider this a fair deal but they recognize that the company has a gun to their heads," Duane Ludgon, Maine's USW international representative, told the paper. The pay cuts would mean about a $6,500 annual loss for the average mill employee. Workers will get a 1% increase after one year and 2% after the second year.
A representative of the Toronto-based company said last week that failure to reach an agreement that included $4 million in concessions could mean closure of the Madawaska mill. Reaching a contract with the union is one of the conditions needed in order for Fraser Papers to sell its specialty paper business, including the Madawaska mill, and fulfill its bankruptcy restructuring plan.
Go to the article from the Bangor Daily News >>
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments