Retiring USW 9 President Pat Carleton Discusses How to Build Solidarity In the Age of Political Polarization

This week, USW 9 President and Maine AFL-CIO Vice President Pat Carleton retired from his job at the Somerset Paper Mill in Skowhegan. A pipefitter by trade, Carleton got his start as a contractor at the Skowhegan mill with UA Plumbers and Pipefitters. He began working there full time in 1994, around the same time it was purchased by South Africa-based Sappi Limited. 

“After many grueling years with rampant overtime, my body made the decision for me,” said Carleton.

Shortly after Carleton was hired full time, he became a shop steward. It was then that a period he calls “the troubles” began. In the mid 1990s Sappi hired veteran union busters to gut decades of contract language, force employees to work on Christmas, eliminate the apprentice program and accept a litany of other concessions.

“It was a terrible time for about two or three years,” he recalled. “If somebody got hurt, someone in HR would go in the ambulance with the employee and force their way into the doctor’s office or the examination room and demand to know what was wrong with the person, how long they would be out of work and that kind of stuff.”

It was in the wake of the Reagan era when paper companies were given the green light to bust unions and extract more profits out of workers to benefit shareholders. The 1987-88 International Paper Strike in Jay, which resulted in a lockout and the firing of hundreds of union workers after the company demanded similar concessions, sent a chill throughout the labor movement in Maine. In spite of the anti-union environment, Sappi workers fought back, waging a global corporate campaign against the company. 

Local 4-9 members travelled to Johannesburg to interrupt shareholder meetings as Zulu workers at Sappi’s South Africa mills launched sympathy strikes with Sappi workers in Maine and elsewhere in the country. In an act of international Solidarity, South African Sappi workers even visited Maine in 1996 to speak before a packed audience in Waterville about the oppression, racism and violence they faced for organizing Sappi mills in their home country. A South African worker named Pasco Dyani told the enthusiastic crowd of Maine workers that Sappi was “importing the devil of South Africa to America” and that if they didn’t fight back “it will move like a fire through grass.”

Eventually, the company fired the union busters and things calmed down. In 2004 Carleton was elected Executive Vice President and shortly after took over as president after former President Rod Hiltz left work at the mill. Carleton soon found that his leadership experience in coaching and running various organizations came in handy in organizing union members. But it could be very challenging leading a union, particularly in the age of social media and increasing political polarization. 

Often false rumors get spread about union business or an anti-union worker will try to sow distrust in the union. Dealing with these situations requires strong listening skills, patience and diplomacy. One strategy Carleton uses is to encourage members with complaints to get more involved in the union and help be a part of solving problems.

“A lot of times they just want to get it off their chests. Then after they’ve blown off some steam I’ll say, ‘ok, I don’t think you have a grievance, but you do have a really good gripe. If you were sitting in my chair and I wasn’t here, what would you do about it?’ Then they become part of crafting the solution to make things better and they see a different side of what our union is all about.”

He said it’s critical to be honest and maintain transparency by keeping members constantly updated. USW 4-9 leaders began their most recent contract campaign in August, 2020 after observing the company’s efforts to force workers at other mills to pay more out of pocket for health care. USW 4-9 vowed to fight it when their contract came at the end of 2021.

“I think starting slow and building momentum is a really important part of any campaign,” said Carleton. “We started having meetings in 2020 and asking members what they wanted to see in the contract. We made sure that everybody knew what we were doing, when we were doing it, how we were doing it. If you don’t have your rank and file members you’ve got nothing.”

In total, Local 4-9 held 23 meetings between August, 2021 and March of this year when they won their new contract. At informational meetings the union served hamburgers, hotdogs, beans and chili to attract more members. To help develop their strategy, they studied labor history to learn lessons from past labor struggles, including organizer Peter Kellman’s books about worker struggles in Maine's paper industry.

Younger members turned out to be especially militant. Carleton said that they were a driving force in rejecting multiple offers and authorizing a strike before the company came back with an acceptable offer that not only removed health care concessions, but also increased wages and protected pensions.

“Young people were standing up at the meeting and saying, ‘Look, I came to this mill because I thought it was a good place to work and make money. But the company is treating us like shit and we need to change that because I’m not going to stay here for 25 or 30 more years if this is the way it’s going to be like that.’” Said Carleton. “And the more they said that, the older generation, who were closer to retirement, became energized saying ‘I’m not leaving this mill with you guys getting screwed by the company for the next 25 or 30 years.’”

This solidarity between younger and older workers was key to fighting for a contract that benefitted all the members, from new employees and summer temps to senior members and retirees. Carleton and his team also made sure that various actions escalated in a timely fashion so membership didn’t lose interest.  

“If you wait too long you start losing them, so we purposely had the actions far apart at the beginning and had them closer and closer as we got to the end,” he explained. “By that point they were waiting for the next thing. They were like “ok! When is the next rally?' The rallies were extremely helpful.”

The experience not only brought the local members together but it also helped build solidarity with other union workers outside the mill. Each Local 4-9 member was given an American Roots sweat shirt, which are made by fellow USW members in Local 366. They learned how many of their union brothers and sisters at the Westbrook company are immigrants who have come to Maine fleeing war and violence and how they struggled with COVID outbreaks in the facility.

“We explained to folks what’s going on with American Roots, what they’ve been through and how that company came to be,” said Carleton. “Our members are really proud to wear those sweatshirts, knowing that they were made by union people and are now worn by union people.”

Carleton was able to leave Sappi last week on a very positive note and is now back tending to his farm in Chesterville, but he says he’s not ready to “ride off into the sunset.”

“I will continue paying dues to my local union and maintaining my affiliation for an unforeseen period of time so I can continue working on labor issues and fulfilling my duties with the Maine AFL-CIO,” he said. “I am also planning on attending the COPE Convention the good Lord willin' and the crick don't rise. Hope to see you all soon!”

Congratulations on a well deserved retirement, brother!