The Legislature’s Labor and Housing Committee voted last week to carry over a bill (LD 1794) to limit forced overtime in the paper industry to next year’s legislative sessions to provide time for union workers and paper companies to find solutions to address this abusive practice that is taking a major toll on workers and their families. Senate Chair Mike Tipping (D-Orono) expressed hope the two parties will be able to reach a mutually beneficial compromise, but added that he will push for passing LD 1794 next session if conditions don’t improve for workers.
We had a lot of compelling testimony during the public hearing about this being a safety issue, not just for folks at the mills that were working mandated overtime, but also everyone on the road after an eighteen-hour shift, sometimes more than one,” said Tipping. “I hope folks know that this is something that, speaking for myself, I hope we will address legislatively if there can’t be resolutions for each place of employment.”
Tipping requested that paper mills provide information about total overtime work over the last three years and how it may have changed, whether it was voluntary or mandatory and if there were inverted holidays and vacations that were tracked. A representative from Sappi Fine Paper told the committee that the company had just begun tracking that information this year and will have the 2023 data ready for lawmakers to review next year.
Collectively, we have made this a major issue and the Maine AFL-CIO and unions in the paper mills will keep the pressure up to improve staffing in paper mills and address the forced overtime crisis. Numerous legislators were very clear that if the companies don't address this issue over the summer and fall the Legislature will address it in early 2024.