PHOTO: Members IAM 1490 & SEIU 330-3 on the picket line at Woodland Pulp in Baileyville.
Nearly 60 members of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) Local 1490 and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 330-3 are on strike at the Woodland Pulp Mill in Baileyville. Millwrights Local 1121 will go out on strike next week.
We visited some of our brothers and sisters on the picket lines and got an earful about how the company is attacking their trades and refusing to negotiate a fair contract. The workers voted overwhelmingly to strike over the company’s proposal to undermine workplace safety and threaten job security by introducing a new job classification that would replace mill pipefitter, machinists, and auto mechanic positions.
“We’re out here to oppose the company’s proposal to do away with all of our core trades and label us all as mechanical technicians and general mechanics," said Josh Kinney, President of IAMAW 1490. "That’s a problem for our members because we all take pride in our core trades and most of us went to school for the specific trades that we’re in.”
Watch videos of Woodland workers speaking about what's at stake in the strike here and here.
PHOTO: Josh Kinney & his brother on the picket line at Woodland Pulp.
Steam and water plant operators with SEIU 330-3 said that they are opposing the company’s plan to push a tier system in the maintenance department out of concerns for job security, wages and workplace safety.
“On the steam and water side of it where we’re down in pay on the lower tiered jobs and we’re trying to get a little more pay for the lower tiered jobs in the steam plant,” said Mike Murphy, President of SEIU 330-3. “It’s a very dangerous area to work in here compared to the other starting jobs. The pay is a two or three dollars an hour less. Pushing the tier system on the maintenance department, which nobody wants and won’t work, is not a very safe way of going about doing business.”
Senate President Troy Jackson was also on the picket line to support the workers.
Peaceful Strikers Struck in Hit & Run
At around 3:15pm on Monday, two people, one a striking IAM 1490 member and a retired member of Millwrights 1121, were struck by a salaried employee-driven vehicle leaving the mill gate in what has been reported as a hit-and-run incident. The two members were not seriously harmed, but IAM promptly reported the incident to local law enforcement.
WATCH:Video of the hit-and-run incident
“IAM Local 1490 is cooperating fully with law enforcement officials, and we encourage anyone with information about the incident to come forward and assist with the investigation,” said Danny Loudermilk, IAM District 4 Business Representative. “We are committed to pursuing all available legal remedies to ensure justice is served for our members affected by this hit-and-run incident.Our members have been engaged in a lawful strike to assert their rights and secure better working conditions. This incident is a stark reminder of the challenges that workers face while exercising their rights.”
Meanwhile, management does not plan to return to the bargaining table until November 8 as the Vice President and maintenance manager are on vacation. Kinney said it’s frustrating that two key company officials skipped town in the middle of a labor dispute. Whenever there are other major problems at the mill, workers have to cancel their vacations.
He said management often tells the bargaining team that they should be free to “manage or mismanage the mill” as they "see fit," but most of the executives are from outside Maine and don’t have strong ties to the community.
“Most of us, if not all of us, have strong ties to the community and we want to see this place succeed because it is a great paying job and it is great for the community,” said Kinney. “And we don’t want to see it run into the ground because of salary’s decisions.”
Workers will be on the picket lines from 4:30am to 5:30pm every day Monday to Friday until the company comes back with a fair offer.
We encourage other union and community members to come join workers on the picket line! Your support and participation means a lot.