Employees at two of Sappi Fine Paper North America’s mills have voted against authorizing a strike.
Employees at two of Sappi Fine Paper North America’s mills have voted against authorizing a strike.
Workers at the company’s Somerset facility in Maine, and its Cloquet mill in Minnesota elected not to strike. Contrarily, employees at two of its other mills, in Maine and Michigan, did cast ballots authorizing a strike. However, as Sappi noted, this does not imply that a strike will indeed occur.
“We are gratified and encouraged that our employees at Somerset and Cloquet voted against authorizing a strike,” said Ronee Hagen, president and CEO of Sappi Fine Paper North America. “The final packages at the mills in Maine are highly competitive and we’re working very hard to negotiate fair and competitive agreements for our mills in Minnesota and Michigan. We hope the Steelworkers will provide a prompt opportunity for Somerset employees to vote on the final package that has been negotiated for that mill,” he added.
A majority vote for a strike authorizes union leadership to execute a strike, if they consider the action appropriate to the situation. However, should the Steelworkers strike at the Muskegon and Westbrook mills, Sappi has confirmed it will pursue all lawful means to continue to operate and supply its customers.
“Our employee compensation is among the best in the paper industry in Maine and in the U.S. and we’re hopeful that we can reach agreements without any strikes,” Hagen said.
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