News

The United Steelworkers (USW) on June 24 said that the union has reached tentative agreement on a new six-year collective bargaining agreement on behalf of 900 hourly production and maintenance employees at MeadWestvaco in Covington, Va.



The union also called upon the Covington Paperworkers Union (CPU) to drop charges it filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the company earlier this month for bargaining with the USW, which remains the only Board-recognized bargaining representative of these workers at the plant.



USW international vice president Jon Geenen, who is the union's top official with responsibility for paper industry bargaining, said that the Steelworkers will not discuss publicly specific items in the proposed contract until the members of USW Local 8-675 have had a chance to review it with their local union negotiating committee.



"But," Geenen said, "I am proud of our negotiating team and our local union leadership in Covington for standing together throughout the last two years and obtaining fairness at the bargaining table in the form of better wages, more secure retirements and excellent health care benefits.



Geenen said that the members of USW Local 8-675 deserve special recognition for their commitment and loyalty to the union since an independent group tried unsuccessfully to decertify the USW in Covington and the global financial crisis deepened while these negotiations proceeded.



"It's time to get to work on building a stronger union," Local 8-675 president Bobby Harrison said. "It's time to work to build a stronger community, and most importantly, it's time to make paper."



The USW represents about 1.2 million active and retired members in the United States and Canada in a wide variety of industries, ranging from paper, steel, tire and rubber and other manufacturing environments to the public sector, service and health care industries.

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