Shutdowns Upset Workers, Spotlights Need For Job Security

Union workers are increasingly concerned about the wave of shutdowns announced by GP, and responding for now by fighting for the best deal possible for workers affected by the loss of jobs.

More news has arrived about GP’s plan to shut down the plant in Franklin, Mass. On Tuesday, Feb. 19, a union delegation visited state officials to nail down additional shutdown benefits, retraining and rehiring assistance for the 30 GP workers who have already been laid off and the remaining 60 workers who will be laid off in April. The Union negotiated severance pay and family health insurance until at least June and more.

At GP’s Suffolk, Va., saw mill, the temporary shutdown is to be made permanent, leaving approximately 15 workers laid off. The USW is bargaining with the company over this action and what it will mean for workers there.

A closing was also announced at the GP box plant in Batavia, Ohio. Union negotiations over effects bargaining are completed. The plant is scheduled to be shut down April 7, 2008

Union workers are seeking a way to discourage this corporate sell off of assets. It’s suspicious how the timing of these box plant closings coincides with hints that GP is buying Temple Inland,
which has 2 box plants not far from Batavia (Middletown and Marion, Ohio) and two box plants within 200 miles of the closing GP box plant in Franklin (Spotswood, N.J. and Scotia, N.Y.)

In the meantime, the USW and the GP Union Conference have made it a priority to assist those adversely affected to help them land on their feet. While the company goes through these business transformations, union workers want to have a seat at the table when decisions like this are being made. And while protecting workers rights in regards to seniority and other job security issues, we want to persuade the company into reinvesting in GP facilities for long-term viability.