On November 6th, about 60% of Marathon Pulp's 200 plant workers, represented by Steelworkers Local 548, agreed to take wage cuts of 12.5% plus benefit reductions.

Last week, 15 office workers at Marathon Pulp rejected a company proposal to cut their wages and benefits.

Two-thirds of Canadian Office and Professional Employees (COPE) Local 219 members voted last week to reject a company proposal to reopen their collective agreement six months ahead of schedule.

Their Local president, Assunta Young, said it would be unfair to compare the two situations because “there are huge differences in our contracts”.

It‘s not clear how the vote will affect the operation, which has been asking workers and managers to take pay and benefit cuts to help the plant remain viable.
COPE‘s refusal has undoubtedly increased the tension level at a plant where nerves are already raw.

Marathon Pulp, one of the few Northern pulp plants to avoid downtime this fall, is jointly owned by Tembec and Kruger Inc.

Source:
Mill‘s office staff nix cuts (Chronicle Journal)