Tag Archives: CEP

CEP Locals 256 and 89 have reached a tentative agreement with Tembec at the Spruce Falls mill in Kapuskasing, Ontario.

The union executives are recommending to their members that they accept the offer.

Members are being urged to attend a special meeting today April 25th at 4:00 pm at the Knights of Columbus Hall for information on the agreement and to vote on the agreement.

Source: Tentative Agreement Reached with Tembec (Moose FM)

The unionized workers of the idled Port Hawkesbury paper mill in Nova Scotia have voted 85% in favour of their contract offer from Pacific West Commercial Corp.

This ‘yes’ vote brings the mill one step closer to reopening under its new owner.

Marc Dube, spokesman for Pacific West Commercial Corp. said he would now turn his attention to working with Nova Scotia Power regarding energy supply and costs and with government regarding fibre supply and a forest management plan.

Dube said they are facing a Nova Scotia Utilities and Review Board hearing in late June or early July, with the possibility that the mill could reopen in August if all outstanding matters are settled.

About 400 people were eligible to vote on the contract offer. 300 placed a vote, with 85.6% of voters in favour of the new 10-year contract.

“Our members did a lot of soul searching over the past couple of weeks,” said union spokesman Steve MacDougall. “Now that this is passed I hope people realize that the mill workers are not a greedy bunch and that we have taken this responsibility seriously.”

Read more:
NewPage workers vote to accept Stern offer (CBC)
Mill workers vote to accept contract ultimatum (Chronicle Herald)
Majority of workers vote to accept contract deal with pulp and paper company (Canadian Press)

The workers of the former NewPage Port Hawkesbury mill in Nova Scotia have decided to vote on their offer from Pacific West Commercial Corp.

Some improvements have been made to the offer, including sections that cover seniority rights and vacation pay.

The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union is recommending that the workers accept the offer that will see just 229 unionized employees return to work with the new owner.

Voting will be held Monday and Tuesday. Pacific West Commercial Corp. has asked that they have a final answer by Thursday.

Archie MacLachlan, who sits on the union’s executive, compared the vote to having a gun to their heads. He said if they don’t accept, he’s convinced the mill will close for good.

Source:
Union recommends NewPage mill workers accept offer (CBC)

Today the unionized workers of the Port Hawkesbury mill in Nova Scotia were scheduled to meet again to discuss their contract offer from Pacific West Commercial Corp.

However, that meeting has now been postponed until Sunday (tomorrow).

Steve MacDougall, the recording secretary with CEP Local 972, said they have received new information from the company.

Archie MacLachlan of CEP Local 972 says the proposal from Pacific West Commercial Corp. has changed, but details won’t be publicly provided until the new contract offer is presented to the workers tomorrow.

The Nova Scotia government has spent $27 million to keep the plant ready for a new owner.

Sources:
NewPage workers postpone meeting because of new information (CBC)
Offer for workers at NewPage Port Hawkesbury paper mill has changed: union (Canadian Business)

At tonight’s meeting of the unionized workers of the former NewPage Port Hawkesbury mill, the employees were presented their offer from Pacific West Commercial Corp.

The workers have decided to take some time to consider the offer and will reconvene at a meeting on Saturday afternoon.

It is expected that the workers will decide on Saturday if they wish to vote on the offer.

Source: 101.5 The Hawk

The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) is calling on Norampac to stop “job blackmail and work with the union to save jobs and protect the local economy.”

The reaction comes after Cascades issued a news release today announcing the planned closure of its Norampac-Trenton mill, while in the middle of contract negotiations with the union.

Most of the 130 workers at the company’s Trenton mill are members of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada. They voted yesterday to reject the employer’s contract offer, which contained “unacceptable concessions,” says Dave Moffat, CEP Administrative Vice-President, Ontario.

“We have been trying to negotiate with the company for the past year,” explains Moffat. “It’s been a complicated bargaining session, but we had hoped to continue working within the collective bargaining process, and not negotiate through the media.”

“Norampac employees, who have worked to build this mill up over the past decades, deserve better than this,” says Moffat, noting that the closure would also jeopardize dozens of spin-off jobs in the community.

“We would like the company to stop the job blackmail and work with us to save jobs and protect the local economy.”

Source: CEP

After 16 days of meetings between Stern Partners (Pacific West Commercial Corp.) and the CEP representing the workers of the former NewPage Port Hawkesbury mill, a contract proposal is on the table.

At a meeting tomorrow night (Thursday), the workers will be presented with the details of the proposed contract.

Workers will not vote on the proposal at the meeting, but they will decide if they want to vote at a future date.

CEP Local 972 spokesperson Steve MacDougall said, ”It has been a very gruelling couple of weeks. We sat down, went over the documents, and we negotiated in good faith- we are now waiting on our members to see what they think of the whole deal.”

If the workers decide not to vote on the contract, Stern Partners may walk away from their offer to purchase the Port Hawkesbury paper mill.

Source:
Local union officials set to present mill workers with contract proposal

Rumours that the Norampac plant in Trenton, Ontario is about to be closed have been rampant for years.  After several years of layoffs, it appears the plant’s possible closure may be imminent (again).

Recent contract conciliation talks have broke down.  Senior officials from Norampac’s parent company, Cascades Inc., met with the workers today at the Trenton city hall.

Workers are represented by Local 1470 of the CEP.

The Trenton facility produces corrugated medium paper used in boxes.

Recent History

• November 2008 – 90 employee laid off
• January 2009 – 90 employees recalled
• February 2009 – plant is idled, 140 are laid off
• May 2009 – operations restart
• June 2009 – Norampac Trenton received $3.3 million to construct 2 high-efficiency wood residue boilers ($1.5 million from the Eastern Ontario Development Fund and $1.8 million from the Forest Sector Prosperity Fund)
• October 2010 – Norampac Trenton received $83,000 from the Government of Canada’s Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program. Investment was earmarked to improve the energy efficiency of the mill’s existing paper machine by upgrading its capacity to capture and redirect energy for other uses within the mill
• June 2011 – all workers were given indefinite lay off notices
• August 2011 – 137 workers called back to work

Here is a video made by Operation Maple featuring the Victims of Brookfield.

The Communications Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) filed legal actions in February in Quebec Superior Court against the directors of the former Fraser Papers, owned by Brookfield Asset Management.

“Our legal struggle on behalf of the pensioners and workers of Fraser Papers has now begun,” says CEP President Dave Coles. “This is about fairness for retirees and workers who lost almost 40% of their pensions. The directors of Fraser Papers must now be held to account.”

Catalyst Paper now has new labour agreements with the unions representing than 1,000 paper and pulp workers at the company’s Crofton, Port Alberni, and Powell River mills.

The new contracts will go into effect at the expiry of the current contract on April 30, 2012.

“Approval of the new labour agreements lets everyone know that the people who make up Catalyst are taking the actions necessary to save jobs and ensure we have a viable and competitive business for the future,” said Kevin J. Clarke, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We appreciate there is still an enormous amount of work to do to complete the restructuring plan that will enable the company to exit creditor protection on solid footing going forward.”

The agreements which will be effective from May 1, 2012 to April 30, 2017 include a 10% reduction in hourly rates along with various adjustments to vacation, health benefits and work rules necessary to provide Catalyst with a competitive labour cost structure. The agreements also maintain hourly retiree health benefits. Annual savings in the range of $18 to $20 million are expected.

Many workers feel the steep concessions are unacceptable, but have chosen the concessions as the lesser of two evils when the alternative could be the closure or sale of their mill.

The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) locals 1, 76, 592, 686 and 1132 represent 700 employees at the three mills.

The Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers Union of Canada (PPWC) local 2 represents approximately 380 employees at the Crofton pulp mill.