July 25, 2012 | ||||||||
Service in Action - Avoiding a spool drop from the reel primary arms |
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USW Paper Workers Set Goals at National Conference About 500 delegates from United Steelworkers (USW) local unions around
the country attended the National Paper Sector Policy conference July
10-12 in Pittsburgh to set bargaining and policy goals, objectives and
action plans for the next two years. They also elected members to the
national paper policy committee.
During the conference, delegates met in their respective company councils
to determine their key objectives and actions. This information, which
included mandatory and primary goals to confront challenges and trends
in the industry, is the foundation of the Paper Sector Policy that was
unanimously adopted at the conference as its blue print for action for
the next two years.
"We are proud of the work of our members in the paper sector. They
have made a generation of progress in the seven short years since the
merger, despite a very difficult economy," said USW International President
Leo W. Gerard. "The unity, activism and hard work of our members have
led to stability in the industry, and equally important has ensured
that our members' jobs remain some of the best manufacturing jobs in
America!"
Health and safety initiatives, driven by ongoing fatalities and life-altering
incidents in the industry, were a central focus of the conference. All
members attended a workshop on safety, and they heard Local 274 leaders
tell what happened on Memorial Day this year when an explosion killed
one worker and severely injured four others.
"Despite the fact that the industry has invested millions in programs
that seem to reduce the number of injuries reported, the overall rate
of fatalities and life-altering injuries appears to remain unchanged
over decades," said USW International Vice President Jon Geenen, who
heads the union's paper sector. "That is why we must focus on strengthening
these efforts by engagement and innovation at all levels in every company."
In the council discussions, members shared problems they had with management
actions. Their solutions to improve the workplace were reflected in
the policy items.
"Our policy agenda comes directly from our rank-and-file members' input
and reflects goals that support decent labor agreements and, equally
important, strengthen the industry," Geenen said. "It serves as a template
for action for the next two years.
"Many paper companies we deal with have come to appreciate the public
policy work done by our union and the more efficient bargaining process
that has resulted from our policy conferences," Geenen said.
The USW holds the National Paper Sector Policy conference every two
years. Since the last conference the union has built more bargaining
power.
"I'm incredibly proud that since the last conference our represented
locals have been very disciplined in bargaining," Geenen said. "We're
definitely making progress in creating a better workplace and industry."
The union represents 100,000 paper workers in the U.S at companies
ranging from International Paper to Sappi.
The USW represents over 850,000 workers in the U.S., Canada, and the
Caribbean who are employed in the pulp, paper and packaging, metals,
rubber, chemicals, energy, government, health care and service sectors
Contact: Jon Geenen, Intl. VP, jgeenen@usw.org,
or Lynne Hancock, (615) 828-6169, lhancock@usw.org
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