Paperworkers Win Union Vote

Covington Paperworkers Union Local 675 has apparently won the right to represent about 900 production and maintenance workers at the MeadWestvaco paper mill in Covington.
   CPU won a runoff election against United Steelworkers Union Local 8-675 Wednesday.
   The vote tally was 450-411 in favor of CPU.
   The election was overseen by the National Labor Relations Board.
   NLRB spokesman Howard Neidig in Winston-Salem, N.C., confirmed the election numbers this morning.
   The United Steelworkers now have seven days to file an objection with the NLRB, he said.
   Wednesday’s election results will be certified if no objections are filed.
   Luis Mendoza, an international representative for the USW, said a meeting was being held at the union hall on West Prospect Street this morning “to decide how to move forward.”
   CPU President Roy Hall could not be reached for comment.
   Wednesday’s election was the third held at the Covington mill in an effort to settle a dispute over union representation.
   A Sept. 30 election was so close that neither union received a clear majority of votes.
   The United Steelworkers won the Sept. 30 election, 415-412.
   A majority would have required one side garnering 417 votes, the NLRB said.
   The Covington Paperworkers Union was organized two years ago by former members of the USW who were dissatisfied with the international union’s handling of contract negotiations with MeadWestvaco.
   When the split occurred in October 2007, contract negotiations between the USW and MeadWestvaco were at a standstill after more than a year of talks.
   Union members who formed CPU accused the United Steelworkers of being more concerned with the union’s national agenda instead of negotiating in the best interests of local workers.
   After CPU formed, the first election to settle union representation at the Covington mill was held in March 2008.
   CPU won the election by a narrow margin but the Steelworkers filed an objection.
   Earlier this year, an NLRB administrative judge ruled there was enough evidence to nullify the election and ordered another vote to be held.
   CPU objected to that decision.
   The Sept. 30 election was held after CPU dropped its objection.
   While the issue was tied up by the appeal process, USW Local 8-675 remained the local bargaining unit.
   In July, a majority of USW members voted to approve a new six-year contract with MeadWestvaco.
   Hourly employees at the mill had been working under terms of an old contract that expired in December 2006.
   The United Steelworkers Union boasted that it had provided the mill’s workers will a guaranteed six-year contract and job security.
   The union also said the new contract provided workers with adequate pay raises.
   Plans were also announced for the operation of a union-managed health care clinic in Covington.
   The Covington Paperworkers Union argued that the contract was inferior for the paper industry and contained too many concessions to the company.
   CPU also questioned the long-term viability of a union-run health care plan and clinic.
   CPU said that if it won the election, the USW contract with MeadWestvaco would remain in place while new negotiations with the company opened.
   Leaders of CPU also said the union would possibly affiliate with an international union that would better represent local workers.
   Neidig, the NLRB spokesman, said MeadWestvaco cannot alter any contract terms it negotiated with the USW without first negotiating with CPU.
   The USW still represents some 150 production employees at MeadWestvaco’s converting facility in Low Moor.
   In July 2008, members of USW Local 8-490 at the converting plant ratified a four-year contract agreement with MeadWestvaco.