Plant employees stage protest

By Andy Brown

Published: June 20, 2008

A protestor near the main entrance of MeadWestvaco held up a sign this week that displayed a bright pink piggy bank overflowing with dollar bills.
Written in green marker above the piggy bank were the words “Greed Westvaco.”
He wasn’t alone.
Since Monday, at least 100 MeadWestvaco employees have been on hand to protest as the company’s three local unions – one maintenance workers union and two production worker unions – and MeadWestvaco continue to try and reach a contract agreement. The current contract expired in November.
“We have a 94.7 percent strike vote,” maintenance worker and union representative Robert McClellan told WTVM-TV. “Both parties have signed an agreement to continue to operate the mill until we can reach an agreement.”
Protestors cited better healthcare, an average pay increase and a cost-of-living increase as items they would like to see addressed in the new contract.
MeadWestvaco Communications Manager Roz Durden said negotiations were ongoing.
“The company will continue to meet with union representatives to bargain in good faith to reach a mutual agreement on a labor contract,” she told The Tribune this week.
She declined to comment on how the negotiations were progressing or if the issues cited by the protestors were being addressed.
“It’s not the company’s policy to comment on ongoing negotiations,” she said.
McClellan told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer that the last offer from MeadWestvaco involved using contract workers for special maintenance work and beyond in-house workers’ hours.
“Our major fear is job security,” McClellan said.
“We do not wish the jobs to be contracted out. We actually feel the company is going in the wrong direction with this.”
McClellan said the union has offered MeadWestvaco the prospect of a “traveling crew.”
The company could pluck one worker each from the 10 different maintenance areas in the plant to do jobs that could go to contractors.
MeadWestvaco is located in Cottonton, located approximately 20 miles north of Eufaula.
The company’s Mahrt Operation, which includes the Mahrt paper mill, the Cottonton sawmill, the Phenix City office and the forestry/fiber supply district offices, accounts for approximately 1,000 jobs in the area. The plant in Cottonton produces items such as beverage containers, cereal boxes and frozen food containers.
According to Durden, the protest has not slowed down the plant’s operation.
“We’re still in full operation,” Durden said.