Union Rejects MWV Contract Offer

Although union leaders and MeadWestvaco Corp. (MWV) had negotiated a contract offer, on March 17, members of Covington Paperworkers (CPU) Local 675 rejected it by 377 against, out of 393 members who voted, The Roanoke Times reports.

The result leaves continuing uncertainty at the boxboard mill in Covington, Va., and the community. The former contract expired in December 2006 but its terms remained in effect until July. In July, when United Steelworkers (USW) Local 8-675 was the bargaining unit, a majority of union members approved a new six-year contract that USW negotiated with MWV.

CPU fought to represent workers in contract negotiations, which it won from USW Local 8-675 in an election in October. CPU claimed during the campaign they could produce a better contract than the USW had.  When CPU was certified in October, the USW contract with Richmond, Va.-based MeadWestvaco became void.

The mill has about 900 union members and USW remains a presence at the facility. Bobby Harrison, president of USW Local 8-675, and Luis Mendoza, a USW international representative, said March 18 that CPU has tried to blame USW for the latest contract terms. Harrison says he believes the USW local, backed by a large international union, has more leverage than CPU when dealing with MWV. Harrison also acknowledges national economic conditions have made union contract negotiations difficult across many industries.