 LONGVIEW, Washington (From the Daily News) -- Millworkers will vote on a new contract offer from KapStone next week, more than two years after their original contract expired.
Officials from Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers Local 153 are hosting several informational sessions this week about the offer for their nearly 800 members.
Members will vote on the contract Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week, said Kurt Gallow, Local 153 president. Gallow declined to comment on the specifics of the contract until results of the vote are out next week.
The bargaining board notified members of the new offer in a Dec. 1 email:
"After considerable efforts by both parties, the Company and the Union met today at the table. The results of this meeting led to a proposal for ratification, which the bargaining board unanimously supports," the email said.
Millworkers have rejected several previous company contract offers. Employees who asked not to be named said the mood in the union was mixed early this week, with some members hoping for a resolution and ratification of the contract, and others hoping to stick it out for a better offer.
KapStone imposed a contract on millworkers without ratification more than a year ago, shortly before the union went on a 12-day strike. The union filed charges arguing the implementation of the offer was illegal and that an impasse had not been reached. The National Labor Relations Board sided with the company and dismissed the union's charges.
The dismissal meant that legally KapStone wouldn't have to return to the bargaining table unless the union made a concession to break the impasse, according to an NLRB official. Yet both sides have some interest in ratifying a contract to remove an air of uncertainty and to re-institute a formal grievance procedure.
Health care has been a key sticking point in the talks, with the union fighting to maintain workers' former Kaiser Permanente coverage. The implemented offer retains Kaiser Permanente health care, but not at the same level of coverage. Millworkers aren't happy with the higher deductibles, which force them to pay significantly more than in the past. It's not clear how any future changes to the Affordable Care Act would affect the insurance coverage.
Until recently, AWPPW and KapStone had not formally met for bargaining sessions for most of the year. The union appeared to be focusing its efforts on unfair labor practice cases, particularly one involving four workers who were fired after the strike. An NLRB judge last month sided with the company that the workers were legally fired for misconduct during the walkout.
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