Strike ends at KapStone Longview Mill after it restarts five paper machines
The company saw employees return to work yesterday (September 8) and will gradually ramp up to full employment and production over the next week.
KapStone #11 paper machine
Earlier in the week, KapStone said it had restarted its #11 paper machine at its Washington mill to continue operations despite the walkout.
It was the second of five paper machines to be brought back online following a work stoppage on August 27, by AWPPW union, Local 153.
"We continue to live up to our commitment to provide customers with a broad range of products and services, despite the strike," Randy Nebel, president, Kraft Paper Division said at the time.
FoodProductionDaily reported workers from AWPPW Local 153 (the Association of Western Pulp & Paper Workers) went on strike last month.
AWPPW said the action related to unfair labor practices (ULP) at the firm’s Longview, Washington mill, citing it allegedly continued a pattern of violating the law by illegally outsourcing bargaining unit work to outside contractors.
Union officials claimed the firm also refused to negotiate 194 rules and policies that apply to its 153's members.
In response to the allegations, KapStone said it had been preparing for a potential strike since the Union voted down its prior offers.
Corrugated box plants
The first machine to resume operations was paper machine #10, the mill's largest machine. #10 produces containerboard primarily for KapStone's corrugated box plants in the Pacific Northwest region.
It was restarted on August 31 after a maintenance outage that followed the work stoppage.
Paper machine #11, KapStone's most flexible machine, produces kraft paper products for external customers in the US and abroad. A number of the company's specialty products are produced on this machine, including its line of extensible kraft papers.
The mill began shipping products to customers according to its contingency plan shortly after paper machine #10 was brought back online.
KapStone operates four paper mills throughout the US with 11 paper machines. It temporarily diverted some of the product it normally produces in Longview to its sister mills.
