Port Angeles factory workers receive social benefits

PORT ANGELES – McKinley Paper Mill will make the closure of its Port Angeles plant permanent, triggering benefits for eligible employees.

Josh Estes, spokesman for the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers (AWPPW), said the decision was made specifically to balance benefits set out in a collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

The collective agreement stipulates that eligible employees will receive severance pay and extended health insurance for three months during a permanent closure.

“We appreciate McKinley’s willingness to work with us to do what is right for the community, the union and the workers,” Estes said.

McKinley has not commented on how the permanent closure might affect emergency operations or future plans, Estes said.

Phone calls to McKinley were not answered Tuesday.

In addition to the benefits of the collective agreement, McKinley also agreed to the union's demand that the company pay both the employer and employee portions of health insurance premiums during the transition period, Estes said.

“I would call this one of the victories of this election campaign,” he said.

The union has worked to support members who have significant health problems and who may have difficulty paying their share of health insurance, especially if they are receiving unemployment benefits, Estes said.

McKinley also agreed to extend the recall rights for all employees to 18 months. Previously, contracts for various employees had provided recall rights between six months and a year, Estes said.

A press release from the AWPPW said this “provides important security for workers who hope to be able to return to work when the plant reopens in the future.”

The Company has also committed to notifying you 30 days in advance of any changes to the hull personnel attending to the construction site.

“We wanted to make sure that the people who were there were not laid off with one day’s notice,” Estes said.

While those union requests were approved by McKinley, other requests were rejected, Estes said.

“Ultimately, we are quite happy with our result,” he said.

Port Angeles City Manager Nathan West said he was glad the change in terminology supported factory workers, but he said the renaming was unlikely to change the city's response to the situation.

West said the city's main focus is to support factory workers, those indirectly affected by the closure, and other workers affected by layoffs and closures at local businesses.

The second priority, according to West, is to ensure that the facility is maintained and not abandoned.

Estes said he believes McKinley was motivated to take these steps in part by the union's public campaign and public demand, which helped McKinley “realize the importance of doing right by the members and the community.”

“Whether it was pressure from the union or a guilty conscience, they deserve full credit for being willing to come to the bargaining table and make these changes,” Estes said. “It's a win-win situation for the community.”

While the company provided clarity on the closure status, Estes said it did not explain what “market conditions” led to the closure or could lead to a restart. However, he said the union's main concern had been answered.

“If you look at this as [permanent] “With the closure, our request for accurate information on market conditions became a secondary request,” Estes said.

________

Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at [email protected].