Friday, October 02, 2009
Union vote at Covington paper mill settles nothing
A mere three votes separated the sides at the MeadWestvaco plant in Covington.
The latest from The Ticker blog
"Solidarity" struck out again Wednesday in Covington.
A long-running battle between two rival unions at the MeadWestvaco paper mill continues because neither won a majority during a vote Wednesday.
As a result, the National Labor Relations Board will schedule a runoff election. A date has not been set.
The Wednesday vote gave United Steelworkers Local 8-675 a paper-thin margin -- 415 to 412 -- over Covington Paperworkers Union Local 675.
The two unions are battling to be the contract bargaining unit for about 895 hourly workers at the MeadWestvaco mill, which is the largest employer and taxpayer for both the city of Covington and Alleghany County.
A majority would have required securing at least 417 votes, according to the labor relations board.
That figure is based on the following: 415 ballots cast for USW plus 412 ballots cast for CPU plus five ballots cast for neither totaled 832 ballots cast. A majority designation requires "half of votes cast plus one."
One ballot was declared void. None was challenged, according to the labor board, which conducted the election. There were 895 members eligible to vote.
Howard Neidig, a spokesman for the regional NLRB office in Winston-Salem, N.C., said both sides will have seven days to file objections related to the election. If neither files an objection or if each waives the seven-day period, the runoff could be scheduled soon, Neidig said.
The runoff ballot will differ slightly from the election ballot used Wednesday, he said. A third choice of "neither" will drop off the ballot.
About two years ago, several former officers and members of USW Local 8-675 broke away and formed CPU. They expressed dissatisfaction with representation by Pittsburgh-based powerhouse USW International and complained that the international's contract negotiators were focused more on a national agenda for USW than the needs and wants of local members.
In turn, USW officials have said the international's clout and resources provide much better representation than the upstart CPU.
When CPU split off from USW, that unusual move followed more than a year of failed contract negotiations between USW Local 8-675 and MeadWestvaco.
During the first representation vote, in March 2008, CPU prevailed over USW by a narrow margin and seemed to have won the right to become the new contract bargaining unit at the Covington plant.
But USW alleged electioneering misconduct by CPU. An NLRB judge found evidence to support some of those allegations and ordered a new election. CPU balked and appealed that ruling.
NLRB, overwhelmed with cases, still had not ruled in the case, and in August CPU dropped the appeal and agreed to the second election.
On Thursday, Bobby Harrison, president of USW Local 8-675, said the vote that gave the USW local a slight edge this time demonstrated that more support has swung to USW.
Harrison said "minds have been changed and our members recognize the best way forward and support for their union has grown." He said employees have recognized that the USW International, with 850,000 members, will best represent their interests in dealing with a global company such as MeadWestvaco.
Roy Hall, president of CPU Local 675, interpreted the photo finish results differently.
"We're a little surprised, more than anything," Hall said. "That really shows us that the divide in the mill is a deep one."
Hall said he hopes that once the issue is decided, the mill's union members will come together and back the winner.
"It's going to be a challenge to achieve unification," he said.
USW Local 8-675 has remained the official bargaining unit for contract negotiations with MeadWestvaco. In July, a majority of union members who voted approved a new six-year contract with MeadWestvaco.
The last contract had expired in December 2006, and its terms had remained in effect until July.
Becky Johnson, a spokeswoman for the MeadWestvaco mill in Covington, said Thursday that the company had no comment about the election results.
