Domtar, unions give to help GNP workers

BAILEYVILLE – Employees at a Down East pulp and paper operation said Tuesday they have raised $11,000 for fuel oil purchases that they will present to their fellow workers at Great Northern Paper’s Millinocket and East Millinocket mills.

The GNP mills are closed and their owner is in federal bankruptcy court in Bangor.

In less than four days, five union locals at Domtar Industries’ Woodland mill in Baileyville raised $4,500. A sixth union had already donated $1,000. Then, Domtar matched the unions’ donations dollar for dollar with another $5,500, Domtar said Tuesday.

All the money is targeted to buy fuel so displaced GNP employees can stay warm this winter. Union officials and a Domtar official will present the aid to GNP union officials at the East Millinocket Municipal Building at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

The union locals at Domtar’s Woodland mill are: Local 2400 of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, with 35 members; Local 1490 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, with 50 members; Local 27 of the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union, with 245 members; Local 295 of the Office and Professional Employees International Union, with 31 members; Local 3, Chapter 330 of the International Conference of Firemen and Oilers, with 53 members; and Local 1057 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, with 65 members.

“The primary reason we are doing this is to provide relief for the communities in the Millinocket area any way we can,” said John Seavey, vice president of the carpenters and joiners local.

Andre Melanson, president of Local 3, Chapter 330 of the firemen and oilers’ union, said, “GNP may be our competition, but we’re all in this together. It could happen to us in a heartbeat.”

Debby Feck, manager of the Woodland mill, said, “We all feel that supporting Great Northern Paper’s employees is truly important. We hope our support assists our neighbors in some small way.”