OLD TOWN – After Georgia-Pacific Corp. eliminated 300 jobs last Friday at its Old Town mill, employees started asking a lot of questions.

G-P is holding three meetings today, at 8 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., at the training center to provide some answers.

“We’re going to bring in the Rapid Response Group,” said Debbi Taylor, manager of human resources for G-P’s Old Town mill. “The Rapid Response Group is part of the [Maine] Department of Labor. They will set up a team that will address benefits for the displaced workers.”

Taylor said G-P’s Employee Assistance Program will provide one-on-one consultations with affected workers to answer queries and give advice.

Who is still employed at the mill is one of the major questions employees are asking. With half of the employees let go, those with seniority will have the inside track to work in the pulp operations portion of the mill that is remaining open, said company officials. Seniority, however, will not be the only factor for employment. G-P’s needs and certifications held by employees also will be used to determine who will stay.

“We worked all weekend to try to address that – it’s a very convoluted process,” said Taylor. “We’ve pretty much put that to bed, and we have a pretty good idea as to how that will work.”

Taylor said employees with at least 25 years of experience likely will have “bumping rights” and remain employed.

The exact list of who will keep their jobs was not available Monday but, Taylor said, she hopes to finish it as soon as possible.

“I have to determine who’s going to be bumped and then pay the WARN [Workers Adjustment & Retraining Notification] to those individuals who are going to be displaced,” said Taylor. “Tomorrow, I hope, we’re going to be doing the effects bargaining with union and company reps to determine what the severance package is going to be. The state severance law says that an employee who’s worked more than three years must receive a minimum of one week of pay for every year of service.”

Company officials will be working with the PACE Local 80 labor union on the effects bargaining for hourly employees.

“My desire is to get the checks and severance out in the next couple weeks,” said Taylor. “We’re going to do everything possible to make that happen.”

The WARN Act is a federal law that requires companies to give employees at least 60 days’ notice of a shutdown or major layoff.

“What we did was serve the WARN, then we allowed them [employees] not to have to work it,” said Taylor. “We’re just going to pay it in a lump sum.”

By allowing employees the time off, instead of making them work, they will have the ability to apply for other jobs, company officials said.

“They act like they’re doing you a favor,” said 23-year G-P veteran mechanic Tom Higgins of the 60-day notice. “Then we found out it’s a law.”

The company had planned on the shutdown, Higgins said, because company officials from other G-P facilities had laid claim to equipment at the Old Town mill.

“Command people from other mills have come in and picked out some of the equipment they wanted and locked it out,” he said.

G-P senior communications manager Robert Burns confirmed that equipment was in the process of being moved to a G-P facility in New York.

“We are going to be moving a couple of conversion lines that make bath tissue,” he said. “They’re moving it to another facility in Plattsburgh, New York.”

On Monday morning, the labor union met with Old Town city officials, several state lawmakers and Gov. John E. Baldacci. State Sen. Mary Cathcart of District 7, which encompasses Old Town, said the meeting was held to see exactly what the government can do to help and to show support for Old Town and its residents.

“It was a fairly short meeting,” she said. “It was just to go and show the employees there that we’re supporting them and we’re trying to replace the jobs. We’re going to work on how to get other jobs there for them.”

Cathcart said the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of G-P, Pete Correll, is a University of Maine graduate who once lived in Old Town.

“We’re hoping he will listen,” she said. “I feel they should have given the state some warning. If they were having problems, like the high energy costs that we do have in Maine, they should have talked to the governor and asked if we could have helped instead of just shut down a mill. They’re thinking about their pocketbook and their stockholders before they thought about laying off 300 working in a small Maine town.”

The governor also discussed how his Pine Tree Zone legislation, which would give large companies major tax breaks to move to Maine, could help the Old Town area.

In addition to today’s meetings, the company also is applying for several grants for employee assistance.

“We will also be applying for Trade Adjustment Assistance,” said Taylor. “That is a federal grant that helps with displaced workers by extending emergency benefits. It helps with schooling and retraining and it includes relocation if they can’t find a job here.”

The Rapid Response Group also will apply for a national emergency grant that will give employees more benefits, such as medical insurance. But, Taylor added, “it doesn’t mean we will get them.”

Approximately 300 workers will remain on the job working in the pulp operation, powerhouse, administration, clerical and maintenance portions of the business.