The Betrayal of Local 14 : Paperworkers, Politics, and Permanent Replacements

International Paper, the richest paper company and largest landowner in the United States, enjoyed record profits and gave large bonuses to executives in 1987, that same year the company demanded that employees take a substantial paycut, sacrifice hundreds of jobs, and forego their Christmas holiday. At the Adroscoggin Mill in Jay, Maine, twelve hundred workers responded by going on strike from June 1987 to October 1988. Local union members mobilized an army of volunteers but International Paper brought in permanent replacement workers and the strike was ultimately lost. Julius G. Getman tells the story of that strike and its implications—a story of a community changing under pressure; of surprising leaders, strategists, and orators emerging; of lifelong friendships destroyed and new bonds forged. At a time when the role of organized labor is in transition, Getman suggests, this strike has particular significance. He documents the early negotiations, the battle for public opinion, the heroic efforts to maintain solidarity, and the local union's sense of betrayal by its national leadership. With exceptional richness in perspective, Getman includes the memories and informed speculations of union stalwarts, managers, and workers, including those who crossed the picket line, and shows the damage years later to the individuals, the community, and the mill. He demonstrates the law's bias, the company's undervaluing of employees, and the international union's excessive concern with internal politics. | International Paper, the richest paper company and largest landowner in the United States, enjoyed record profits and gave large bonuses to executives in 1987, that same year the company demanded that employees take a substantial paycut, sacrifice hundreds of jobs, and forego their Christmas holiday. At the Adroscoggin Mill in Jay, Maine, twelve hundred workers responded by going on strike from June 1987 to October 1988. Local union members mobilized an army of volunteers but International Paper brought in permanent replacement workers and the strike was ultimately lost. Julius G. Getman tells the story of that strike and its implications—a story of a community changing under pressure; of surprising leaders, strategists, and orators emerging; of lifelong friendships destroyed and new bonds forged. At a time when the role of organized labor is in transition, Getman suggests, this strike has particular significance. He documents the early negotiations, the battle for public opinion, the heroic efforts to maintain solidarity, and the local union's sense of betrayal by its national leadership. With exceptional richness in perspective, Getman includes the memories and informed speculations of union stalwarts, managers, and workers, including those who crossed the picket line, and shows the damage years later to the individuals, the community, and the mill. He demonstrates the law's bias, the company's undervaluing of employees, and the international union's excessive concern with internal politics.

International Paper, the richest paper company and largest landowner in the United States, enjoyed record profits and gave large bonuses to executives in 1987, that same year the company demanded that employees take a substantial paycut, sacrifice hundreds of jobs, and forego their Christmas holiday. At the Adroscoggin Mill in Jay, Maine, twelve hundred workers responded by going on strike from June 1987 to October 1988. Local union members mobilized an army of volunteers but International Paper brought in permanent replacement workers and the strike was ultimately lost. Julius G. Getman tells the story of that strike and its implications—a story of a community changing under pressure; of surprising leaders, strategists, and orators emerging; of lifelong friendships destroyed and new bonds forged. At a time when the role of organized labor is in transition, Getman suggests, this strike has particular significance. He documents the early negotiations, the battle for public opinion, the heroic efforts to maintain solidarity, and the local union's sense of betrayal by its national leadership. With exceptional richness in perspective, Getman includes the memories and informed speculations of union stalwarts, managers, and workers, including those who crossed the picket line, and shows the damage years later to the individuals, the community, and the mill. He demonstrates the law's bias, the company's undervaluing of employees, and the international union's excessive concern with internal politics.

CONTENTS FIGURES PREFACE Acknowledgments PART I. BACKGROUND Chapter 1. The Paperworkers Chapter 2. Labor Relations at Androscoggin in the I96os and I97os: The Traditional Model Chapter 3. The End of the Traditional Model r Chapter 4. The Environment Becomes an Issue PART II: THE SUMMER OF I987 Chapter 5. Negotiations Chapter 6. The Strike Begins Chapter 7. Violence and the Picket Chapter 8. Failure to Expand the Pool Chapter 9. The Struggle for Public Opinion Chapter 10. Replacements, Crossovers, and Supervisors Chapter 11. Local I 4 Changes PART III: THE FALL OF I987 Chapter 12. Maintaining Solidarity Chapter 13. Using the Law Chapter 14. Relations between Local I4 and the International Chapter 15. People Grow: The Community Changes PART IV: THE WINTER OF I988: THE STRIKE IN HIGH GEAR Chapter 16: The Corporate Campaign Chapter 17: The Union Goes on the Attack Chapter 18: IP on the Defensive PART V: THE STRIKE COMES TO AN END Chapter 19. Bogus Negotiations Chapter 20. The Convention Chapter 21. The Decision PART VI: POST-STRIKE Chapter 22. Explaining the Defeat Chapter 23. The Strikers Return to the Mill Chapter 24. Decertification Chapter 25. The Struggle Ends Chapter 26. Impact of the Strike on the Community Conclusion Of Loyalty and Betrayal NOTES NOTE ON SOURCES INDEX Although International Paper, the richest paper company and largest landowner in the United States, enjoyed record profits and gave large bonuses to executives in 1987, that same year the company demanded that employees take a substantial paycut, sacrifice hundreds of jobs, and forego their Christmas holiday. At the Androscoggin Mill in Jay, Maine, twelve hundred workers responded by going on strike from June 1987 to October 1988. Local union members mobilized an army of volunteers, but International Paper brought in permanent replacement workers and the strike was ultimately lost. Julius Getman tells the story of that strike and its implications - a story of a community changing under pressure; of surprising leaders, strategists, and orators emerging; of lifelong friendships destroyed and new bonds forged.