Collective Bargaining Accomplishments in the Paper Industry

Abstract

The two principal unions in the paper industry are the International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers with a membership of 140,000 and the International Brotherhood of Paper Makers comprising about 70,000 members. The former is a semi-industrial union which generally extends its membership to all production and maintenance workers except those belonging to the latter union. The paper makers' union by tradition is a craft organization with skilled operations. However, in recent years it has not hesitated to organize new plants on either a semi-industrial or industrial basis when it served its purposes. Both unions are affiliated with the AFL. They are considered together, because they negotiate many joint contracts and are the leaders in the industry in determining wages and working conditions. Both unions have a comparatively long history of collective bargaining going back to the early years of the present century. The industry is composed of many paper and converting plants scattered over the North American continent. Its products include newsprint, book paper, kraft board and paper, corrugated boxes, paper bags, paper milk cartons, etc. The largest producer is the International Paper Company. The second largest company in terms of total assets is the Crown-Zellerback Corporation. The St. Regis Paper Company with many plants throughout the United States ranks third in the industry. The next largest producer is the Great Northern Paper Company with mills located in Maine and the North East. The pulp and paper companies are typically large scale businesses requiring a vast amount of capital, while the converting business is generally smaller in scale, in size and in capital requirements. Price leadership is characteristic of the industry. Since 1939 the tremendous demand for paper has provided an unlimited market for all producers. Capital expansion has been occurring at a rapid pace, and prosperous conditions have been enjoyed by most companies. The key wage regional bargaining agreements in the United States are: (1) Pacific Coast Association of Pulp and Paper Manufacturers, comprising 35 large producers on the West Coast. Since 1934 the association has been bargaining jointly with the two brotherhoods under the Uniform Labor Agreement. (2) Southern Kraft Agreement comprising 9 plants of the International Paper Company. This is known as a multi-plant agreement and dates back to 1938. Unlike the West Coast negotiations, the unions do not bargain jointly. (3) Great Northern and Robert Gair agreements. These are multi-plant agreements principally in the New England region. (4) I.P. Book and Bond and St. Regis agreements. These are multiplant agreements principally in the state of New York.