United
Steelworkers (USW) members at Wausau Paper's Rhinelander, Wis., and Mosinee,
Wis., mills and the Thilmany mill in Kaukauna, Wis., today ratified a new
collective bargaining agreement with KPS Capital Partners in anticipation of
the private equity firm successfully creating the largest specialty paper
company in North America.
"We
are proud of the leadership that our local unions have shown in bringing their
respective memberships together to ratify this important deal in the specialty
paper sector," said USW President Leo W. Gerard. "This particular
piece of the industry still has enormous growth potential and has long been in
need of a new strategic vision to capitalize on that opportunity."
USW
local 2-00015 and local 01778 represent the workers at the Rhinelander mill.
USW local 2-00221 and local 2-00316 represent workers at the Mosinee mill. USW
local 2-00020 represents workers at the Kaukauna, Wis., mill. This agreement
represents a new beginning for about 1,400 paper workers at these three mills.
