Maine Delegation Tries to aid Great Northern Workers

By Deirdre Fulton

WASHINGTON-As a former Great Northern Paper mill worker, freshman Rep. Michael Michaud knows that closing the company mills in Millinocket and East Millinocket could have sweeping effects on the people and the state of Maine.

"The closing of the mills is definitely going to devastate not only the region but the state as a whole," the new District 2 congressman said in a recent interview.

Michaud worked for 29 years in the same Great Northern East Millinocket mill where his father and grandfather worked. The company, a major employer in the region, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Jan. 9 and laid off about 1,100 mill workers.

Great Northern purchased many of its products from state-run companies, and mill workers provided a large consumer base for state businesses as well, Michaud said. Without those significant economic factors in play, there will be a "ripple effect statewide," he predicted.

Before the management declared bankruptcy, most workers already had been out of work for as long as four weeks. Though lawmakers and employees alike remain hopeful about reviving the mill, potential investors have voiced their wariness of both the company itself and the current owners and management.

To avoid too much economic disruption, Michaud and his colleagues in the Maine congressional delegation are exploring ways to reopen the mill and aid the workers, including tax credits fo4 potential investors and state and federal aid for the displaced workers..

Michaud blamed U.S. trade policies for part of the plight of Great Northern and paper mills in general.

"When you look at the long-term issues that not only affect Great Northern but manufacturing in general, particularly the paper industry, it's our trade policies. They're killing us," he said, specifically mentioning competition from Canada.

Last Saturday, Michaud, along with Maine Sens. Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins, met in Millinocket with union leaders, town managers and company representatives to discuss trade policies and other issues surrounding the mill closing.

At the meeting, the lawmakers suggested that there be a separate account for health care money taken out of workers' paychecks. Before, Michaud said, the $186 a week taken out of paychecks for health care costs was placed in a general revenue account. The lawmakers also vowed to push for quicker Medicare reimbursements from the federal government after hospital representatives voiced concern about lack of payments from unemployed workers.

"Overall, the meeting with employees as well as the municipal officials was very productive," Michaud, a Democrat, said, stressing his and the two Republican senators' commitment to working together "to make sure people in the region get whatever assistance we're able to provide."

Both Snowe and Collins have expressed concern about the situation of the Great Northern workers, many of whom have been without work for four weeks. Snowe has encouraged Maine Gov. John Baldacci to apply for a national emergency grant through the U.S. Labor Department, according to her office.

These grants provide employment and training assistance to workers affected by economic upheavals such as mass layoffs or plant closures. According to the Labor Department, the grants provide funds to supplement local and state aid already being implemented. The Labor Department also could provide Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) benefits, which are similar to emergency grants in that they help to provide necessary services and money to workers laid off as a consequence of international trade agreements. Previous TAA grants cover many workers at the mill, but Collins has expressed concern about health insurance for displaced workers under these petitions.

Currently, the Labor Department is working with the state to help displaced workers assess their situation and tell them their options, said Mason Bishop, deputy assistant secretary for employment and training.

"We are very aware of and very concerned about the situation at the Great Northern Paper mills," Bishop said. "We will work diligently with the state to provide assistance."

Paper workers face a particularly difficult situation because they are not trained as builders or machinists, as employees in many other industries are, Michaud said.

"If you're a paper maker, unless you go to another mill, the jobs are not there and you have to get re-trained," he said. But employees, he added, "don't want training, they want jobs."

Workers in the region are worried, Michaud said. The longer the mills are down, he said, the harder it is to get them back up and running. In addition, the company "can't afford to lose what customers we have now," he added.

Taking these concerns into account, Snowe, Collins and Michaud have focused their efforts on getting the mill back in operation.

"I am committed to pursuing every angle and every option to help officials restore operations at Great Northern mills, because our foremost priority must be to return the workers to their jobs," Snowe said in a statement.

Reviving the mill and the region is not going to be an easy task, Michaud cautioned.

"It's going to be a long haul - there's a lot of work - but the congressional delegation is united in trying to make sure the mill gets up and running," he said.

Published in The Kennebec Journal and The Morning Sentinel, in Maine.