Thursday, September 25, 2008

AWPPW California Council at Los Angeles.

Down here in So-Cal for a council meeting of all the locals in California. We give reports on how our plants are doing and catch up on grievances, arbitration's, organizing and bargain's the AWPPW is active in. (We had lunch at a place called the The Hat in Brea. Awesome!) The theme seemed to be about the economy and how it is affecting our industry. Our jobs in the Pulp and Paper industry are moving overseas because of environmental constraints that oversea operations do not have to abide by. I will touch on this subject when I am home.

14 comments:

Tapperass said...

The Hat is very nice!!!

-boy

Anonymous said...

Tell them your mill has been stinking up the town while you've been gone.

Anonymous said...

7:48 You sure that isn't your upper lip your smelling?

Anonymous said...

Nice to know the unions are speaking on behalf of the owners against environmental regulation. Load of shit.

samoasoftball said...

I will address this issue when I get home. The issue. The problem is complex. I am in Redding tonight so I can play ball.

Anonymous said...

The pulp mill is in huge financial trouble, and will be closed within a year.

Wish I could reveal my source, but suffice it to say that it's a good one.

Anonymous said...

If that's the case, hopefully it will open an opportunity for Richard and some of the other savvy workers to organize an employee stock option buyout.

That's what would be best for this community. We need those jobs, but we also need better environmental oversight, more community input, and more power for the workers.

Anonymous said...

"Our jobs in the Pulp and Paper industry are moving overseas because of environmental constraints that oversea operations do not have to abide by."

How about a rewrite? :

Investors in pulp and paper production are moving their facilities to places that allow higher levels of pollution. Government officials, influenced by paper consuming industry lobbyists and free market ideology, decline to add pollution duties onto the cost of imported paper. So, environmental pollution is increased and we're losing our jobs, while profits increase to investors of polluting plants. At the same time, profits are reduced for those who develop less polluting technologies.

Anonymous said...

Well, if they stop the pulp mill I say blow the fucking docks. There is no way in hell this community should have to put up with exporting raw materials. Period. We have been doing enough of that. And to Japan? Our public dollars have been used to deepen the port, so that we can export raw materials? This is all wrong. Blow the docks, close the port. If were not shipping refined product, we wont be shipping any product at all.

Anonymous said...

Closing the pulp mill would make me happier and healthier. The health of 50,000 is more important than the jobs of 200.

Shane Brinton said...

Look... there's a demand for paper products. We all use them. As long as pulp mills exist, it is better that they be located in places with strong environmental movements/communities that can push for tougher standards and regulations.

If the "not in my backyard" attitude prevailed, we would be handing the problem to some other community (perhaps in a third world country with no regulations). It is best to keep those jobs here and work to strengthen protections for the environment and public health.

Anonymous said...

Shane the self professed communist will not rest until he has access to every back yard in the county.

Anonymous said...

Gee anonymous 1:36, you've repeated a lie.

Shane has been a Democrat for some time and is endorsed by the local Democrat committe as well as by Mike Harvey, former Republican committee chairman.

anonaymous said...

Gee-seems like some folks think proffit=bad,all corporations= bad. shane thinks keep jobs here where we can smother them with more regulation.why the hell do you think they are leaving shane?By the way, i havent heard you on your soap box about sun valley going down due to big brother! you stand on you soap box and talk about jobs but cant do any more than give it lip service.
Hay Richard. You and your buddies think you could hear the sucking sound of busineses leaving the country because of NAFTA, just wait till you guys get card check.It will make the sucking sound of nafta sound like a vacume cleaner compared to a huricane.