Union millworkers at Longview plant approve contract

LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) — Union workers at a pulp and paper mill in Longview have approved a contract offer, ending a two-year labor dispute.

The Daily News reports (https://goo.gl/wGVVqF ) that the seven-year agreement takes effect immediately at the KapStone mill.

Kurt Gallow is president of the Local 153 Association of Western Pulp and Paperworkers, which represents about 800 workers there. He says the deal includes a two-year extension added on that ensures continued better raises. A signing bonus will be paid out once the two-year extension goes into effect.

He said a high-deductible Kaiser Permanente health insurance plan and other benefits remained largely unchanged from the previous offers.

Union leaders agreed to vote on the offer after KapStone said it would rehire four workers who were fired in a 12-day strike last year.

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Information from: The Daily News, http://www.tdn.com