Striking paper mill workers, UPM Blandin reach tentative agreement

GRAND RAPIDS — After almost a month-long strike, paper mill workers are set to vote on a potential new three-year contract Friday.

Blandin Paper Co., owner of UPM Blandin in Grand Rapids, and Teamsters Local 346, which represents the mill's 166 hourly employees, reached a tentative contract agreement Thursday, the company announced.

Union members will vote on the contract at noon Friday at the Reif Performing Arts Center in Grand Rapids.

The company and Jeff Oveson, president of Teamsters Local 346, did not provide specifics of the agreement.

Oveson previously said some of the main sticking points in contract negotiations were wages, a two-tier wage and benefit system for newer employees, and supervisors performing their work.

The union started its strike July 15, prompting the mill to shut down temporarily. The company has not said how soon the mill could restart if members approve the contract.

The Blandin mill employs approximately 230 people and can produce up to 230,000 metric tons of coated magazine papers per year, according to the mill’s website.

Two decades ago, the Blandin mill employed 800 workers on four machines that manufactured paper.

But as demand waned, the company closed two machines in 2003, laying off 300 people. Another 150 people were laid off in 2017 when another machine closed.

Today, just one machine at the mill remains.

The mill is a major employer in the area and is a significant part of the local tax base.

The Blandin mill was built in 1901, and in 1977 it was sold to Fletcher Challenge Canada. UPM, based in Helsinki, Finland, bought Blandin Paper Co. in 1997.