A USW video helped Local Union 8-676 members successfully defeat state bills that could have cost them their jobs and shut down their Verso paper mill in Luke, Maryland.
Since 2012, Maryland state legislators introduced bills removing black liquor—a byproduct of paper production used to create electricity for mills—as a renewable fuel that qualified paper companies to sell renewable-energy credits to electric companies. This money enabled the 126-year-old Luke mill to survive amid unfair trade from overseas producers and razor-thin profit margins. Without it, the Verso mill could shut down, costing over 700 USW members their jobs and a $200-million-plus economic hit to western Maryland.
The Steelworkers successfully defeated previous black liquor bills, and when the most recent bill was proposed, they decided a video showing the mill and how important it was to the community would help the new legislators understand why this type of legislation is harmful to workers.
Showing the video worked. The Maryland Senate voted down the bill and the House withdrew it. Even one bill sponsor apologized and promised to never introduce such a bill again.