“The USW Collective Bargaining Committee, which is made up of local union leaders from all locations and international leaders, began these negotiations knowing that we faced a number of challenges,” said Leeann Foster, vice president of UsW International, which oversees collective bargaining in the union`s paper business. “These challenges included the company`s proposals, but also overcapacity in the carton market, a fragile economic outlook, particularly in the manufacturing sector, and the associated decline in demand for boxes. All these factors combined led to uncertainty. “Thanks to the strength and solidarity of the members in a campaign of more than a year in which all the sites were involved, we achieved a package without concessions, without returns and only with profits. In short, we have achieved the safety of our members,” Foster said. “Our members united at the national level and our local leaders came to a negotiating table and spoke with one voice to reach a fair agreement.” Members of the United Steelworkers (USW) have approved a new four-year framework agreement with WestRock that sets standards for wages, benefits and working conditions for more than 9,400 union members at 62 facilities in 26 U.S. states. The contract, which runs until 2023, includes workers at WestRock paper mills, merchandising processing and exhibition facilities in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. Contact: R.J. Hufnagel, rhufnagel@usw.org, 412-562-2450 The contract includes annual salary increases totalling nearly 10% over a four-year period, maintaining affordable health care, increasing retirement and improving health and safety care. WestRock is the second largest packaging company in the United States and one of the largest paper and packaging companies in the world, operating in more than 30 countries. .