The Papermakers union in Longview Washington went on strike on August 27. Immediately the pickup trucks, many with confederate flag stickers, showed up. Strikebreakers.
But when the scabs tried to restart the mill yesterday, they unleashed clouds of turpentine vapors that spewed from the Mill for hours, sickening many and driving folks indoors. Over forty people called in to the Department of Ecology with odor complaints. One said he hadn't smelled anything that strong from the mill "in years." Ecology sent an investigator to the Mill.
Mill officials conceded the stench might remain until it rained. Keep reading below the orange turpentine cloud for more details.
The Mill, of course, asserts turpentine levels only reached .9 parts per million. The local Fire Battalion claimed the safe level is 300 parts per million (ppm).
OSHA, on the other hand, set a worker exposure standard of 100 ppm.
Whatever concentration it was, dozens of people objected so strongly that they called in complaints.
Turpentine's Material Data Safety Sheet (MSDS) says it "may cause damage to the ... kidneys, lungs, bladder, gastrointentinal tract, upper respiratory tract, skin, eyes, Urinary System, central nervous system, ear. nose and sinuses.
The MSDS said Turpentine is not classifiable for carcinogenic effects.
Since Kapstone bought the Mill, they've taken away the defined benefit pension, and slashed the health plan. They declared "impasse" in the last contract bargaining round
and imposed the weakened health plan onto the workers.
The workers filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board for failing to bargain, and withholding information. The NLRB trial is scheduled for December, and the workers consider themselves to be waging an "Unfair Labor Practice" Strike.
That's an important legal distinction, because it would mean that the Strikebreakers are not eligible to become permanent employees, and the strikers would eventually get their jobs back, even if the strike sputters out.