Less than one week after WestRock escalated its efforts to break the locked out Mahrt Mill workers’ resistance, the three United Steelworkers (USW) locals at the Cottonton, Alabama mill announced the passage of a contract to end the lockout following a fourth round of contract voting.
The workers once again rejected the company’s “last, best, and final offer” on January 4. In response, the company ramped up its efforts to break the workers’ resistance by holding a job fair in Phenix City, Alabama, 26 miles north of Cottonton.
Workers were originally set to strike on October 21 until the union agreed to federal mediation less than 24 hours before the October 20 deadline. But those talks were later canceled, and the membership voted to strike at a “special meeting” held on November 18.