CORNER BROOK Premier Kathy Dunderdale will be in Corner Brook when the final votes are cast by Corner Brook Pulp and Paper’s unions Friday.
"I'm going out to Corner Brook tomorrow morning and I'm going to be out there,” Dunderdale said outside the House of Assembly Thursday afternoon. “I just want to be with the people in that part of the province while this is ongoing. It’s a time of high tension, high stress and concern."
The premier did not wish to make any detailed comment on the situation until all of the voting was completed, but did comment when asked about the rejection of one contract offer by Lodge 1567 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers on Thursday.
"There's nothing unexpected happening here,” she said. “People on the ground have a very good idea of what people's positions are and so on."
Some of the locals represented by the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union are voting up until 8:30 p.m. Thursday and the deadline for all of the CEP unions to vote is Friday.
It's funny how pure, 11th hour desparation turns previously entirely disinterested employees, let alone completely oblivious bystanders, into the world's most opinionated and well-informed pundits on the prospects and state of the global newsprint industry. People have worked at the mill for 40 years and never even cared where the boat at their wharf would be going after it left here. Funny.