Approximately 1,100 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District W24 are on strike against timber company Weyerhaeuser after rejecting the company’s concessionary offer.
IAM District W24 represents Weyerhaeuser workers in Washington state and Oregon with 14 different contracts in locations from Aberdeen, Longview, and Raymond in Washington state to Coos Bay, Springfield, and Cottage Grove in Oregon.
Sawmill workers, log yard scalers and equipment operators, mechanical loggers, and log truck drivers, including a host of maintenance, mechanical, and electrical workers represented by IAM District W24 have been working under an expired contract since May 31, 2022.
In Weyerhaeuser’s last proposal, general wage increases were too low, vacation time was cut, and healthcare costs increased.
“We wanted to come to an agreement that would reflect changes and improvements that need to happen in order to recruit and retain high-quality workers so that Weyerhaeuser can continue to make record profits,” said IAM District W24 President and Directing Business Representative Brandon Bryant. “Those profits don’t happen unless the work happens, and the work only happens if our members do it. We are taking that work away from Weyerhaeuser in order for them to see us, see our value, see the actual people that make their profits.”
Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world's largest private owners of timberlands, began operations in 1900. The Company owns or controls approximately 11 million acres of timberlands in the U.S. and manages additional timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada.
