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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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Posted on 01/16/2003 12:50:25 PM PST by chance33_98
Devastating news for the katahdin region today...as officials at great northern paper announce they will not reopen the mill.
The news came today at a bankruptcy hearing at federal court in bangor.
First the good news from the courtroom... The judge has just ruled that great northern *will* have to continue paying benefits to its retirees...the company had asked that it be relieved from that obligation--the judge said no.
But the big news today--that company officials do not plan to restart the mill...they say the most they can do at this point is to keep the buildings warm...and try to sell the company off as soon as possible.
It was a shocking start to the day's court proceedings...great northern officials announced they had changed their minds--and would no longer attempt to re-open the mill.
The news quickly spread out into the hallway--where dozens of mill employees and retirees were on pins and needles...their futures hanging in the balance.
"i'm not very optimistic. He doesn't have any money. He never should have been allowed to buy us."
"he" is company owner lambert bedard...the man many employees blame for the mill's sudden demise...
They say his management practices are what did great northern in.
"he's just gonna abscond with what he's got and go back to cnnada...and where does that leave you guys? Out in the cold." "they'll take our retirement money, our severance money and just throw us out in the cold."
when the union employees heard the news that they's all be out of jobs...they got to work...fast.
Filing a lawsuit against great northern's parent company, inexcon, as well as bedard himself... For almost $20 million dollars... In severance pay for the affected workers...union attorneys say the law guarantees the employees be paid some form of severance.
"since gnp is bankrupt we clearly are on the lookout for someone who can pay the money owed to the employees and mr. Bedard appears to be the one."
now, the judge has agreed to give great northern 2.3 million dollars to keep the plant heated and the equipment maintained, at least for the next few weeks...in the hopes that they'll be able to sell it.
So far there's no official word on a potential buyer...though company officials said in court today they're holding out hope that a "white knight" will step in and buy the mill...and effectively save the community.
What?! You mean it was not Bush's fault.
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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It dosen't matter according to some. All job loses are the fault of Bush, he is supreme big wig man. :) Nevermind the credit bubbles, corruption in companies, poorly run IPO's of the 90's, etc. It was all a master plan of the massah man. :) < loads O' sarcasm >
No, silly, it was the greed of the 80's and 90's, but not counting the golden years of 1993 through 2000.
Cal, yes and no, this involves over half the population of a state in one form or another, also it is only the tip of a very very big iceberg, now, one can only wonder if the Canadians will tell us the other half of the much larger part of this story...
Next month or two could get very interesting.
LOL, yeap... Hey any idea whats going on at/with Bucksport??
The management decisions coming out of the front office of both the mills over the last few years have been just unbelieveable...
What Canada has to tell is exactly what this clown has for holdings in Canada and his connection to Irving Woodlands and Fraser Paper.
Unless I miss my guess, we will see both mills bleed some more and then we will see Irving Woodlands (Canadian) take Millinocket mill and Fraser Paper (Canadian)(already has a mill in Madawaska ME) take the East Millinocket mill both for pennies on the dollar... Estimates have total debt to "woods contractors" at near 100 million... God only knows how many of them we will see go Chapter 7 or 11 in the next few months...
Keep in mind that Maine voted in a one party system last election (Dem all 3) and the State is 2 not 1 but 2 billion in debt...
Iam an self employed welder for the forest industry, so I get to move around and work with a lot of different contractors for both mills... As of right now, the guys are still working .. but .. all the loaded trucks on the "Golden Road" or on the "Reality Road" are headed to Canadian Mills...
Thats the high spots, guess you can probley figure out the rest...
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