Theron Fidiam Essays - North Maine Woods, Business,

Theron Fidiam Eng. 101 Professor Blois 10 October 2017 The Fall of the Paper Mill in Maine In the 60's production at the mills in Maine were booming. The demand for paper and paper products were at an all-time high. Maine had many large pulp and paper mills throughout the state. This was a time before recycling went main stream and the demand for paper was fierce. We were evolving globally, and everything was documented and stored on paper. The mills throughout Maine were in full swing and workers were making a decent living. In Millinocket, Maine the Katahdin mill was the largest in the world, employing 4500 people and that was just one of many in the state. This was a time when a job at a paper mill was coveted. In many cases the entire town worked at the mill enjoying financial security the mill brought. The mill was the life blood of many communities. No one could imagine the decline of the paper mill in Maine was only 20 years away. In the 70's production was around the clock at the mills and in felt as though nothing would change in the industry. Workers could provide for their families, purchase a home and enjoy the peace of mind the job brought. In many communities the mill helped with social costs in addition to their tax responsibility which brought financial stability to the region. This was a time when the demand for paper was at an all-time high. With increased production came more waste and emissions. The mill was the epi-center of financial stability in the community, consequently, no one spoke of the environmental problems that were imminent. The late 1980's the Environmental Protection Agency imposed new procedures, for the disposal of waste. the cost of business went up in the industry. (U.S. News) Behind the scenes the industry was dealing with substantial fines due to pollution and waste disposal practices. The mill was breaking environmental rules, viewed as crimes to some state legislators.(Kingsbury) This prompted aggressive pollution prevention efforts throughout the mills. As a result, there was a huge wage freeze on the employees. The price "to go green", was having a negative impact in the minds of the Union. (U.S. News). These new policies meant production equipment had to be updated and procedures had to be changed to meet new standards, all at a cost to the facility. Money was being spent to follow the principles of industrial ecology, moreover, employees were not getting their wage increases as expected prompting unrest in the industry. In Jay, Maine 1200 union workers at International Paper went on strike over the wage freeze. Technology was ushering in the millennia, making way for a paperless way of communicating. Computers were allowing people to contact one another with writing a letter, we were seeing more electronic billing and banking. This new reality would evolve and send the paper industry into a whirlwind. Mills across the state were laying off workers year after year. First it would start with the shutdown of a major production machine, then employee layoffs would follow. This trend was common across the state. The new wave of technological growth meant faster and easier ways of doing business for the average person, although, for the paper industry it meant a massive decline in demand for their product. Of course, the need for paper still exists, we use and consume and a variety of paper goods. Still technology slowed down the mills in Maine and decreased production, resulting in lost jobs and forcing many into early retirement. Some Mainers feel it was inevitable paper production slowed giving the worlds technological growth. Unfortunately, it came with economic hardships for many towns across Maine. Today, some of the mills in Maine are still running with just a fraction of the work force from years past. Demand for paper and paper products push minimal production at mills around the state. In the morning at any small-town eatery or coffee shop that looms in the shadow of the abandon smoke stack left by a dying industry, you will hear talk of the way it used to be at the mill. Old timers boast about hard earned injuries