Steelworkers Reach Tentative Agreement With MeadWestvaco in Covington

Union Calls upon CPU to Drop Board Charges, Build Solidarity

COVINGTON, Va., June 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers
(USW) today said that the union has reached tentative agreement on a new,
six-year collective bargaining agreement on behalf of 900 hourly production
and maintenance employees at MeadWestvaco.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080131/DC12982LOGO)

The union also called upon the Covington Paperworkers Union (CPU) to drop
charges it filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the
company earlier this month for bargaining with the USW, which remains the only
Board-recognized bargaining representative of these workers at the plant.

USW International Vice President Jon Geenen, who is the union's top official
with responsibility for paper industry bargaining, said that the Steelworkers
will not discuss publicly specific items in the proposed contract until the
members of USW Local 8-675 have had a chance to review it with their local
union negotiating committee.

"But," Geenen said, "I am proud of our negotiating team and our local union
leadership in Covington for standing together throughout the last two years
and obtaining fairness at the bargaining table in the form of better wages,
more secure retirements and excellent health care benefits.

Geenen said that the members of USW Local 8-675 deserve special recognition
for their commitment and loyalty to the union since an independent group tried
unsuccessfully to decertify the USW in Covington and the global financial
crisis deepened while these negotiations proceeded.

"It's time to get to work on building a stronger union," Local 8-675 President
Bobby Harrison said. "It's time to work to build a stronger community, and
most importantly, it's time to make paper."

The USW represents about 1.2 million active and retired members in the United
States and Canada in a wide variety of industries, ranging from paper, steel,
tire and rubber and other manufacturing environments to the public sector,
service and health care industries.

For more information, contact: Luis Mendoza (USW) -- (540) 998-9162

SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)

Luis Mendoza of United Steelworkers (USW), +1-540-998-9162