Upjohn Press Upjohn Research home page 1-1-2016 Surviving Job Loss: Paper Makers in Maine and Minnesota Kenneth A. Root Luther College Rosemarie J. Park University of Minnesota Follow this and additional works at: https://research.upjohn.org/up_press Part of the Labor Economics Commons Citation Root, Kenneth A. and Rosemarie J. Park. 2016. Surviving Job Loss: Paper Makers in Maine and Minnesota. Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. https://doi.org/10.17848/ 9780880995085 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. This title is brought to you by the Upjohn Institute. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Surviving Job Loss Surviving Job Loss Papermakers in Maine and Minnesota Kenneth A. Root Rosemarie J. Park 2016 WEseries focus W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research Kalamazoo, Michigan Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Root, Kenneth A., author. | Park, Rosemarie J., author. Title: Surviving job loss : papermakers in Maine and Minnesota / Kenneth A. Root, Rosemarie J. Park. Description: Kalamazoo, Mich. : W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, [2016] | Series: WE focus series | Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed. Identifiers: LCCN 2016002251 (print) | LCCN 2015048918 (e-book) | ISBN 9780880995085 (e-book) | ISBN 0880995048 (e-book) | ISBN 9780880995078 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 0880995076 (pbk. : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Paper industry workers—United States—Case studies. | Plant shutdowns—United States—Case studies. | Unemployed—United States—Case studies. | Displaced workers—United States—Case studies. | Older people— Employment—United States—Case studies. Classification: LCC HD8039.P332 (print) | LCC HD8039.P332 U676 (e-book) | DDC 331.13/78760974145—dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016002251 © 2016 W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research 300 S. Westnedge Avenue Kalamazoo, Michigan 49007-4686 The facts presented in this study and the observations and viewpoints expressed are the sole responsibility of the authors. They do not necessarily represent positions of the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. Cover design by Alcorn Publication Design. Index prepared by Diane Worden. Printed in the United States of America. Printed on recycled paper. This book is dedicated to the memory of Steven A. Root. Contents Acknowledgments xiii 1 Introduction 1 2 The Study, Job Loss, and the Paper Industry 3 Job Loss in the Pulp and Paper Industry 3 Examples of Job Loss and Recent Mill Closures 18 Summary 24 3 Job Loss at Verso 27 The Communities Involved 28 Background to the Present Study 30 What Impact Has the Great Recession Had on Locating New Work? 38 Summary 47 4 Responding to Job Loss 51 Earlier Studies on Job Loss in the Paper Industry 51 Employment Options for Displaced Workers 53 Studies on Changes in Health 57 The Timing of the Search for Replacement Work 58 Family Impacts of Job Loss 63 The Continuing Impact of the Great Recession 74 Summary 77 5 Assistance Provided to Help Dislocated Workers 79 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification 81 The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 85 Summary 92 6 When Women Are Job Losers 93 Women on the Work Floor 93 Downsizing and Stress 97 Older Women and the Future of Work 104 Summary 107 vii 7 When Couples Lose Their Jobs 109 Interviews with the Displaced Couples 110 Previous Studies of Dual-Family Earners 113 Married Couple Respondents in Our Survey 117 The ABCX Model 124 Summary 125 8 Islands in the Storm: The Plight of Two Communities 127 Do State Differences Affect Displaced Workers? 128 Comparison of Sartell and Bucksport Workers 132 Problems and Concerns Facing Those Downsized 136 Summary 141 9 A Canadian Comparison 143 Understanding the Differences between the Canadian and 146 U.S. Systems Paper Manufacturing in Canada 150 Programs to Assist Dislocated Mersey Workers 157 The Canadian Labor Market 159 U.S. Unemployment Insurance Characteristics 162 Summary 163 10 The Future of Economic Displacement for Papermakers 165 Advice to a Job Loser 165 Assistance to Displaced Individuals 171 Verso Advocacy for the Pulp and Paper Industry 174 Getting Past the Great Recession in Minnesota 176 Summary 180 11 Epilogue 181 The Verso Acquisition 182 Appendix A: 2012 Confidential Survey of Workers Formerly 191 Employed by Verso in Bucksport, Maine, and Sartell, Minnesota Appendix B: 2012 Confidential Survey of Workers Displaced after 203 the Fire at the Sartell Paper Mill Appendix C: Methodological Considerations 205 Appendix D: 2013 Letter to Married Couples Formerly Employed 211 by Verso in Sartell, Minnesota viii References 213 Authors 235 Index 237 About the Institute 251 Figures 2.1 Pulp and Paper Mill Closures in the United States (1989–2010) 5 2.2 Date of Establishment of Pulp and Paper Mills in Maine, 14 Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, and Minnesota 2.3 Layoff Events in U.S. Pulp and Paper Mills 22 2.4 Ten-Year Decline in the Number of Existing Paper Mills, 23 2005–2014 3.1 Age Distribution of Downsized Sartell Workers 34 3.2 Age Distribution of Downsized Bucksport Workers 35 3.3 Indexed Job Loss in All Postwar Recessions 39 3.4 Underemployment, 2000–2011 40 3.5 Long-Term Unemployment as a Share of the Unemployed 41 3.6 Job Seekers to Job Openings Ratio 42 4.1 Change in Relationship with Spouse after Job Loss (%) 63 4.2 Change in Relationships with Family Members after Job Loss (%) 64 5.1 Paper Industry Employment, 1998–2014 80 7.1 Percentage of Married Couples with Both Spouses in the 115 Labor Force 7.2 Married Couples with One Spouse Unemployed (% long-term 117 unemployed, by gender) 9.1 Comparison of Canadian and U.S. Unemployment Rates, 144 2006–2014 (%) 9.2 Improvement in Employment since 2006 for G-7 Countries (%) 145 9.3 Improvement in Employment since 2006 in Canadian Provinces 146 and Territories (%) 9.4 Bowater Workforce (from seniority at the time of closure) 155 10.1 Mill Curtailments and Closures, 1989–2013 170 ix Tables 2.1 Wood Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Production by Region, 1966 12 (000s of short tons) 2.2 Disposition of a Plant’s Former Operations 20 3.1 Sartell Population Growth, Bucksport Population Decline 29 3.2 Sartell Paper Mill History 30 3.3 Bucksport Paper Mill History 31 3.4 Distribution of Sartell and Bucksport Respondents Using Age 36 Range Categories from Rook, Dooley, and Catalano, Including the Category of “Older” at Age 60+ 3.5 Distribution of Sartell and Bucksport Respondents Using 36 USDOL Age Range Categories, Including the Category of “Older” at Age 45+ 3.6 Present Situation for Surveyed Dislocated Workers (%) 43 3.7 Bucksport and Sartell Respondents’ Answers to Whether Their 44 Job Loss Was Generally Good or Generally Bad for Them 3.8 Percentage Employed Adults Who Worry They Will Experience 47 Hours, Wages, or Benefits Cut or a Layoff in the Near Future 4.1 Workers’ Responses to Leaving Their Verso Employment (%) 52 4.2 Respondent Cutbacks to Reduce Expenses (%) 59 4.3 Change in Employment by Respondent’s Spouse or Significant 60 Other after Respondent’s Own Job Loss (%) 4.4 Respondents Who Attended a Training or Education Program 62 to Obtain New Skills to Help Get a Job, and Other Survey Responses on Training 4.5 Financial Situation for Dislocated Paper Workers after Job Loss 65 (% of total respondents) 4.6 Has Job Loss Affected Your Overall Mental/Emotional Health? (%) 66 4.7 A Sample of U.S. Research Employing an Outcome Question 68 4.8 Respondents’ Views about Whether Their Downsizing Was 70 Generally Good or Generally Bad (%) 4.9 Comparison of Respondents’ Views on Whether Their 70 Downsizing Was Good for Them and/or Their Families (%) 4.10 Age of Displaced Mill Workers and Years Worked at Mill 72 4.11 Ratio by Gender Reporting That Job Loss Was Good 72 x 5.1 Alternative Measures of Labor Underutilization for Maine, 84 Minnesota, and the United States, 2003, 2009, 2011, and 2014 5.2 Trade Adjustment Assistance: 2010 State Profiles for Maine 91 and Minnesota 7.1 Variables in How Couples Cope with Reduced Income 119 7.2 Activities Utilized to Maintain Financial Posture among Married 123 Couples Compared to Other Separated Sartell Respondents 8.1 Descriptive Characteristics of Sartell and Bucksport 128 8.2 Mass Layoff Events, 2004–2012, Maine and Minnesota 129 8.3 Sartell and Bucksport Population Change, 1910–2010 130 8.4 Labor Force Characteristics of Maine and Minnesota Residents 131 at Time of 2011 Downsizing and in 2014 8.5 Marital and Educational Status and Age Distribution of Sartell 133 and Bucksport Displaced Workers (%) 8.6 Downsized Sartell and Bucksport Workers on Whether It Is 134 Necessary for Them to Upgrade Their Skills to Get a Job, Retraining Efforts, and Job Search Results (%) 8.7 Responses to the Questions “Are There Good-Paying Jobs 135 Available in Your Area That You Would Like to Have?,” Distance Traveled to Work (one way) at Verso, and Reason That You Moved 8.8 Spouse Employment Response to Displaced Worker Job Loss at 136 the Verso Mills in Sartell and Bucksport (%) 8.9 Number of Respondents Identifying Problems and Concerns 137 Facing Those Downsized from Sartell and Bucksport 8.10 Responses to Present Financial Issues for Downsized Sartell and 138 Bucksport Workers (%) 8.11 Downsized Sartell and Bucksport Worker Responses on the 139 Impact of Job Loss on Their Physical and Mental Health (%) 8.12 Minnesota and Maine Rankings for Labor Force, Unemployment, 141 Personal Income, and Education