AUGUSTA, Maine - The Maine Bureau of Labor Standards is reviewing whether Verso Paper has paid all of the severance it owes machinists, who worked at the company's mill in Bucksport.
A complaint filed by an attorney for the International Association of Aerospace Workers and Machinists alleges Verso has incorrectly calculated the amount of severance it owes workers at the mill.
In a letter, the union's lawyer says the errors are part of a systematic effort to artificially reduce the amount Verso owes to every employee at the mill who earned an hourly wage.
Brian Simpson was a vice president of the local machinists unit in Bucksport. "We believe they owe us another $350,000 to the union members of the machinists union," Simpson says.
Among other things, the complaint filed by the union alleges that Verso improperly calculated workers weekly gross pay by deducting income from short term disability payments.
Verso maintains it has followed the law, and last month the Maine Attorney General's Office asked a state court to confirm that the company had met its obligations.
In an e-mail to MPBN, a spokeswoman with the Maine Department of Labor says officials are looking at documents submitted by workers who believe they were shortchanged, and will be in touch with all parties when their review is complete.