JACKSON ENCOURAGED BY 60 NEW JOBS IN AROOSTOOK COUNTY

Irving Forest Products to build mill in Ashland and promises job creation

AUGUSTA – Senate Majority Leader Troy Jackson of Allagash is encouraged by Irving Forest Products announcement to build a new sawmill in Aroostook County which will create 60 new jobs.

“This is great news for the people of Aroostook County, and for Maine loggers,” said Senator Jackson. “This is a good example of how in Maine we should be doing everything we can to capitalize on our natural resources, process our resources here and buy our made-in-Maine products. There’s nothing more American than buying what you or your neighbor makes.”

The new mill will be located at  the site of the Pinkham Saw Mill, which closed in 2008. The mill is expected to open in the spring of 2014, and complement other timberland operations in Aroostook County.

“It was great to learn these jobs will be union jobs.  A commitment to union jobs is a commitment to good-paying, safe jobs,” added Senator Jackson.

Jackson, a longtime advocate of union labor noted that according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, working families in “right to work” states earn $5,538 a year less than states without the laws, and the rate of workplace deaths is 52.9 percent higher than in union states.

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