St. Marys Paper employees tired of waiting to work

The workers at St. Marys Paper Corp. are beyond tired of waiting for news of what is going on at the troubled paper mill.

It has produced no paper since April and before that production was sporadic for some time.

SooToday.com has come into possession of a copy of a letter sent to employees of St. Marys Paper in July and signed by company Chief Executive Officer Dennis Bunnell.

It explains that the shut down in April was to repair Paper Machine 5, the only functioning machine at the mill.

"We hoped to be in a position to resume production in July," says the letter. "Here it is July, and while we do not yet have a definitive re-start schedule, we do have progress to report."

The letter is dated July 6, 2011 and it says the company expects to complete re-capitalization in the next four to six weeks.

It says this measure is needed to improve its financial stability, to provide security to its employees and their families and to reassure its suppliers and customers.

"To re-start, it has become apparent that we must re-capitalize SMPC [Saint Marys Paper Corp.]," says the letter.

It also says the company is close to a partnership with a company that would help finance, build, and operate a co-generation plant.

That, combined with access two provincial energy programs would reduce energy costs for the Sault's century old paper producer, making it able to be more competitive in the market.

If it makes paper.

"In the meantime we will be watching the SC [super-calendar] paper market carefully to be prepared to enter as soon as funding is secured and business conditions are right," says the letter. "The financial forecast at current market pricing with lower electricity costs clearly shows that SMPC has a future in the paper business, and that the co-generation plant just makes the picture even brighter."

It has been almost 14 weeks that St. Marys Paper Corp. has left its employees and their families completely in the dark.

The last paragraph of the letter has become a bitter pill to swallow as many search for work elsewhere, unable to continue to wait to go back to work.

"We deeply regret the stress that uncertainty has on you and your family," says the letter. "We are working extremely hard to bring you back to work as soon as possible. Please look forward to more communication in the future. We are working with your best interests at heart."

A meeting is planned for next week.

This meeting will be an opportunity for workers to talk about their options and make some decisions about their next steps.