Local 2-1279, representing SCA employees, gives a total of $2,000 for higher education
NEENAH-MENASHA, Wis. — The United Steelworks (USW) Local 2-1279 has awarded four $500 scholarships for post-high school education to children of its members. USW Local 2-1279 represents 530 workers in the SCA mill and converting plant in Menasha and Neenah, Wisconsin.
To be considered for the scholarship, students had to be a child of a USW Local 2-1279 member and enrolled in a full-time accredited college or technical school. They also had to submit an essay on the benefits of collective bargaining.
This year’s winning students are: Ashley Zitzelsberger of Menasha, Spencer Swick of Appleton, Kate Pommerening of Neenah, and Kevin Heiden of Black Creek. Zitzelsberger is attending Marion University in Fond du Lac. Swick is attending Lawrence University in Appleton. Pommerening is attending the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Heiden is attending the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
“Our goal with this scholarship is to encourage students to research and increase their knowledge of union issues, both current and historic, and to help our families offset the ever-increasing costs of getting a quality education,” said Bill Kilishek, President of USW Local 2-1279.
“I think we have something special in the Midwest, both with our members and the progressive partnership we have with SCA in working cooperatively to achieve our common goals,” added Kilishek, who was a shift trainer at SCA’s Neenah converting facility before serving as the USW Local 2-1279 President. “In working together, we are able to support jobs as well as the communities where we live and work.”
USW Local 2-1279 began its annual local union scholarship program in 2006, and has given a total of $6,000 in education funds since the program’s inception.
SCA has nearly 920 employees in the Fox Cities, including nearly 760 between its Menasha mill and Neenah converting facility, and 150 at its Service Excellence Center in the Town of Menasha. In addition to Wisconsin, SCA’s North American tissue division, which is headquartered in Philadelphia, has manufacturing facilities in Alabama, Arizona and New York, and employs more than 2,200 in the United States and Canada.
SCA in North America
SCA’s North American tissue division is one of the three largest producers of away-from-home tissue products in North America, supplying paper napkins, tissues, towels, specialty wipers, dispensers and soap used in commercial settings such as restaurants, office buildings, schools and healthcare facilities. Tork® products are made from 100-percent recycled content. SCA recycles more than 750,000 tons of paper a year; on average, more than 60 percent of those tons are post-consumer waste. The first American papermaker to earn EcoLogo™ certification, SCA also has earned Green Seal™ certification on many of its products. More information is available at www.torkusa.com.
About Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget SCA
SCA, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, is a global hygiene and paper company that develops and produces personal-care products, tissue, packaging solutions, publication papers and solid-wood products. Sales are conducted in some 100 countries. SCA has many well-known brands, including the global brands TENA® and Tork. Sales in 2010 were $15 billion (US). SCA has approximately 45,000 employees. More information is available at www.sca.com.
About the USW
The USW is the largest industrial union in North America with 850,000 members in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean, including 120,000 workers in the paper industry. It also represents workers employed in metals, rubber, chemicals, oil refining, atomic energy and the service sectors. More information is available at www.USW.org.