Workers at the Huhtamaki plant in Waterville, seen in 2020, have ratified a contract with more vacation and higher wages, the union reported Tuesday. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel file

WATERVILLE — Unionized steelworkers at Huhtamaki’s mill on College Avenue have ratified a new contract that includes strong wage increases and more vacation time.

United Steelworkers Local 449 members voted overwhelmingly Sept. 25 to approve the three-year contract, according to a statement issued Tuesday by the union, which called the contract one of the better ones the mill has ever seen.

“Negotiations started out a little rough, but we were prepared and at the end of the day we saw the best offer we were ever going to see,” Lee Drouin, president of Local 449, said. “It was one of the richest contracts we’ve ever seen and a big win for our members.”

Mike Higgins, labor representative for United Steelworkers District 4, said that with inflation spiking in the middle of the union’s previous five-year collective bargaining agreement, its members were champing at the bit to get a seat at the bargaining table.

“They didn’t disappoint either,” Higgins said. “In order for the company to understand the seriousness of our members, we put 140 items and issues, one by one, in front of the company. Though it took some time, the company addressed many of our concerns with language and economics. I can confidently say that this is one of the better contracts the Waterville mill has ever seen.”

The local represents 470 workers at Huhtamaki.

Contract highlights include annual pay increases of 4% in year one and 3% in years two and three; employees who didn’t receive mid-contract recruitment and retention increases will receive a $1.15 per hour increase, which will impact about 400 mill workers, mostly in production; a shift differential of 75 cents for all evening shifts, for those working 2-10 p.m. and overnight; a training rate increase of $1 per hour for all work scheduled as a trainer; an additional $250 a year employer contribution to 401Ks; an increase in sickness and accident benefits to $540 in year one, $560 in year two and $600 in year three; and vacation improvements of six weeks for employees who have worked 27-plus years, five weeks for those with 18-plus years, four weeks for 10-plus years, three weeks for 6-plus years and two weeks for 0-6 years.