As with nearly every other aspect of the mill’s forthcoming closure, Pactiv has been anything but proactive and communicative, especially in educating its workers about their impending loss of health care coverage.
Now, on short notice and with few specifics, Haywood County’s nonprofit, government and educational community, along with state agencies, have to band together to clean up a mess Pactiv could have averted months ago, while workers are forced to make major decisions that could have a substantial impact on both their health and their household budgets.
“Once again, without warning, we are dealing with another crisis,” said Zeb Smathers, Canton’s mayor. “In the same breath, Canton, Haywood County and our partners across the state are going to do all that we can in next few months to make sure workers and their families receive the medical necessities they’re entitled to.”
Workers at Pactiv Evergreen’s century-old paper mill in