Being a woman Union member was a challenge in the paper mill

A story by Cindy Bennett from 1976-2017

Cindy Bennett discusses her jobs in the Paper Industry, the 1987 labor strike, and being in a Union.

I applied to work at the Otis mill in 1976, and didn't know if they'd hire me because I'm a woman. I later went to the Androscoggin Mill, and we had a good crew. We played hard and we worked hard, but the men treated me well because I was good at my job.

I worked for the UPIU Local 14 Union during the 1987 strike for three years. I loved my Union a lot, there were a lot of good people involved.The strike deeply affected the community, even up to 2017.