Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez joins paper industry leaders to discuss labor support at AWPPW Hall

LONGVIEW, WA — Today, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez joined a group of pulp and paperworkers and union leaders at the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers Hall in Longview. She was joined by friend and fellow appropriator Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA-33). The Representatives spoke to workers about ongoing efforts to support the pulp and paper industry and deliver safe durable jobs for millworkers across Southwest Washington.

Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez meets with paper workers at the AWPPW Hall

Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez has been deeply involved in economic stability and job safety for pulp and paperworkers since arriving in Congress. Recently, her focus has intensified after a chemical tank failure at the Nippon Dynawave Papermill in Longview took the lives of 11 workers. 

“This is an industry with a workforce built on generational skill and renewable resources. It’s the kind of skill you only get when you do the long work of investing in people. These workers need to know that their jobs are secure, safe, and that they’re going to be able to put food on the table and come home every night” Said Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez, “I’m so proud to be here–talking with the people on the shop floors and in the mills, doing the work–about what I can do to support their livelihoods.”

The Congresswoman has been working to support the natural resource economy, including paper mills across Southwest Washington, for her entire career in Congress.  In 2025, she introduced the Jobs in the Woods Act aimed at investing in education for a new generation of skilled labor. More recently, she added over $5 million dollars in appropriations to fully fund the Chemical Safety Board (CSB), and independent government watchdog responsible for ensuring chemical safety at facilities like paper mills. 

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