The new contract removes language that would have allowed the subcontracting out of union work, the issue that union members said sent them out on strike May 8. Approximately 1,300 workers had walked out of mills in Oregon and Washington. Some 681 workers were on strike at the Longview mill.

Many union members had reservations about the contract, but did not feel they could get a better offer. However, most workers considered the strike a success, saying the union gained respect. They cited the removal of the subcontracting issue as a significant gain.

Strikers accused drivers of trucks crossing the picket line of bumping one worker and running over picket signs, saying they had to jump out of the way of the trucks on several occasions.

The strike won a great deal of community support. The union's biggest rally was May 19, where several hundred strikers, family members, and other workers were on the picket lines.  
 
 
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