VALPARAISO | Members of the United Steelworkers and District 7 Director Jim Robinson handed leaflets to Menard's shoppers and Popcorn Festival paradegoers Saturday morning in support of workers at Georgia Pacific's Wheatfield wallboard production plant.

Employees voted to unionize 15 months ago after a meeting with a labor relations board, but employees and company management haven't come to terms on a contract yet, Robinson said.

"They keep coming back and wanting to give them less than they have now," Robinson said. "We believe they're doing this to avoid us, and they're trying to make a statement to employees about unions."

A Georgia Pacific representative could not be reached Saturday afternoon for comment.

USW representative Robin Rich said some 70 volunteers distributed leaflets outside the hardware store, choosing the location because it is Georgia Pacific's largest customer of wallboard produced in Wheatfield.

Robinson said it's an effort to raise awareness.

"We've been doing that, and what we've said is maybe appealing to the public is going to help their cause," he said. "We're going to ramp this up and start escalating our campaign."

Robinson said employees voting to unionize at Georgia Pacific isn't something the company hasn't seen before.

"We have many locations that are with the Steelworkers," he said. "They are very heavily unionized now by the Steelworkers across the country in their paper operations."