[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 132 (Thursday, October 19, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1872]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                RECOGNITION OF CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. WALTER B. JONES

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 19, 2000

  Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, just over a year ago, 
Hurricane Floyd struck the 3rd District of North Carolina, causing 
billions of dollars of damage and displacing thousands of families. 
Eastern North Carolina is no stranger to extreme weather conditions and 
my district always seems to rise to the challenge posed by these 
natural disasters.
  But there is something that goes unnoticed by many, goes unreported 
by the newspapers and broadcast media, goes unappreciated by many who 
call themselves environmentalists and goes unrecognized by many in 
Congress.
  Corporate America and businesses in general are an integral component 
of our neighborhoods and communities devastated by Hurricane Floyd. 
Weyerhaueser, one of the world's leading forest products companies, is 
one company I'd like to recognize as a good neighbor during the worse 
natural disaster in state's history.
  I'd like to place in the Record this letter commending Weyerhauesuer 
and their efforts during this national calamity. Without responsible 
companies like Weyerhaueser, recovery in Eastern North Carolina would 
have been impossible. On behalf of Eastern North Carolina, I rise today 
to thank Weyerhaueser and their heartfelt actions after Hurricane 
Floyd.

 North Carolina Flood Puts Weyerhaeuser's Employee Support to the Test

   By Elizabeth Crossman, vice president of the Weyerhaeuser Company 
                               Foundation

       NEW BERN, NC--In September, 1999, rising floodwaters in the 
     wake of Hurricane Floyd made thousands of eastern North 
     Carolinians homeless, and caused billions of dollars in 
     damage to property, commerce and infrastructure. It was the 
     worst natural disaster in the state's history. For 
     Weyerhaeuser, one of the world's leading forest products 
     companies, the floods posed the ultimate challenge to the 
     company's commitment to its employees.
       Weyerhaeuser operates 16 facilities or offices across North 
     Carolina--primarily sawmills and pulp and paper manufacturing 
     plants located near its substantial timber holdings in the 
     coastal plain. About two-thirds of Weyerhaeuser's North 
     Carolina workforce of about 3,000 make their homes in that 
     section of North Carolina that bore the brunt of the storm.
       Of course Weyerhaeuser faced immediate challenges in the 
     aftermath of the floods. Several mills were either flooded 
     themselves, or cut off from employees and raw materials by 
     impassable roads. Communities in which the company operates 
     were in turmoil, with schools closed, utilities disrupted and 
     relief organizations rushing to the area to set up temporary 
     services. While dealing with these concerns, the company's 
     unit managers had to take inventory of who among their 
     employees was affected and to what extent. It took several 
     weeks to get an accurate count, with human resource and 
     corporate affairs managers comparing notes. The impact was 
     substantial. Over ninety active employees or retirees were 
     harmed by the storm, most of them significantly. In fact 35 
     suffered total losses.
       Meanwhile, at corporate headquarters in Federal Way, 
     Washington, executives were already understanding the 
     seriousness of the situation in North Carolina, and crafting 
     their first response. The Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation 
     maintains an emergency budget to respond quickly when 
     disasters strike communities where the company operates. This 
     fund, for example, was tapped to support Oklahoma City after 
     the bombing of the federal building in 1996. And, in response 
     to the devastating flooding in eastern North Carolina, the 
     Foundation promptly appropriated $100,000 to support four 
     local American Red Cross chapters who were providing 
     immediate assistance to impacted communities.
       Within weeks, Weyerhaeuser Chairman and CEO Steve Rogel was 
     on the ground in North Carolina assessing the damage first 
     hand and meeting with impacted employees. He heard the same 
     message repeatedly. ``Our employees told me they needed 
     immediate funds in order to get into temporary housing, and 
     they needed advice and help to deal with the relief agencies 
     and insurance companies. That's where we aimed our support,'' 
     said Rogel.
       Rogel and his team of corporate and North Carolina advisors 
     crafted an action plan that they put into place within days.
       Dedicated fund for employees: Working with the United Way 
     chapter of Pitt County in Greenville, NC, the company set up 
     a dedicated account to collect funds for employee flood 
     victims. A corporate gift of $100,000 was eventually more 
     than doubled by individual employee donations from throughout 
     the company.
       Dedicated advocate: A full-time manager was assigned to set 
     up individual case files for all 93 impacted employees and 
     assist each of them in their dealings with relief agencies, 
     insurance companies, state and county governments, lawyers 
     and others.
       Counseling for victims: The company offered crisis 
     counseling to its employees and their family members through 
     its Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP).
       Adopt-A-Family program: The Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation 
     organized a program by which facilities and staff groups 
     throughout the company could ``adopt'' a family affected by 
     the floods. The Adopt-A-Family benefactors continue to 
     provide monetary or in-kind contributions as their 
     circumstances allow, and offer personal solace and 
     encouragement for their colleagues in need. All 51 employees 
     or retirees with total or significant losses have been 
     adopted.
       Coordination of recovery efforts: The corporate-assigned 
     flood victim advocate, working with a team of North Carolina 
     human resource managers, coordinates recovery activities, 
     including distribution of money from the United Way fund to 
     employees, soliciting donations of building materials from 
     Weyerhaeuser manufacturing facilities and scheduling 
     volunteers for clean-up or rebuilding projects.
       As a result of Weyerhaeuser's prompt and unique approach, 
     employee flood victims have realized many tangible benefits. 
     Over $257,000 has been distributed to employees in need from 
     the dedicated fund administered by Pitt County United Way. 
     All employees or retirees with total or significant losses 
     were placed with facilities or staff groups through Adopt-A-
     Family. All have received substantial support, including in 
     some cases automobiles, appliances, furniture, personal items 
     and cash. All but four employees made homeless by the flood 
     are in new or rebuilt housing, with everyone expected to be 
     back home by year-end.
       Katy Taylor, appointed by Weyerhaeuser to fill the 
     advocate's role, has chronicled the events of the flood and 
     the recovery in the year since. She has been moved both by 
     the plight of the affected employees and by the generosity of 
     those responding. ``For someone who has lost just about 
     everything they worked all their lives for, knowing there are 
     people supporting you in your time of need is so important. 
     Weyerhaeuser's corporate support and the Adopt-A-Family 
     program gave our impacted employees somewhere to turn when 
     they thought there was none,'' Taylor said. Her experience 
     has led Weyerhaeuser to conclude some key benefits that other 
     companies could gain by following a similar approach.
       Taylor defines four key benefits: productivity; pride; 
     citizenship and partnership. Weyerhaeuser's businesses 
     recover productivity more quickly and enjoy a closer working 
     relationship between management and labor. Employee pride in 
     the company is enhanced, both among those receiving support 
     and giving it. The relationship between Weyerhaeuser and its 
     operating communities is strengthened. Partnerships are 
     formed among the company and public and private relief 
     agencies that will remain long after the last employees are 
     back in their homes. ``We will carry forward many positive 
     results that we should not have had reason to expect from 
     such a tragedy,'' Taylor added.
       No company wants to experience the anguish of employees and 
     turmoil to business operations caused by events like North 
     Carolina's flooding. However, when faced with the situation, 
     Weyerhaeuser listened to its people on the ground, acted 
     decisively and came up with unique approaches to difficult 
     problems. The end result is that employees fared better than 
     they would have otherwise, and Weyerhaeuser has a program it 
     can deploy should disaster strike again.

     

                          ____________________