There appears to be an end in sight for the protracted contract negotiations between Sappi Fine Paper and United Steelworkers Union Local 1069.

The union will be voting Aug. 22 to ratify a new two-year labor agreement offered by Sappi on Aug. 15. Both the union and Sappi have confirmed the contract contains concessions that both sides are hopeful will be acceptable to workers.

While neither side would comment on the changes to the last offer, representatives from the company and the union acknowledged that Sappi had made concessions in two areas.

The concessions came after the two sides met in the middle of July in Pittsburgh, Pa., where the United Steelworkers Union is headquartered. The company provided Local 1069 members with a new agreement at a meeting held in Portland on Aug. 15.

The union has not had a new contract since the old one expired in 2002, and negotiations have remained relatively stagnant until this year. In June, things came to a head when the union voted in favor of authorizing a strike following receipt of what Sappi claimed was a final contract offer. The strike authorization gave union heads the power to strike if they saw fit, so long as they gave the company a 36-hour notice.

Following the strike authorization, tensions grew between the two sides when the company hired extra security at the mill, citing a need to protect its investment. Mill workers, however, viewed the extra security as an intimidation tactic, which the company denied.

While the union did not go on strike, neither side seemed to budge until renewed negotiations in mid-July led to the concessions and this latest contract offer by the company.

“The package has changed somewhat with the concessions,” said Brooke Carey, a Sappi spokeswoman. “We are hopeful.”

Local 1069 President Brian Wade said he was uncomfortable bringing the previous package before the union for a vote, but the new package is something he’s comfortable with.

“It’s not exactly what we want, but it’s something to bring back,” he said, although he admitted there are still parts of the contract he’s not completely satisfied with. “We’re glad to get something to bring back-we’re not pleased about some of the stuff.”

One of the items Wade said he is dissatisfied with is changes to healthcare for retirees, saying the company would like to change how it pays retirees and how much it pays them. But he said he is satisfied enough with the new agreement to move forward and let the union members decide it’s good enough for them, themselves.

“There were a couple things they needed to change, and they did change them,” Wade said. “We’ve done the best we can. Now we’ll take it back to the union.”

Carey said she would be more willing to discuss the particulars of the agreement after the ratification vote, but she said she’s hopeful the concessions will make the necessary difference.

“I think both sides are hopeful,” she said. “We’ll see what happens.”

Union members are expected to vote at 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Aug. 22 at Verrillo’s Restaurant and Convention Center on Riverside Street in Portland.