Employees of the former St. Anne-Nackawic pulp and paper mill near Fredericton have lost their $4-million lawsuit against their union.

The eight former employees had maintained that their union, the Canadian Autoworkers Union, lied to them in January 2006 when a new agreement was put in place with AV Nackawic Inc. and Tembec, which bought the then-defunct mill.

They claimed they understood the agreement included hiring workers back in order of seniority, but they weren't re-hired.

They sued the CAW and former union boss Buzz Hargrove for $4 million in lost income and unnecessary hardship.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Judy Clendenning said that she accepted the testimony of Hargrove and Brady Moore, a member of the union committee, when they said it was the best deal they could get and that they fairly represented the workers.

She went on to rule that the CAW did not breach its duty of fair representation. Clendenning also said the workers failed to prove that the union acted in bad faith toward its members.

At trial, Moore testified that up until the last minute, he tried to get the company to drop the clause that allowed the company to hire without consideration of seniority, but it refused.

The St. Anne-Nackawic mill operated in the community for 35 years, manufacturing high-quality photo paper for European and U.S. markets.