Teamsters Extend Oak Harbor Freight Lines Strike to California and Nevada
Trucking Company Continues to Refuse to Bargain in Good Faith
September 30, 2008
(Washington, D.C.) – Teamsters will begin picketing Oak Harbor Freight Lines’ trucks in California and Nevada this week to support striking employees in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Oak Harbor employees in the Northwest walked off the job September 22 in response to hostile efforts by company representatives to bully and intimidate workers, which are unfair labor practices in violation of federal law.
“Oak Harbor’s customers in California and Nevada will likely experience service disruptions as we begin following the company’s trucks with ambulatory pickets,” said Al Hobart, International Vice President and President of Joint Council 28.
Oak Harbor Freight Lines, one of the largest trucking companies on the West Coast, provide time sensitive delivery services to some of the largest companies in the country including The Gap, Safeway, JC Penney, Sylvania, Graybar Electric, HD Waterworks, Honda, McKesson, Cardinal Health, Tec Equipment, Siemens, Georgia Pacific, Owens & Minor, GM & Chrysler Parts, Urban Outfitters and Maytag.
“Teamsters up and down the West Coast are standing strong with our brothers and sisters in the Northwest,” said Tyson Johnson, International Vice President and Freight Division Director. “Oak Harbor’s customers would be wise to seek out alternative carriers while our members are on strike.”
The National Labor Relations Board is investigating several labor law violations committed by the company including coercing and threatening employees, as well as making unlawful changes to working conditions.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.