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Recent Negotiations

truckenjoe said:
They have more than enough drivers lined up to replace any one who strikes and they will stay on permently. They have had this in play ready to go for a long while now it is just not over night. It has been thought through every carefully.
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You say this as fact. How do you know this is fact? Because they told you so?? There are so many driver jobs available everywhere why would a person want to sit around and wait for a driving job that may come open in the dead of winter in the Paciifc NW and have to deal with a picket line? Nobody in their right mind would be sitting around waiting for that. You my friend have drank the koolaid and have no idea about how this will play out if the VP's want a fight. You have no credibility.
 
Call me all the names you like..won't change a thing...you still are what you are.
 
For the good of all involved then please share the proof of the so called facts you present. Maybe that will convince the members to change their opinion of how this should play out. If you have no proof then it is either B.S. or you and the VP's want a labor dispute and all of the talk that they and you don't want one is just lies. You make the decision on what it will be.
 
It is just how the VP's stated in their DVD's and in all that they have shared. I have said nothing that they have not already told you.
 
So you don't have proof you just believe everything they tell you and spread it around as fact. Do you consider that as a wise move on your part? You putting all of that faith into the hands of the owners of a company. Once again, you lack credibility. I will retract that comment and apologize if you can solidify your claim. Just reciting what they have put on their DVD's is not proof.
 
They want a good contract that is workable for both sides. That will allow them to run the business overhead without going into debt etc, things you don't think about or take in consideration in what costs in running a company any of those needs, but they do, they need to keep it running as smoothly as possible to keep the customers happy. They don't believe the union is always fair to you. But regardless of opinions of the union... they want a contract that is workable same as you on both sides.
 
Fthemwithasmile said:
So you don't have proof you just believe everything they tell you and spread it around as fact. Do you consider that as a wise move on your part? You putting all of that faith into the hands of the owners of a company. Once again, you lack credibility. I will retract that comment and apologize if you can solidify your claim. Just reciting what they have put on their DVD's is not proof.
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I believe in this company and I believe in the Vander Pols. I have faith that all will come out for the best in the end. I believe this is a good strong company with alot of intergity. You sir believe what ever you wish. I don't have to prove anything...I beleive this company stands on its own merits 90 years and counting.
 
You say two different things in two different posts. First you say they need to run the business so they don't go into debt and then you say you believe this is a good strong company and it stands on its own merits 90 years and counting. Which is it?

This company has been expanding very rapidly over the last few years which means they have been making money. I think we all know the company is doing fine but what most don't understand is why are they becoming so greedy that making profits isn't enough. This company doesn't pay anything over the top for it's employees. They have the most flexible agreement in freight and yet that isn't good enough. They are like little snot nosed kids that say if they don't get their way then go ahead and walk out, we don't care. Don't you understand the message that sends to the people that work for them? Not everybody is all trusting as you are. I would say most aren't because many employers (including this one) have screwed people over the years. It is a fact of doing business. This is business and I think the employees realize that but what the VP's are doing is just way over the top.

Why can't they continue to make money and let the members retain what they have and give them a little in wages and pension and keep the H & W as is. That is not going to break this company.

No matter what, if and when the contract is settled Oak Harbor will still have the most flexible contract in freight. Bar None!!!
 
you say the company wants a workable contract, if that is so how can they toss out a $2.75 raise then say that is is now going to cost 2% of those wages (on 50K for easy numbers) $1000 to cover a family plus out of the huge raise you get to pay the first $3000 of your family medical bills also. Who wins with this plan. NOT THE EMPLOYEE
 
With all of this arguing about the medical package that the VP's are giving us. Does anyone have an idea what it cost the company a month per employee for those benifits? I know of a guy who left the company and was given the option to buy COBRA, which mind you is, the actual whole monthly payment for our insurance. For him and his wife and daughter per month for the whole insurance package per month was $1282.

Now using the $50000 (because of easier math) per year with the new plan that they are asking us to take, it would only cost him $83.32 per month. That means the company picks up the rest, which is $1198.68.

As a long standing employee (14yrs) with this company I knew it would only be a matter of time before we had to start paying for insurance. Look at a majority of all of the other trucking companies around us. We still have better benifits and pay then a lot of the other companies.

One more thing..... On paper we are now having to pay for benifits, but in all actuallity they are giving us the money to pay for them. So we are still not paying for for our benifits. Why is this so frikin hard to understand!! In fact... If you do not like the benifits package that they are purposing to give you, you do not have to take it. Why don't you go to your local insurance sales person and give them our benifits paperwork and tell them that you want your new insuance to be better or the same as this one and buy it yourself with the 2% it would of cost you with the comapny. Then tell me who came out ahead.
 
hi squirt,i left joke harbor earlier this year and am on cobra now,for me and my family the total cost of benifit's is less than $900.00 a month.and that would be medical,dental and vision.
 
You say they are giving the money to pay for the new medical plan. The old coverage was part of the negotions of previous wages. You are willing to just let them say that now none of that matters? I understand that health care is very expensive but at what point do they just come across with a new message the the costs have just gone up and so has your portion. We have to stay steadfast on our medical coverage and pension. Is it fair to the retirees who have put in their time and stood strong for us? Now we are telling them (and ourselves in the future) that we are unwilling to fight for what is right.
 
Squirt said:
With all of this arguing about the medical package that the VP's are giving us. Does anyone have an idea what it cost the company a month per employee for those benifits? I know of a guy who left the company and was given the option to buy COBRA, which mind you is, the actual whole monthly payment for our insurance. For him and his wife and daughter per month for the whole insurance package per month was $1282.

Now using the $50000 (because of easier math) per year with the new plan that they are asking us to take, it would only cost him $83.32 per month. That means the company picks up the rest, which is $1198.68.

As a long standing employee (14yrs) with this company I knew it would only be a matter of time before we had to start paying for insurance. Look at a majority of all of the other trucking companies around us. We still have better benifits and pay then a lot of the other companies.

One more thing..... On paper we are now having to pay for benifits, but in all actuallity they are giving us the money to pay for them. So we are still not paying for for our benifits. Why is this so frikin hard to understand!! In fact... If you do not like the benifits package that they are purposing to give you, you do not have to take it. Why don't you go to your local insurance sales person and give them our benifits paperwork and tell them that you want your new insuance to be better or the same as this one and buy it yourself with the 2% it would of cost you with the comapny. Then tell me who came out ahead.
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Oh boy. I havent even read any of the others since my last post but this really bugs me that the company has sold some people on this idea. Do the math guys, pick up one of those little company benifit package flyers...ill find mine on monday and post. If you want the "comparable coverages" and "pension package" then you end up pocketing a .35 cent raise. Oh boy. good increase. That definatly makes paying your fuel bill easier...not. The company is the only party that wins wins wins, they save money because with regence "they get sent a bill once a month for what was used and anything huge gets covered under their personal catostrophic insurance" So you get the crappy policy--see oak harbors comparison site PLEASE-- and they pocket that 1 or 2% you elect and put it in their account. DONT BE FOOLISH, QUOTE FROM DAVE VAN AT COMPANY MEETING WHEN ASKED IF MEDICAL WILL EFFECT OUR O/R IF THIS IS VOTED IN "Yes, plan usage will effect our O/R because the payments will be made from operations" That tells us what....they only pay for what is used on that crappy cut rate plan, so their cost per employee goes down! But we dont see any rewards!!! Come on...look at L&I...this is the only company that i have EVER worked at that required its employees to pay their own L&I. Thats Lame guys. Also, Their 401K as i previously stated drastically changes when we can retire. Dont take everything you hear from these fools as fact, please do your OWN research. Hell, dont even listen to me! just take this as a warning letter to do YOUR OWN RESEARCH and FIND THE TRUTH. Your vote will determine all of our families futures, please make an educated and informed decision.
 
It may not be that much per family but the difference is 50k a year trying to support a family of 4 plus 4k a year for medical i guess that is hardly a dent when you make 4 million a year per family. The Vd's do not live in our world.
 
Here is a question brought to my atention by a retiree. The medical coverage aside. They are offering a new 401 package for retirement where they will match 7%. What has happened to the $3.20 per hour that you have previously negotiated? They are only offering a $2.75 raise (has anyone said whether this is the life of the contract)which you are now paying for your family medical and any sick time you want to accrue. Can't you people see that you are going backwards. Oak Harbor has been listed as one of the most profitable LTL regional carriers. How much richer do you need to make the VD's?
 
truckchick1 said:
It may not be that much per family but the difference is 50k a year trying to support a family of 4 plus 4k a year for medical i guess that is hardly a dent when you make 4 million a year per family. The Vd's do not live in our world.
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You nailed it, the poles have nothing in common with us so its hard for them to relate to us, we are just the pesants. When do you think the last time was that one of them went to the gas station and got pissed off? probably never. How about the last time that they held off going to the grocery store a month longer than when they needed to go so they could pay some bills? again, i assume never. If this company wanted to save money there are a lot of other places to pinch it from other than their employees.:1036316054: For instance...look at all those tractors that sat out in the lot for almost 8 months not moving freight... there were over 1 million dollars in trucks out there. SITTING. Now how about the maint. directors future replacement Dan Van,:hysterical: he doesnt know crap about trucks. So right now hes getting paid, to go to tech college, thats paid for, in a company car....people ask me, "why do you care?" I really dont care, i know they want to keep the family involved with everything, but i will never respect ANY silver spooned bastard that had everything handed to them and has no concept of what reality is. why couldnt they post an openeing for the position and hire a qualified replacement? Sure would be a lot cheaper and more benificial to the company. Well oak harbor, you could start pinching there, maybe slow the growth a little, make managements profit share a smidge less, turn the greed factor down a notch too? Yeah. tha'd be great. so yeah.
 
Hopefully Moving Forward

I know I got a little off topic on the last post but that happens. :TR10driving03: So with the next scheduled negotiations to be held on the 5th and 6th it will be interesting to see what happens. Per 763 union BA the union is currently proposing the medical plan A. You may recall from the last contract negotiations that we tried to get that one and the company wanted us to do the C plan and we settled on the B plan because our WT-450 was no longer available. You can review this plan and others at the JC28 website or click here Teamsters Medical Benefits--Plan A to go directly to the benifits page for medical plan A. Please take a minute to look over this plan and compair to what OHFL wants us to do, http://www.oakhanswers.com/healthcare comparison.pdf Also, just a reminder to not believe the hype about the teamsters pension being in trouble, per 763 that is the central states pension that is having problems. But i guess if your a lawyer,:deal: that would technically be a correct statement "The teamsters pension plan IS in trouble," but not ours, our pension is stronger now than it ever was and here is where you will find information The Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust we all received a 2006 summary annual report in the mail recently as well.:smilie_132:
 
here is some math from oahkanswers.com. You now currently receive $2.76 per hour upto 2080 hours = $5740.80. Now they are offering a 401 with 6% contribution bases on the same 2080 hours at $20.21 per hour = $2522.21. The pension has always been part of your total compensation package. Where does the rest of the $3213.59 go. Is that included in the raise you get? Not hardly I am sure it will go into the VD fund. Not to mention that now you get to pay for your medical too. And don't forget that now you get 1/2 day sick leave a month and with the new plan it will take your about 4 months to accrue a sick day. These are all benifits that you have negotiated as part of your compensation package. How much of a raise are they willing to give to cover everything they want to take back?
 
Scary Math, try it for yourself!

truckchick1 said:
here is some math from oahkanswers.com. You now currently receive $2.76 per hour upto 2080 hours = $5740.80. Now they are offering a 401 with 6% contribution bases on the same 2080 hours at $20.21 per hour = $2522.21. The pension has always been part of your total compensation package. Where does the rest of the $3213.59 go. Is that included in the raise you get? Not hardly I am sure it will go into the VD fund. Not to mention that now you get to pay for your medical too. And don't forget that now you get 1/2 day sick leave a month and with the new plan it will take your about 4 months to accrue a sick day. These are all benifits that you have negotiated as part of your compensation package. How much of a raise are they willing to give to cover everything they want to take back?
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To add a comment on that, I dont see how that excess can go in their fund..haha, cause it never comes out to begin with.....They say you are getting an: 11% to 12.5% increase so lets use that and the max benifits we can do...(to get your "compairable plan")
11% Increase
6% matched for pension= 12% pension
2% Max medical

That leaves you with a 3% increase in wages....dont forget...with crappy medical and 401K

How long is this 3% increase for...it doesn't say so I am going to (from being screwed by people in the past) assume its for the life of the contract. Lets also assume this contract would be for 3 years. So for three years you would only have a pay increase of 3%? Lets look at some things that have happened in the last couple years:

State minimum wage increases:
2005 2.6% @ 7.35
2006 3.8% @ 7.63
2007 3.9% @ 7.93
Average Increase
2005-2007 was 3.4% PER YEAR

So your saying that WE only get a 1% increase in pay PER YEAR? ::hysterical:

Do you wonder why it seems that in the last couple years you have been keeping less and less of your paycheck?? Well look what would have happend IF we kept up with the minimum wage increases since the last contract (keep in mind these percentages are figured by the actual increases in price for basic services in the state of washington) All these numbers are from the L&I websites except for the OHFL happyland estimate below.

This is an estimated BASE HOURLY RATE USED FOR 2004
BASE RATE 20.41/HR
2005 2.6% @ 20.94
2006 3.8% @ 21.74
2007 3.9% @ 22.59

Boy wouldn't that have been nice? :1036316054:Nice increases, fair, kept up with the price of basic washington services... Come on.. the price of oil alone per barrel in that same time frame has increased 168% thats not even what we see at the pump, dont think about affording a new home, we have to keep up (oh wait thats right now days you can get that nice interest only loan). Now some may say that we cant compair our wage increases to the percentages of minimum wage...but isn't it fair? We are in a skilled trade, not working at McDonalds, you cant say that I was worth more to your company based on percentages in 2004 than I am now, can you? So really, I believe we have a lot of catching up to do in the wage department cause were already behind, but now they want to do us in for the next contract duration too? This just hasn't been adding up to me, now that ive been doing a little research I realize why I've had less and less money over the years and its making me even more bitter. Check it out for yourselves, its scary. We are going to be heading for tough times unless we demand better. ED AND DAVE::hide: you have any comments? Explinations? PLEASE feel free to post here, we know your looking.
 
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