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Video threatens Union employees at Oak Harbor

I'm confused with what part of the plan the union workers don't like. I came from a major ltl carrier and actually improved myself benefits wise with oak harbor. I know this compensation plan is commensurate with other major national carriers and oak is only a regional carrier. Please inform?
 
Just viewed dvd

Twinscrew said:
:chairshot: I cant believe The Vander Pols would produce and distribute a video to its union employees that threatens their jobs but they did it!!!
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Reading from all these blogs it looks like unions and employees can make a lot of threats also.

Just watched the dvd and didn't see it as a threat. I rather hear directly from the employer where he stands then from a third party. From this you can assess what's best for you. Weigh it out.
 
TurboTurtle said:
I'm confused with what part of the plan the union workers don't like. I came from a major ltl carrier and actually improved myself benefits wise with oak harbor. I know this compensation plan is commensurate with other major national carriers and oak is only a regional carrier. Please inform?
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Where to start. Well the Health and Welfare is a step backward with no coverage for retiree's. That is a major loss. Do a side by side of the medical plans (which the employee's would now be paying out of pocket for) and you will see just how inferior the company plan is to the Teamster plan they are currently covered by.

The Time Loss (sick pay) used to be 48 hours a year. That equals about $970 per year at the current hourly rate. The company is offering $.15 an hour pay increase for that to go away. That would equal $312 per year.

If you take the current pension rate the company would put in $6676.80 per person per year. The new offer if it was maxed out and at the current rate would bring in $5885.15 per year. Half of that would be contributed by the employee.

Do I need to go any further?? This employer is claiming this package is great for the company and the employees. It is not. It saves the company money and does nothing to make the Union employees feel secure about the place of employment.
 
New OakH Comp Plan

Thanks for your response about things you don't like about the new comp plan. Here are some thoughts on what you said:

1. I'm not up to date about benefits for retirees, but what company can stay in business paying for medical benefits for retired employees.

2. I've sold health insurance for over 12 years and know our current plan is very solid. Oakh is giving us $ up front to pay for the cost of our benefits, so technically our net is positive. I came from Fedex and I had to contribute each pay period for myself and dependents. They paid more then Oakh but after I contributed to my benefits the net outcome was comparible.

3. Your right on the time loss (sick pay) I think it's a step back for that coverage.

4. As for the pension, I and others in my terminal will earn the same exact amount in our 401K. The upfront $ we receive will be used to fully fund our 401k and the net is the same as the old plan. With the 401k I can manage my own account (of course with a certified financial planner) and chart the progress of my account. If I decide to leave Oakh I can take it with me.

5. A lot of guys in our terminal are going to opt out of the health plan due to their wives having great benefits with their own company. This will put more $ into their pockets in which they could dump more $ into their 401k or use for other necessities. Why waste all that $ for duplicate coverages. Take the $ and use it for yourself as needed.

The guys I speak with like the flexibility of the plan. Also, comparative to other carriers this is a good plan in my view.
 
There is a thing called "cost of doing business" That is what the retirees program is about, to a degree. The Company at one time allowed that and agreed to participate in the retirees program. Now they have retirees sitting there that count on that benefit. If the company and unions agree to let that go away, those people loose coverage. that is not right no matter where you come from.

You sound like you thnk it is OK to pay something for your medical plan. I beg to differ. It is about what you are worth to that company. Drivers especially are a commodity right now and we need to take advantage of our opportunity. This company is not in finacial haedship at all and they can afford to pay a good wage with good benefits. The union terminals are not asking for the world just what we believe we are worth. I also don't like the company being able to do what they want and when they want with these benefits.

If you don't know the benefits of the Teamsters pension plan then I cannot help you. It is a long story and I don't have time right now to go into it. I will say that I wouldn't trade my Teamster pension for anything.

The guys opting out is exactly what this company wants. That means it will save them dollars every day and the difference you are getting does not offset the difference. Medical, dental and vision is about $900 per month divide that by the average hours worked in a month (173) it equals to about $5.20 per month.

That is what I am talking about. If they would come in and make it comparable things could be discussed but they choose to low ball.
 
Has anyone seen any actual proposals?? I haven't even seen a copy of the contract? How can we strike on something we don't know anything about?
 
New comp plan?

TcommaG said:
Has anyone seen any actual proposals?? I haven't even seen a copy of the contract? How can we strike on something we don't know anything about?
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Hi TcommaG:

If your looking to see the new compensation plan go to oakhanswers.com/newplan.

Hope this helps.
 
There is no contract proposal to vote on yet. The strike vote is simply a pre-authorization to strike, since as of mindnight on the 31st of October, we are working without a contract. this way, if negotiations go sideways, or if a last, best final offer comes down from the company, the union will already have a strike pre-authorized by the unionized employees.

As for those of you who think the non-union plan is sho great, ask yourself why so many non-union OHFL employees are now talking seriously about going union? Ask yourself why if this plan is so great the union employees are dead-set against it? After all, the company has seen fit to ram it down the union employees' throat in mandatory meeting after mandatory meeting.

Quite simply, the union plans for pension and helth insurance cannot be beat. Since it sounds like many of you trumpeting the company plan have no experience with a union plan, you are kind in some ways ignorant about both sides of the story, wouldn't you say? You are comparing apples to oranges, in other words.

You will never see an union declaring a mandatory meeting to present their plan. But you will see many union employees of OHFL willing to go out on strike to keep their Teamster benefits. And if we do...

It's going to be goodbye to Oak Harbor!:smilie_132:
 
Thank you Turbo, however that doesn't answer all of my questions. There's still negotiations going on. I know the benefits that the Teamsters have are good, and worth negotiating over...I just don't see how a strike is going to help. There are many contracts that Oak Harbor have that include no-strike clauses in their contract with them. If the Teamsters strike, those accounts are lost. What good will a strike do if there is no job to go back to?
 
The company chose to go down this path, hired a big shot Attorney and are still currently shoving this down our throats and no they have not offered anything to vote on as of yet. If the compamy wants to save money lets start by cutting some Managment
I know the terminal I out of is ran very poorly. The retirees are the ones who built the company to what it is today and this is the way the company wants to thank them
for their years of hard service? Several of the non-union employees i've talked with are very unhappy with the "choices" they have been given only they have no way of letting their voices be heard. This is not a very comfortable situation for any of us to be in. The company knew when the contract expired why did the negotiations wait till the last minute to get started? would it not be better to get this resolved before this point.
You are right TcommaG about the no strike clause with some of our customers which makes me ask why was this not important for the company to get resolved before this point? is this fair to our customers? What do you think is important to the owners of this company? I can tell you what's not.
 
Teamster union employees are a small part of OAKH 40% Their are some of them going around spreading lies regarding what OAKH is ofering. Scare/fear tactics They are trying to prove the are needed which they aren't. The meetings Oakh is having yuo go to is to share what is true.
 
truckenjoe said:
They are trying to prove the are needed which they aren't. The meetings Oakh is having yuo go to is to share what is true.
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If what you say is true and correct then why won't the company allow union officials in these meetings?

I know why the company won't allow them in there. It is because they will say what they feel without worrying about the scare/fear tactics issued by the company because the company cannot retaliate against them.
 
The BA was at the last meeting at the Olympia terminal and was aloud to stay, I heard it was the first time the BA was there in 6+ months.
 
Sounds like we have several OHFL managers
working hard to help confuse union members here on trucking boards.
Sorry truckjoe and tac girl I REALLY dont get
the feeling either one of you has ever worked
an honest day in your lives.Probably have soft, sweaty, pudgy little hands always in the
workers pockets.But keep on selling the bull
nobodies buying it .Say bye bye bonus baby !
KEEP ON PUMPING OUT THE DVDS though they make great coasters!
 
I'm actually a part of the Union, concerned employee. I just don't think a strike would help the situation was all that I'm saying. I'm reletively new to OAKH and have already been warned about layoffs since I'm at the bottom of the seniority board. If a strike happens and we lose accounts, I'm pretty much out of a job, period.
 
TcommaG said:
I'm actually a part of the Union, concerned employee. I just don't think a strike would help the situation was all that I'm saying. I'm reletively new to OAKH and have already been warned about layoffs since I'm at the bottom of the seniority board. If a strike happens and we lose accounts, I'm pretty much out of a job, period.
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If you're new as a driver period you have no idea to what extent Companies will go to in an attempt to scare the workforce into folding and thus reaping even larger profits for themselves. If the workforce gives in you'll have a job....just don't be too surprised if you find it to be a job not worth having.
 
silvertooth said:
From reading these boards I know that Conway makes their drivers pay 1%, Overnite and Fed-Ex I don't really know I know their wages are up in the $22 range making up for the medical compared to OHFL. Unless you worked for USF in a non-union barn, like Tacoma, in Fife you medical would have been paid in full. No Teamster LTL in Washington or Oregon that I know of pays their own medical.

Whats your point anyway, they should start paying for their medical because everyone else in the non-union sector does? Thats kind of the point, thats why everyone has it so good because the union guys sacrifice while the rest of LTL world gets to pretend to live in ignorance its always been that way, the more union employers there are in our industry, the better wages, benefits, and work rules become, unfortunately the opposite is true of union decline. So unless you are working at organizing your workplace and trying to bring yourself and your co-workers up, you are simply dragging us all down.

If you think the companies will treat you fairly and take care of you out of the goodness of their hearts, look at the OTR sector. Compare pay and benefits adjusted for inflation from the mid to late seventies (when they were almost all Teamsters) to todays standards than compare that to the economy as a whole Swift, Schinider and other sweatshops on wheels 30cents a mile, is that where you wanna go? Should they give in and let their pensions disappear? Should they trust the company to administer their medical plan? Remember they are a Tobacco-Free company sorry smokers hired after 1997, no medical coverage for your smoking related illness kinda heard to pay for cancer treatment out of pocket..

Bottom line is you don't know sh%& about solidarity. You apparently have no regard for the sacrifices that have been made, and will continue be made to maintain solid benefits, wages, and respect, for LTL drivers industry-wide.

"Don't let any man into your cab, your home, or your heart, unless he's a friend of labor." ~ Jimmy Hoffa"
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Just wanting to add that USF Reddaway non-union also pays 100% medical. You pay nothing monthly just the co-pays but that is not the norm in non-union barns. Even with that still trying to get the union in. Why because the company can change it any time they want. Hope it happens soon... Like you said we need to protect benefits, wages, and respect.
 
TcommaG said:
I'm actually a part of the Union, concerned employee. I just don't think a strike would help the situation was all that I'm saying. I'm reletively new to OAKH and have already been warned about layoffs since I'm at the bottom of the seniority board. If a strike happens and we lose accounts, I'm pretty much out of a job, period.
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You and truck boy are useless get out of the union and starve you usless piece of dung both of u are a diascrace to what we are
trying to acomplish
 
OAKH has 2 customers with a "no strike clause" so if you decide to strike they will lose these accounts. Are you willing to stand strough or our you so scared that you let the VD's just keep geting richer
 
truckchick1 said:
OAKH has 2 customers with a "no strike clause" so if you decide to strike they will lose these accounts. Are you willing to stand strough or our you so scared that you let the VD's just keep geting richer
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They will not let this come to a strike, its all a bluff,:toxic: truckinjoe is about as Holt as you can get, and they need to start playing fair. They say "the teamsters held a gun to their heads and they were forced to sign a contract they didnt agree to" not only is that comment very inappropreate for our families to watch putting unnecessary fear in them, but they were the ones holding the gun to their heads, not the teamsters. And now it seems they've shot themselves in the foot.:duh: I dont see the union sending out DVD's....thats because they dont have to sell the product,:deal: every informed teamster is still sold on our plan already. We wont back down and TOGETHER we will get what we're worth. Stick together guys, anyone on here that doesn't change their opinion by reading the hard facts on both JC28 and OHFL sites is truely managment :butt kiss:and is not worth our time.
 
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