What don't you have elections up there?
No Thanks
- Thread starter okharbor
- Start date
What don't you have elections up there?
supertramp
TB Lurker
- Credits
- 0
I would like to add something for all you non-union workers to think about. You are simply riding on the shirt tails of the union , I promise you that if you remove the unions you will be very very sorry. You have not had to fight for any of the benefits that you have , the teamsters have created the work enviroment that you enjoy so much!!!
Shifterknob
The Last Wordslinger
- Credits
- 0
In all fairness, and based upon many conversations I have had with the non-union employees of Oak Harbor, I do think most of them are aware that their fate is hinged in large part upon our abilities at the negotiating table.
There is a lot more support for the union cause in this company than management might be willing to admit because of this fact: a rising tide lifts all ships.
I do hope that many on the non-union side stop and think about this fact though:
There is a lot more support for the union cause in this company than management might be willing to admit because of this fact: a rising tide lifts all ships.
I do hope that many on the non-union side stop and think about this fact though:
UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE BEG!
All I ask is that the non-union employees look at what has transpired in this company over the past decade or so, and what promises to them have been broken over and over again, and ask yourselves a simple question...
Am I better off accepting what management thinks I am worth, or am I better off negotiating on a level playing field for what I think I am worth?
Think about it... that's all I ask...
Am I better off accepting what management thinks I am worth, or am I better off negotiating on a level playing field for what I think I am worth?
Think about it... that's all I ask...
supertramp
TB Lurker
- Credits
- 0
This was not just directed at Oak Harbor emploees this is for all to read. You make it sound as if you have talked to all Oak Harbor emploees? How many Spok emploees have you talked to or Lewiston emploees? I also feel that the last contract was negotiated very improperly. The way I hear it the Union and Company had come to an agreement on a five year contract that I read and felt was a better contract than the one we recieved!I also do not blame the Vanderpol famliy for being very upset about the way this was handled. When I shake hands and give my word to anyone, Thats That!!!
silvertooth
TB Lurker
- Credits
- 0
How was it better? From what I understand the contract had the employees leaving the Teamster medical plan and the International nixed it.
supertramp
TB Lurker
- Credits
- 0
silvertooth from what I understand they could not just take us off the teamster plan, without a majority vote from the emploees. That is the way it was explained to me ,and they had to come up with an equal or bettr plan!!!
You are a uninformed person . I bet you get your info from the Old Guard company owned leaders like K.T and B.H. The first offer was one that would let the company remove all of the Oregon Teamsters and put them into a company controlled plan thats the truth of it I saw the language if you haven't you better wake up and smell the coffee cause I can prove it and you cant . I am so tired of hearing how you can take care of yourself when everything you have is because of Union bargaining .You have no right to talk down to anyone when the people you are talking down to are the reason you have what you have. Did you negotiate your last raise no you didn't. Did you negotiate your health and welfare coverage no you didn't.Did you negotiate your so called pension plan no you did not your a fake and a looser who rides on the backs of fighters .Don't be so uppity in your demeanor as your just a tail wagging at the rear of the dog. Sorry to be so blunt but your kind of attitude makes me want to puke you management catering wanna be !!!! How can you sleep knowing everything you have was won by those bad bad union employees ;.
:smilie_132: 
By the way you need to get a spell checker as your spelling is not up to union standards ****-BOY!!!
I wonder how many management minded souls will stand behind the union workers in this contract campaign ?You are a uninformed person . I bet you get your info from the Old Guard company owned leaders like K.T and B.H. The first offer was one that would let the company remove all of the Oregon Teamsters and put them into a company controlled plan thats the truth of it I saw the language if you haven't you better wake up and smell the coffee cause I can prove it and you cant . I am so tired of hearing how you can take care of yourself when everything you have is because of Union bargaining .You have no right to talk down to anyone when the people you are talking down to are the reason you have what you have. Did you negotiate your last raise no you didn't. Did you negotiate your health and welfare coverage no you didn't.Did you negotiate your so called pension plan no you did not your a fake and a looser who rides on the backs of fighters .Don't be so uppity in your demeanor as your just a tail wagging at the rear of the dog. Sorry to be so blunt but your kind of attitude makes me want to puke you management catering wanna be !!!! How can you sleep knowing everything you have was won by those bad bad union employees ;.
By the way you need to get a spell checker as your spelling is not up to union standards ****-BOY!!!
Shifterknob
The Last Wordslinger
- Credits
- 0
Well, Mr. Spokane shop steward, I have talked to Lewiston employees in the past, as well as Spokane employees. Am I to supply names, addresses and phone numbers, or will their Social Security numbers suffice?
Why do you ask?
You felt. Hmmm. Gee, bud, I don't remember hearing that you were present at any of the over forty-plus meetings that were held during the last contract negotiations. But you seem to know so much about it. I'm sure your big daddy down at the local was giving you the low-down, huh?
As to the five-year agreement we voted down that you felt was so great, let me point out a few facts that you seem to be slightly ignorant of:
- In the five-year agreement we voted down (and when I say we, I mean the majority of the 550+ Teamster members of OHFL), we had the same amount of money to wages we neded up with in the three-year agreement we did ratify, only spread out over five years instead of three. Now, surely even you can summon up the brain power to do the math and figure that one out.
- Secondly, we had no pension money at all in the five year agreement we voted down, unlike the three-year agreement that was ratified.
- Thirdly, and most important, in the three year agreement tha was ratified, we ended up with true full MOB on our H&W. No strings attached. It is, I believe, the only freight contract on the West Coast that has that currently. The five-year agreement that was voted down had all sorts of strings attached. If any of the Teamster plans exceeded a certain percentage in a certain amount of time (I believe twenty-four months), then the company could pull al of those members out of that plan without their say-so and without recourse!
I don't know what you were reading, son, but you had better get your prescription checked! It was a lousy recommended offer, and the rank-and-file exercised their right to vote it down, which I am proud to say they did.
Hmmm. So we get handed crappy contracts for a decade and a half, and we finally show a little spinal fortitude and cooperation (something you seem to be lacking in great measure, I might add) to get a decent contract, and then the Vander Pol family goes around whining about how they got screwed and how the union broke a deal.
What deal?
A recommended offer does not guarantee a ratified contract, and if there were deals being made up north by Buck and his cohorts, then I guess he got a little servihng of what he deserved, didn't he?
How about you let the Vander Pols worry about their affairs, and you start acting like Teamster, instead of a Me-ster.
Can you do that?
I wonder...:annoyed:
supertramp
TB Lurker
- Credits
- 0
Silvertooth how long you been a teamster?? If it hasn,t been for over 30 years you have not fought for anything. Because the medical ,pension ,wages and all of the things you enjoy were already in place. How do I know this because they were in place when I joined in 1972. Have a nice day
supertramp
TB Lurker
- Credits
- 0
Shifterknob just to show you how you jump to conclusions, I am not a shop steward. Although I have been in the past, and in one of your previous postings you I believe said that you were not trying to bring this company to its knees, but I would have to say it seems to me that you might be!!
silvertooth
TB Lurker
- Credits
- 0
I have about seven years started in the union when I was 18. I have worked for Oak Harbor, UPS, and Yellow. In every issue of the Oak Harbor Happenings there is mention of the costs of benefits and healthcare.
In every contract since full mob was won, the members have voted to keep it that way. Even though I was not involved in the original contract that won full MOB for freight Teamsters, I feel every contract is a fight to maintain those benefits, in a way; we fight everyday to keep our workplaces fair.
In my opinion your previous contract proposal (the one you hold so high) almost opened the floodgate to losing your full mob. I think you take money from OHFL to voice their interests, I think you are only looking out for yourself, and you are selling anyone that listens to you down the river. I don't care how many years you have in, maybe for 30 years you were the best Teamster ever, if you take a bribe once that makes you worse than a skab.
How many people work out of Spokane? 12 13 I hope there are some good guys down there to dissect the BS the company pays you to spread. "OH yes, suh' Mr. Vanderpol I get these Teamsters in line fo' ya' boss."
OHFL is a profitable company with quality employees, why is it that you feel you do not deserve the top pay and benefits in the industry. Union supervisors, crappy contract language, and you’re bidding setup sucks. The company has so many freedoms, and so much profit, while you have bare minimum in pay and benefits. I hope you guys walk out this time, the Vanderpols don't know how good they have had it. Nobody can dispute Oak Harbors Profitability because they won’t show the union the books; they know if they did we would expect more.
If they were to open the books and the company was in trouble I would be all for working with them. The company’s attitude towards union employees has been very negative and I see no reason we should cater to them.
Shifterknob
The Last Wordslinger
- Credits
- 0
Well, have it your way, but I find it odd that you are repeating the same exact things the Spokane shop steward has been telling every Portland driver who comes through Spokane, an action which every single one of us down here finds reprehensible.
As to yoiur assertion we are trying to bring this company to it's knees, I find this an strange statement from a guy who just a post or two back is bragging about how he has been a Teamster since '72, and how anybody with less than thirty years in the union is a lesser being in your eyes and couldn't possibly have fought for anything worthwhile.
So... when was the last time you gave up wages in order to attend our negotiations, hmmm? And if the last contract was so hard on the company, why are they still in business?
For that matter, I haven't heard about any of you hypocrites up in Spokane giving back those wages we won in the last agreement, or paying for your medical, or any of the other things WE fought for in Portland, Auburn and elsewhere, and WON.
Hell, if it hadn't been for Portland and Auburn, you guys would be making $.75 an hour less than us, and be paying for your medical. We fought for you, but what have you done for us except call us names, criticize us, backstab us, and generally act like a bunch of old women?
Take your tired old mantra of fear, and go retire, old man. No one is buying it, and a guy like you never had a clue of what being a Teamster was about, no matter how long you want to brag about being in the union.
I'd take a guy who's been a Teamster for a day and who has a spine and a heart over someone like you ANY day of the week...
Shifterknob
The Last Wordslinger
- Credits
- 0
Couldn't have said it any better myself. No one is looking to push this company off of a cliff, but neither are we going to keep taking it in the shorts for another decade and a half while this company expands on our backs.
The employees of this comapny work their tails off and make a lot of sacrifices for Oak Harbor and we are tired of hearing the Vander Pols moan about the hand of cards they were dealt last time around.
How about a couple of contracts ago when we were getting $.08 a year in wage bumps? Our wages and pension have stagnated while this company prospered and grew.
$.08 a year. Wow. And shame on us for accepting that, too.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: deal with us fairly, and your employees will deal fairly with you. Play games, however, and be prepared to reap the whirlwind...
supertramp
TB Lurker
- Credits
- 0
Silvertooth first off I want to appologize to you the posting that I sent to you was supposed to go to twinscrew! I see that you are resionable, and that you can debate an issue without calling someone a bunch of names. I am sincere in what I have to say, and want the very best for this company and its young employees. the reason I have questioned the years of union time is because when I started in 1972 with P.I.E. it was a very different time. The world today is a very different time and place, and I feel we have to address these times for what they are.I will address shiofterknobs issues soon. I want you to relize that these company,s did not create these times either, and that we have to find a way to come togeather not just as teamsters but as a TEAM. I am not sure that the people that are leading you are for real or they have there own agenda??? Once again I apologize for sending you the posting, it was meant to go to twinscrew M.R. radical!!!
silvertooth
TB Lurker
- Credits
- 0
Oak Harbor Freight Lines I wouldn’t give them an inch, the employees of Oak Harbor have gone above and beyond working with the company they have sacrificed much. What has the company sacrificed?? If by working as a team you mean taking another a%% pounding from the Vanderpols, brother I couldn’t disagree with you more.
I say if they are not willing to come our way a little bit, its time to shut them down, show them what it’s all about. Show the books or pay master freight wages. If the unions cave to the companies every whim what’s the point? Unions will never return to power if they become company yes men. When things get bad people will turn to the unions for help, but we will only exist as a polar opposite to the corporate powers once we cross the bridge as a "TEAM" with the company all we stand for and all we ever stood for is lost.
Its true and its sad, I honestly would rather shut my company down and lose my job then watch everything I like about my job be whittled away (you guys have already given up soo much) till there is nothing left to protect. To me that’s what Teamster pride is all about. Honestly, I believe more union companies will go under, but at the end of the day the companies are greedy and their greed will eventually push the working people back into our arms.
I say if they are not willing to come our way a little bit, its time to shut them down, show them what it’s all about. Show the books or pay master freight wages. If the unions cave to the companies every whim what’s the point? Unions will never return to power if they become company yes men. When things get bad people will turn to the unions for help, but we will only exist as a polar opposite to the corporate powers once we cross the bridge as a "TEAM" with the company all we stand for and all we ever stood for is lost.
Its true and its sad, I honestly would rather shut my company down and lose my job then watch everything I like about my job be whittled away (you guys have already given up soo much) till there is nothing left to protect. To me that’s what Teamster pride is all about. Honestly, I believe more union companies will go under, but at the end of the day the companies are greedy and their greed will eventually push the working people back into our arms.
supertramp
TB Lurker
- Credits
- 0
Dear silvertooth if you are retired then you need to retire , let the people still working for the company take care of its future. GO FISHING!!!
Shifterknob
The Last Wordslinger
- Credits
- 0
He ain't the one who needs to retire, bud. Clearly you are the one who needs to contemplate hanging it up. You and your S-T there at the local. You know, the one who is telling you what to say?
We keep getting more and more reports about you ranting and raving to Portland drivers every chance you get.
Are you losing it? Wheels coming off of you wagon?
Well, no one is buying it, and your reputation is taking a nosedive, bud. Best run back to you-know-who and get some more marching orders...
We keep getting more and more reports about you ranting and raving to Portland drivers every chance you get.
Are you losing it? Wheels coming off of you wagon?
Well, no one is buying it, and your reputation is taking a nosedive, bud. Best run back to you-know-who and get some more marching orders...
That guy has no Idea your last negotiations did more for the employees than anything since the mid 1980 era I don't think you could do this
and get it through to him. Hes just sitting on a 
thats being dictated to him one bit at a time. He cant figure it out on his own so he has to be lead like a sheep.See ya and job well done by your last Negotiations committee:redneck: :gathering: