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Seniors Protest Gap Stores

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livlly909

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"Teamster website" said:
Teamster Retirees Mark National Senior Citizens Day By Warning Customers About Ethics Gap at Clothing Retailer

August 22, 2008

(Seattle) – Teamster retirees marked National Senior Citizens Day by leafleting at Gap stores in Seattle and Portland to protest the retailer’s use of delivery company Oak Harbor Freight. Oak Harbor Freight, based in Seattle, has announced plans to eliminate the Teamster retirees’ health care coverage.

“If the Gap is really serious about embracing its responsibility to people and communities, it needs to make sure its vendors are not hurting seniors and retired workers,” said John Vallely, a retired Oak Harbor delivery driver.

The trucking company’s move to abandon retirees would force current and future retirees to pay up to $7,992 more each year to keep their health insurance.

“If the company’s plan goes through, I won’t be able to afford health insurance,” said James Ingraham, a retired driver. “It would be down to making my house payment or making my insurance payment. It’s just devastating.”

Retirees and union leaders in the Northwest plan to escalate their handbilling at Gap stores in the coming weeks as the busy back-to-school season kicks off. “If the Gap’s vendor gets its way, our retirees—the ones who serviced the Gap for so many years —will be orphaned with no health insurance,” said Al Hobart, International Vice President and Joint Council 28 President. “We cannot allow that to happen.”

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters was founded in 1903 and represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
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I wonder who these cool people are? :beerchug:
 
I have often wondered if the leaflet campaigns do any good. Personally I hate been approached for these kind of things.
 
RedRollingRoadblock said:
I have often wondered if the leaflet campaigns do any good. Personally I hate been approached for these kind of things.
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They make people uncomfortable, because people hate to be approached by these types of things that's why it works. Getting out there and making waves, doing something to protect your job, worthless?. Whose side are you on anyway?

You need to pull your head out, you are either union or not, you can't play the fence. Every piece of negativity focused on OHFL is more than well deserved. Whomever altered OHFL's BOL's good for them I hope they do more, who do you think you are anyway? Drop the righteousness and support you fellow Teamsters.
 
foster1662 said:
Are we wrong thinking the Gap Inc would care
how our employees are treated? Follow links
and decide for yourself.
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I think gap would care about the possibility of a supply disruption as they gear up for prime retail season. It's not about gap anyway, and the real message is not directed at Gap customers, even though they are the ones whom receive the leaflets.
 
Has anyone considered that it could have a negative effect on union carrier customer bases? If you are a retailer and are faced w/the threat of a union boycott over who deivered your stuff, I'd consider another non union carrier.
 
The biggest problem we have is the people who straddle the fence and ride on the coat tails of others...we need more people to get out and help and show their support for the union that has supported them. The papers and homework they give you is not just something to recycle, they know what they are doing and its all part of the plan. I hear so many excuses, I have this to do, or that to do, well without the union wages you wouldn't be able to afford to do whatever it is you have to do that is so important. Look at the DVD these bass turds just put out....they say they are doing what is right...getting rid of retirees medical and putting it in our employees wages, thats not where I want it bud. I want it there when I retire. That DVD was stupid, half was a recap. Im not a ******, i watched the last one, dont waste my time. You can only polish a turd for so long before you get s**t all over yourself, and then you still just have a mushy turd. "we no longer live in a world of 2 dollar a gallon gasoline" No crap, that why we want a contract and a raise, to pay to come to this scum hole and not back peddle. They seek to improve their lifestyle while we struggle to hold on to what we have. You wanna have both of us make sacrafices then lets get realistic and replace some of your steak with some roasts so we can upgrade from table scraps to beans.
 
You also have medicare if that doesn't work there is welfare.
You are not the only person--seniors who have to pay for higher insurance...so does everyone else right along with you. Cost of living is higher, cost of gas, food and health insurance it is not OAKH fault. It is the goverment go whine to them.
 
BIG TRUCKEN ED said:
You also have medicare if that doesn't work there is welfare.
You are not the only person--seniors who have to pay for higher insurance...so does everyone else right along with you. Cost of living is higher, cost of gas, food and health insurance it is not OAKH fault. It is the goverment go whine to them.
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When these members were employed at Oak Harbor they were assured these benefits would be there for them. They have planned their retirements around these assurances, some of them very well may have left and looked for employment elsewhere had these benefits not been available, the company was rewarded with low employee turnover. It is completely dishonest to change the game on them now.

It doesn't matter what things cost now, the point is this company through its actions, is attacking the moral fiber of this country. Nothing is guaranteed, and these retirees should not be out unless this company went out of business. So if you work at OHFL right now you need to think about where you want to be, and what you plan to expect from your employer in the future. If you want to de-certify, do it, if you want to continue the bigger fight, and you want to be a part of the solution, go all in and be prepared to kiss your job and this company goodbye.
 
Dishonest?

It is not dishonest for any company, or the union for that matter,
to want to change the rules with each successive contract. Times
change, and the economy changes. That is why there is a set term
on each contract. After one expires, then you negotiate for the next
one, which might be identical to the previous contract, but is most
likely different in many areas. Are you telling me that the union would
pass up an opportunity to improve their position because they made
a commitment years ago in one section of the contract or another?

The question that I have is this - You have been without a contract
for close to 10 months. Just how long is this going to go on? The
longer that the company drags this out, the less the union looks like
it has any power or leverage.
 
chuckandbob said:
It is not dishonest for any company, or the union for that matter,
to want to change the rules with each successive contract. Times
change, and the economy changes. That is why there is a set term
on each contract. After one expires, then you negotiate for the next
one, which might be identical to the previous contract, but is most
likely different in many areas. Are you telling me that the union would
pass up an opportunity to improve their position because they made
a commitment years ago in one section of the contract or another?

The question that I have is this - You have been without a contract
for close to 10 months. Just how long is this going to go on? The
longer that the company drags this out, the less the union looks like
it has any power or leverage.
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Oh gee....remember "were not trying to bust the union" looks like the lawyer they hired knows how to play the game...oh and his history of doing that...Even accepting the proposal guarantees, with reading all the fine print put together, that next contract there will not be a union. The tip-toing on the edge of bargaining in good faith..... good tactic. And as far as how a contract works heres the way it is for the workin man, the union givith and the company takith. period. Thats the way it always will be, and when someone gets out of line a strike or a lockout is needed. In this case, a strike. Dont see joke harbor locking us out because they truely arent prepaired for the worst, just a big case of poker face.
 
chuckandbob said:
It is not dishonest for any company, or the union for that matter,
to want to change the rules with each successive contract. Times
change, and the economy changes. That is why there is a set term
on each contract. After one expires, then you negotiate for the next
one, which might be identical to the previous contract, but is most
likely different in many areas. Are you telling me that the union would
pass up an opportunity to improve their position because they made
a commitment years ago in one section of the contract or another?

The question that I have is this - You have been without a contract
for close to 10 months. Just how long is this going to go on? The
longer that the company drags this out, the less the union looks like
it has any power or leverage.
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As a Teamster employer, the participation in the WCTWT is a constant, not a item to bargained, unless the company was facing extreme financial hardships and was willing to prove it. These retirees expect the Teamsters to look after them, and I think they will do just that, and if they can't form some kind of compromise on this issue. Everyone directly involved loses, the only positive in the whole mess will be one less crappy ltl company dragging down standards in our industry and it's worth it. The drivers will all find jobs because the work still needs to be done the guys close to retirement will retire and the rest will find jobs that can't possible be worse than working for this CRAPPHOLE company.

It still comes down to one thing, if they were willing to open their books and needed concessions, this would not be an issue, they have been raking in the the cash for years and they can afford to take care of everyone and make a profit.
 
It sounds like Oak Harbor is ready!

Don't you guys remember that that guy, the cowboy, is lurking with his crew to replace us? He scares the heck out of me. I really believe that a big mean guy like that probably has a whole "gang" of strikebreakers waiting in hotels or airports to take our jobs.

I know of bad dudes like the Cowboy and you have to be pretty tough to break a Teamster strike. I hope all our Brothers have taken note of this mean dude. I don't think he is just some guy on a board. He seemed to "target" our Brother The Wrench pretty strong. I even heard that he knows who Brother Wrench is and has other strikebreakers watching him off work hours.

If they are strikebreakers think how tough they must be to come here and take our jobs and even tease us about it. Brother Wrench has definetely pulled his sails in and stopped posting his tough union stance and I never thought he could be so intimidated.

I just hope the company doesn't target me for posting. I just hope we settle and get back to work.

Thanks guys.
 
They can't repremand us for voicing our opinions on our own time.

I don't really care if anyone knows who I am. Anything I say on here, I'd say the same thing to the VP's faces.
 
Do the vps think they can deliver union frieght without union employees. they need to realize that the so called scaby:funky:: are just here for the money and short time. they dont want that job. they want big money fast and want to go home. and for union frieght being delivered by scaby Well good luck we union guys willllll hold them up promise your brother
 
Twin Screw said:
Don't you guys remember that that guy, the cowboy, is lurking with his crew to replace us? He scares the heck out of me. I really believe that a big mean guy like that probably has a whole "gang" of strikebreakers waiting in hotels or airports to take our jobs.

I know of bad dudes like the Cowboy and you have to be pretty tough to break a Teamster strike. I hope all our Brothers have taken note of this mean dude. I don't think he is just some guy on a board. He seemed to "target" our Brother The Wrench pretty strong. I even heard that he knows who Brother Wrench is and has other strikebreakers watching him off work hours.

If they are strikebreakers think how tough they must be to come here and take our jobs and even tease us about it. Brother Wrench has definetely pulled his sails in and stopped posting his tough union stance and I never thought he could be so intimidated.

I just hope the company doesn't target me for posting. I just hope we settle and get back to work.

Thanks guys.
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Just so you know, this site logs IP addresses and is aware that people have the ability to open accounts under different names ect. This has to be the poorest attempt I have ever seen.

A person that feels they have nothing to lose is dangerous, nobody has respect for any kind of "strike line crosser" and they never have. Even the people that employ them know they are the lowest of the low, respect, fear, toughness? They are adjectives that I reserve for the people who aren't afraid to stand up for themselves.

I hope no one is confusing this "Twin screw" with another member "Twinscrew" who has posted here in the past. My guess is this is probably a low level manager trying to convolute the reality of the situation at Oak Harbor. He probably formerly posted as "westcoastcowbow" until he was banned recently.
 
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