March. 20, 2009:NWLP
3/17/09
9:50 AM
Page 2
Teamsters dispute at Oak Harbor Freight Lines isn’t over
International Brotherhood of Team-
sters ended its unfair labor practice strike
at Oak Harbor Freight Lines, but the la-
bor dispute isn’t over.
About 600 Teamsters members
struck the privately-held regional truck-
ing company Sept. 22 — alleging, in
five separate charges, that the company
had broken labor law. One of those
charges was later withdrawn, and an-
other was dismissed by National Labor
Relations Board (NLRB) agent who in-
vestigated, but three minor charges were
found to have merit. The company
agreed Jan. 30 to settle those charges by
changing some company practices and
posting a workplace notice.
Once the charges were settled, for
union members to stay out would have
made it an “economic” strike, which
would have given Oak Harbor the right
to permanently replace them. So Team-
sters International Vice-PresidentAl Ho-
bart announced Feb. 12 that strikers
were willing to return to work.
After several weeks of wrangling
over the subject, Hobart made it clear
that the union return-to-work offer was
unconditional. Some drivers and dock
workers returned the first week of
U.S. Court dismisses Cintas RICO suit
NEW YORK — Calling the com-
plaint “sprawling” and “larded,” U.S.
District Court Judge William H. Pauley
has dismissed a racketeering lawsuit
filed by Fortune 500 company Cintas
Corp. against UNITE HERE, the
Teamsters, and Change to Win.
Cintas filed the suit in March 2008,
claiming the unions had mounted neg-
ative and false attacks on the company
as part of an “extortion” campaign dur-
ing an organizing drive.
b h
m k
Union officials described the lawsuit
as a broader campaign of coercion to
keep workers from forming a union.
Judge Pauley called the complaint
“a manifesto ... that is more a public re-
lations piece than a pleading.” He said
Cintas “does not have the right to oper-
ate free from any criticism, organized
or not,” noting the constitutional free-
speech protection given to labor activi-
ties.
Bennett Hartman
Morris & Kaplan, llp
March. But others were laid off due to
lack of work. The Everett, Washington,
terminal is closed altogether — tem-
porarily, the company said. Business is
down due to the strike and economic
conditions.
Teamsters say Oak Harbor lost more
than half its business during the strike.
Striking drivers used their relationships
with local customers to get them to
switch to other shippers, while a union
“corporate campaign” persuaded big
companies like JC Penney and The Gap
to cancel accounts.
Workers returned without the protec-
tion of a union contract. Their last con-
tract expired Oct. 31, 2007. Oak Harbor
imposed its own terms on returning
strikers. It ceased making contributions
to the Teamster-sponsored health and
pension plans. Workers say the company
isn’t honoring seniority rules, and man-
agers are doing the work of bargaining
unit members.
Oak Harbor also refused to return 13
workers, saying they were suspended
for supposed strike misconduct, and that
more suspensions could come. Mean-
while, anti-union workers —helped by
the National Right to Work Foundation
— have petitioned the NLRB to decer-
tify the union at eight terminals:Auburn,
Mt. Vernon, Pasco, Spokane, and We-
natchee, Washington; Medford and
Salem, Oregon; and Boise, Idaho. The
terminals, totaling 250 workers, make
up nearly half the company’s union
membership. The NLRB has not yet set
election dates for workers at those ter-
minals to vote on whether to stay union.
...Gregoire, Chopp, Brown kill priority labor bill
(From Page 1)
nounce it in a press conference, and
send the e-mail to law enforcement.
“We are no longer considering ac-
tion on … the Worker Privacy Act,” said
Gregoire, Chopp, and Brown in their
joint press statement. “Immediately
upon becoming aware of an e-mail link-
ing potential action on the bill to cam-
paign contributions, bringing the bill
forward was no longer an option. The
e-mail raises serious legal and ethical
questions. The matter has been referred
to the Washington State Patrol for in-
vestigation.”
WSLC President Rick Bender re-
acted later that day on the WSLC Web
site: “We regret the incident. It was a re-
sult of frustration with the Legislature’s
failure to protect workers rights in the
workplace.”
“The Washington State Labor Coun-
cil proudly stands behind our efforts to
pass the Worker Privacy Act,” Bender
said in a second statement the follow-
ing day. “Early Tuesday morning, an e-
mail communication related to the Pri-
vacy Act was inadvertently delivered to
the offices of several Washington State
legislators. We regret that this uninten-
tional communication has stalled con-
sideration of this important legislation.”
Bender said to Daily Olympian po-
litical blogger Adam Wilson that he was
unaware of any other case where leg-
islative leaders responded to heavy lob-
bying by burying the bills and calling
the cops.
Attorneys at Law
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Our Legal Staff are Proud Members of UFCW Local 555
PAGE 2
Every indication is that Oak Harbor
Freight Lines orchestrated the entire
conflict expressly to bust the union.
Even before contract negotiations began
in 2007, Oak Harbor co-president David
Vander Pol told the Teamsters’ Hobart
that company owners had met with East
Coast shipping company managers
who’d defeated Teamster strikes and
eliminated the union, and that Oak Har-
bor was prepared to pursue that. Up to
two years before the strike, the company
was contracting to recruit striker re-
placements. To represent it in bargain-
ing, Oak Harbor hired a law firm that
specializes in union avoidance. And
when the strike began, the company re-
turned to operation almost immediately,
using workers brought in by a strike-
breaking temp agency.
... AND HELP THE KIDS
7th Annual Motorcycle Poker Run and Chili Cook-Off
Saturday, June 13
IBEW Local 48 Hall, 15937 NE Airport Way, Portland
The bike can be viewed through mid April at the IBEW & United Workers
Federal Credit Union, 1955 SE Washington, Portland
And from mid-April to June 11 at the Teamsters Joint Council #37 Credit
Union, 1866 NE 162nd Ave., Portland
Tickets are on sale at either credit union or the following locations:
Stagecoach Saloon, 20101 NE Sandy, Fairview
Gateway Pub, 39100 Pioneer Blvd, Sandy
Carver Hanger, 16196 SE Hwy 224, Clackamas (Carver)
IBEW Local 48, 15937 NE Airport Way, Portland
Pub 181, 18415 SE Division St., Portland
Mason’s Custom Cycles, 439 NE 3rd Ave. #A100, Canby
Seasons & Regions Seafood Grill, 6660 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland
T h e r a f f l e a n d P o k e r R u n a r e
s p o n s o r e d b y U n i o n s f o r K i d s ,
a n o n - p r o f i t , a l l - v o l u n t e e r
o r g a n i z a t i o n .
A l l p r o c e e d s g o t o
D o e r n b e c h e r C h i l d r e n ’ s
H o s p i t a l
See our Web site at www.unions forkids.org or call Lee Duncan at 503 260-5905
Pre-registration and donations can be made on-line
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
MARCH 20, 2009