Oak Harbor Freight Lines is one of the largest regional trucking company’s on the West Coast. Approximately 64% of Oak Harbor’s eligible workforce is represented by the Teamsters Union. Over 550 Teamsters employed by Oak Harbor in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho have tried to negotiate a new contract with the company since August 2007.

Oak Harbor’s most recent proposal would permanently freeze pay for newly hired clerical staff, allow the company to arbitrarily fire clerical staff, permanently deny new warehouse workers access to health & welfare benefits, eliminate paid sick leave, and shift much more of the cost of health care onto employees. Oak Harbor’s latest offer would also freeze workers pensions and eliminate health care coverage for retirees who had previously been promised coverage.

Until the current dispute, the company’s employees had never gone on strike. In September 2008, the union filed several charges with the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of Oak Harbor employees alleging the company violated American labor laws. On September 22, 2008, employees began an unfair labor practice strike aimed at ending these violations.

In December 2008, the National Labor Relations Board found merit in the union’s charges alleging that Oak Harbor violated federal labor law and bargained in bad faith.

Additionally, the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to achieving just and humane treatment of workers, published a report in which it concluded that Oak Harbor violated international labor rights standards, including:

• “Use of permanent striker replacements to undermine freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining of Oak Harbor employees;
  
  
• Unethical and unlawful practices in the recruitment and employment of the replacement workers, including deceptive hiring practices, non-payment of wages and racial and gender discrimination in work assignment.”

The ILRF report also adds:

“In addition, we conclude that Oak Harbor’s decision to eliminate health coverage for its retired employees -- in particular the unilateral cutting off contributions for such coverage during the strike -- while not formally in violation of international labor standards, appears incompatible with the ethical business principles to which the company claims to adhere.”

In a response to these violations, Gap Inc. and several major customers have stopped using Oak Harbor. "The report by the International Labor Rights Forum and the failure of (Oak Harbor) management to work out a resolution with the Teamsters in a timely manner all contributed to our conclusion that our continued presence at Oak Harbor would not meaningfully contribute to a speedy resolution," said Dan Henkle, Senior Vice President at Gap Inc.

On February 12, 2009, striking workers offered to return-to-work in an attempt to resolve outstanding differences. In response, the company is attempting to fire thirteen workers represented by the Teamsters, and illegally eliminate workers' healthcare and pension plans. The latest unlawful move by Oak Harbor could incite a new strike just as the company is attempting to recover from the 157-day strike that triggered widespread service disruptions and cost Oak Harbor more than half of its business.

"It was our hope that the company would take our offer to return-to-work as a positive step toward resolving our differences," said Teamsters International Vice President Al Hobart. "But it is now clear that Oak Harbor's owners and their union busting attorney are willing to sacrifice customers, ruin the lives of hard working union families and drive this company into the ground to get rid of the Teamsters."

Download our Oak Harbor Freight Lines Fact Sheet here.