Bill Maher hypocrisy pointed out by Teamsters

Teamsters, Students and Labor Activists Go to Maher for Support Nov 1 04:30 PM US/Eastern
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GAP Scrutinized in Connection to Oak Harbor Strike

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ Teamsters, United Students Against Sweatshops and Jobs with Justice are informing the public about Gap's (Public, NYSE: GPS) support of Labor abuses by passing out fliers at Bill Maher's "Three Days Before the Election" performance at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa, California. Maher has become a spokesperson for Gap's "Vote for ." campaign and a recent focus of labor rights activists.

More than 600 workers at Auburn, Washington-based Oak Harbor Freight Lines, the company that delivers Gap merchandise, were forced to go on strike on Sept. 22 in response to violations of federal labor laws that protect workers' rights. The company then unilaterally stopped paying for health care benefits for current workers and retirees.

"We were hoping that Bill Maher, who has made a career of pointing out the hypocrisy in big institutions such as the government and corporate America, would be able to see the irony in Gap's election campaign," said Rod Palmquist, National Organizer for United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS). "Unlike the Gap, other Oak Harbor retailer customers such as REI and Urban Outfitters respect worker's rights and have dropped the company."
"By joining with the Gap, I hope Bill Maher realizes that he is promoting a company that could help leave grandparents without health benefits," said Sarita Gupta, executive director at Jobs with Justice. "Bill is not acting in the best interests of retirees and loyal, long-term workers who experience firsthand the contradictions in what Gap says and what they do."
In addition to the loss of health care coverage for retirees, Oak Harbor wants to cut paid sick leave for employees, reduce pension benefits and prohibit union representatives from talking to workers at the workplace. The freight company also has created a special "Gap" rule that would deny overtime pay for weekend work on Gap business.

"We will continue to take our message to the Gap until it stops supporting Oak Harbor's abuses. Oak Harbor should be willing to negotiate with our workers in good faith and allow for a dignified retirement," said Tyson Johnson, Teamsters International Vice President and Freight Division Director.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters was founded in 1903 and represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters