Oregon Public Broadcasting

Striking truck drivers are scheduled to hold a rally Thursday outside Oak Harbor Freight Lines in Portland. Krisitan Foden-Vencil reports.

About 150 drivers have been on strike for the last 11 weeks. Company spokesman, Mike Hobby, says there are many unresolved issues, but the main one is healthcare.

Mike Hobby: “Our main suggestion was to move the employees onto the company healthcare, out of the Teamster trust plan and onto the company plan, which already covered 700 of our 1300 employees.”

Teamsters members say that effectively cuts the healthcare of retired drivers and is unacceptable.

Teamster spokesman, David White, says the company is simply union-busting.

David White: “They seem to be all of a sudden just wanting to get rid of these good union jobs that we’ve been employed with them for many years and have had good relations with this company for over 40 years.”

Oak Harbor says about 130 of the 600 union members have crossed the picket line.