This is a call out to all former Evergreen Pulp workers. Please show up to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors chambers on Tuesday June 16th at 9:15am to hear testimony of co-workers who have been wronged on health care issues! This is your chance to take public action in the form of numbers! But do remember, you will have to go through a scan and search to get into the Board Chambers.
Thanks to 4th District Supervisor Bonnie Neely for making this an agenda item and to 3rd District Supervisor Mark Lovelace for making this public.
John and Joy Mathson along with Gail and Jim Mellow bought the COBRA coverage and were defrauded. And many more past Evergreen workers have had medical costs burden them.
Time to get active!
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48 comments:
What exactly do you hope the supervisors will do? There's little doubt that Lee & Mann took the money and ran leaving everyone stiffed. Do they have any other presence in the U.S., if not are you sending Bonnie to Hong Kong?
There is nothing the Board of Supervisors can do other than provide the forum for these folks to express their concerns. The Board of Sups. agenda does not recommend any specific action on this agenda item, which almost always means that they don't intend to take action. The most they can do is to write a letter to the appropriate parties asking them to "do the right thing." The Board of Sups. has no authority in this matter.
The two biggest phonies on the board will use this as a media event to show you how empathetic they are. There will be more bullshit in the BOS chambers than a local dairy. These two gas bags are pathetic.
Work everyday for forty years, believing that you are doing the right thing, as you contribute your share to society. The laws are explained to you as if they were written to protect your rights, and then find out that anyone can take away what you have worked for. Very frustrating!
What is wrong with asking government, at any level, for assistance with your problem?
Seems like an illegal immigrant or someone on welfare can get more support
Where was Bonnie when mill was asking for help with Air and Water now she has someone qualified and formidable running against her and she is reaching out to us Richard do not let them play you, you are not part of her cabinet yet.
I know that this is very important but shouldn't these people focus on their budget instead of this type of thing? I certainly don't want to disparage the plight of anyone that has been screwed by these people but there is nothing to be done, especially in this financial environment. Maybe they will pass laws that at least force companies to be bonded for this sort of situation and, if the bond expires, have a quick enforcement action in place. I guess these things have to be aired but the potential for politicians to grandstand and do nothing is great.
You know, the silence coming from Sacramento is deafening. These cowards won't even hardly address their constituents with more than a party by-line or a cursory response. Where's the Democratic plan? Where is the Republican plan? There is no plan, no decent people looking out for us, just self-serving cockroaches with nowhere to hide and the light shining brightly.
Hi Richard:
I sent following letter to all of the County supervisors and to Gallegos. Several of them acknowledged receipt.
This letter was sent on October 12th, 2008; when there was still time for them to act.
It is only after Tsang leaves town, that the politicians start acting. My guess is that this meeting is an attempt by Bonnie Neeley to look good rather than to actually do anything.
Where were the politicians when there was still time to do something?
Steve Fleischer
Dear ...:
Evergreen has announced that they are shutting the Samoa mill until market conditions improve.
I believe that the mill will never reopen:
- I do not anticipate that market conditions can improve in under a year. At that point, competing mills have become much more efficient. The Samoa mill was already running at near peak efficiency; it will just not be competitive with the state of the art.
- The mill is old and has been modified so often that there are no longer any relevant technical manuals; all technical knowledge is held by employees who will disperse (at some point, the necessary knowledge to operate the mill will be irretrievably lost).
- The capital expenditures required by the regulators to reopen the mill will make a significant barrier to re-entry (estimated $2-4 million).
- It will take $1 million plus to restart the mill after a prolonged shutdown like this (this is just repairs/restart, not value added).
- The chip suppliers will find other customers and will not be eager to come back.
If I am right, then there is a real chance that Lee & Man is leaving town for good and that you will find that the true owner of the mill is a shell company with no recourse to Lee & Man (though Lee & Man publicly claimed to own the mill, it is unclear who the titular owners of Evergreen are). It will cost $25 million (Simpson’s 2004 costs for their Samoa mill) to remediate the site; Evergreen will be a shell with no ability to pay those costs.
At some point, it will dawn on the community that they have a problem across the bay and then the search for solutions will start. Lee & Man needs to be held now, before they leave town.
I suggest that you take action today, while there are still options.
Sincerely:
Stephen G. Fleischer
On the COBRA coverage depending on how someone was defrauded maybe those people should contact the insurance commissioner for that department to look into the matter.
BOS will let you talk but there is nothing they can do in this matter and I am not sure there was anything they could have done to keep the mill open except write a letter like they usually do.
Why not call 911 or the National Guard, while you're at it?
You're whining wieners who don't know how to do anything for yourselves. But you expect anyone in government to jump whenever YOU get a boo boo. If you don't look for an ambulance chaser to take your case on contingency and aren't willing to put your money where your mouth is by hiring one, you're just whining.
Softball really is your game, you sure can't play hardball. You released a lien on the mill that would have covered some of your claims. Soft balls and soft heads.
I have to agree. Whomever agreed to release that lein imperiled the workers at Evergreen by relinquishing all rights they had to at least some portion of their money. I will never understand how the union got taken for such a ride. It must have felt like taking candy from a baby.
Steve: Thank you for doing that. Did the people who responded say what their course of action would be? Did Bonnie respond?
Mark worked his ass off to get rid of the pulp mill. Bonnie wasn't interested in you guys at all. Now they can both look like compassionate caring representatives and not have to do a damn thing. Real win/win for them,real loser for you softball. Like the other poster said," you really can't play hard ball".
This is not a matter of what the supervisors will "DO".This is to let them know how Evergreen has hurt individuals and their families.Communication is a powerful thing. We never want a company like Evergreen to ever do business in Humboldt County again.
I am going b4 the Board of Supes to tell them our personal story of how we paid a premium to Evergreen to continue their medical plan. They took our money and never paid our bill for John's chemotherapy in Dec 2008. We have been left holding the bag for an exhorbitant bill. This is just criminal. The public needs to know this. Laws can be changed and they often start from the ground up. I have faith in my country.
I have written letters to every elected official in the newspaper from Oboma on down. I did not expect them to "do" something. I just wanted to let them know what happened. I have done everthing to be proactive and call attention to our abusive treatment by Evergreen. I wrote letters also to the Secretary of Labor and to the Dept of Labor in Washing DC. I got a call from the regional office here in Sacramento.They had received my letters and the ones forwarded to them from Washing DC. They told me they were opening an investigation.Evergreen broke many federal laws pertaining to COBRA and ERISA.
I wish you weren't so negative. People cannot always "do" something, but they can listen and learn.
Do we ever want another company to come into Eureka like Evergreen? They made promises they didn't keep. They polluted our air and water and skipped town owing huge sums of money to their empolyees and many others.
Both Jimmy Smith and Paul Gallegos responded by acknowledging receipt of the letter.
Nothing from Bonnie.
There were no conversations with the recipients of the letters because I had nothing to add; the letter was self explanatory.
What do you mean "another company like Evergreen" ?
As I recall, Evergreen was voted "Business of the Year" by the Eureka Chamber of Commerce, just 9 months ago. Rex got a coffee mug at the award ceremony.
You all loved Evergreen and asked no questions, just as long as the good times were rolling. Evergreen could do no wrong and anyone who said so was in for a fight. But now, after the boom has dropped, you're all "I wuz robbed". Well, its just more whining.
Very similar to the Humboldt Creamery co-op dairypeople who loving the upside and took it for granted. But now they're squealing like stuck pigs and blaming everyone else when it was their responsibility to watch the store.
First , my congratulations to , Mayor , Virginia ( i love that
name )Bass doing the fine job she's done on behalf of the people of , Eureka .
Secondly , if anyone is interested in seeing what , Eureka's own - JERRY DROZ is up to nowadays just go to , IMDb - click that then click " search " in " Cast / Crew " type in , JERRY DROZ .
There you have it .
Dear Mr. Anonomous, I think you are a bit of a bully. There are other ways to look at things besides your way. I don't disagree with everything you say. However, when I have something to say, I don't hide behind anonymity. Your harsh opinions are taking over this blog.
It would be nice to see some upbeat posts about how people have moved on. Some people have been trained for other jobs. I would really like to hear from them. Is there any intelligent life after Evergreen?
Joy, how bout some up beat posts about you and ballboy acting like adults. Telling HCDCC and liberal phonies like marky mark and the Bon Bon to take a hike. Now that would be some positive posts. It would also do some good locally. As it stands you two softballs will let these creeps push our community further into the sewer. You bet we want another ever green. Only fools would not.
Look Joy, if you've got something constructive to add to the topic, the responsibilities of employers and employees to each other, then write it out. Times are very difficult, simply putting on a "happy face" isn't helpful, constructive, or relevant.
People in the US who aspire to bluecollar work have been seeing work declines for twenty years. Creating new economies is a very tough challenge. Refusing to reflect on and deeply think about why past economies failed abruptly only ensures that it will happen again and sooner.
Laid off paper mill workers have been on notice for a long time that the jobs aren't coming back. If they need help accepting that, counseling and retraining is available. Each one is in a unique situation. Some will retire, some will move, some will find other local work, some will change their personal and social lives. Life goes on for everyone and we deal with it, until its over.
When a plane crashes would you want to just notice how all the other passengers got to their destinations and had a good time?
Great question, 1:37. Would YOU?
When a plane crashes would you want to just notice how all the other passengers got to their destinations and had a good time?
I didn't think so.
Well, neither does Joy.
When a plane crashes Joy would NOT want to just notice how all the other passengers got to their destinations and had a good time. But she did get screwed by Lee & Mann.
Richard,
How did the BOS meeting go this morning. Did both John and Jim attend and speak out about how they and their families have been impacted by this COBRA insurance issue?
Did Jim also give an account of what happened to his coverage when the former Shasta Paper Mill closed up for good over the hill near Redding just a few years back?
We are sure having a real problem here in this state regarding both insurance issues and 60 days worth of wages owed under the terms and conditions of the WARN act when these mills close up here in Northern California.
There is only one good question. Will ballboy become a man and help rid this community of Bonnie ?
Is there really any reason to be disrespectful?
I'm a consultant representing Evergreen Pulp, Inc. in dealing with various creditors. I have just been made aware of these insurance problems and will deal with them starting in a few days.
I can be reached at: bernie@alpert.biz
It will be interesting if anyone eventually discloses what kind of scam this guy is trying to pull.
It may be a small rural area here with some scared and desperate people. But I have hopes they aren't the gullible rubes this guy is pfishing for. "Consultant" my heinie.
Virginia Bass promised to create more jobs for Eureka when she campaigned for mayor in '06. She has done nothing in 30 months to create a single job for Eurekans. Meanwhile, the city has lost hundreds of jobs as business after business has closed during her tenure, including her own business. She has missed numerous City Council meetings over the past year. And she's going to ask for my vote for Supervisor?
Well, Virgina has a new job so that's one that she created.
I wouldn't be surprised if all the other former OH Townhouse workers are working again, except those that retired.
Be careful, they all campaign on creating more jobs Bonnie has done a much better job and gets paid 12 times as much as Virginia. At least Virginia is open and will talk Bonnie is unapproachable. Rex
The TS did a good story on this.
http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_12627766
I was involved in a W.A.R.N. act and Cobra violation lawsiut in 2006 it took so long just to get the Ca. labor board to respond it was rediculous the local State Labor office officer told me to my face in my house he didn't want to be bothered because he was so close to retirement. In the end we met with Gallegos and Bonnie Neely and Wes Keat but it went nowhere the company that ripped us off filed BK and we were left holding the bag.
Who the hell is this sycophant trying to hustle? If you will just give him a few bucks he will gladly "help" you. When times are the hardest the lowest of the low slither out from under their rocks and try to extract their pound of flesh.
Just a note: The Bernie Alpert listed above and his e-mail are legit. You can e-mail him directly at bernie@alpert.biz.
Maybe Evergreen is being forced by the feds to come clean up this mess they left behind.
Yes you are right. cheeseball was in town last night hand out for money,telling the HCDCC just get him more $$$$$$ and he'll stop the evil doers.
Bernie Alpert was hired in January before the sale of the mill to deal with the vendors EP didn't pay. Basically he is a high priced negotiator. This has nothing to do with the Feds. Bernie lives in Thailand and does this for a living. He will talk anyone down to cents on the dollar they are owed.
Well, for sure there's one gullible rube in Humboldt, this blog's owner.
Is that the sort of intelligent and discerning thinker who could represent and protect the interests of the electorate?
Richard, that was a good write-up in the T.S. Your heart has to go out to both Jim and his wife Gail as this wasn't the first time which they had been 'victimized' on account of a Northern California mill closure.
They have 'walked' down a similar 'primrose path' once before when Shasta Paper closed back in 01'.
Those workers were owed back pay for unused vacations, unused floating holidays, along with no WARN payouts due to plant closure.
I thought at the time, that there were also some other outstanding issues regarding insurance matters for their worker retirees and families. You'd have to talk with Jim to learn more.
Sorry to read where Joy and her husband are also having a struggle with their medical situation.
At the time of the Shasta mill closure, letters had also been sent out to both Feinstein and Boxer, though nothing ever became of any of it.
So, let's watch and see what becomes of this letter writing campaign of the BOS, this go around with these same two politicians.
Whatever became of those "pieces of equipment" that the union was given for releasing the lien and allowing the pulp mill to be sold? I think it was a chipper or loader.
Is it in some union member's backyard or was it sold to help pay these medical bills? Where is the money?
4:19pm-It was sold and the funds dispersed to pay medical bills.
Richard,
Did representatives from the AWPPW Portland headquarters also attend last week's BOS meeting to hear the wives of these former mill employees speak out?
The west coast AWPPW union has probably taken a more proactive stance to resolving these various issues for the former Evergreen workers than what the UPIU or PACE union did in regard to assisting the former Shasta Mill employees with their various compensation issues after their mill closed.
Richard, What ever became of your 60 days worth of wages as outlined under the federal W.A.R.N. act when Evergreen closed?
What is interesting is that employees have paid union dues for several years or decades and have also paid state taxes which support agencies which in return, are supposed to look after these same employees' rights.
However, when a mill or plant closes, the workforce is then sent out the front gate and afterward can not even collect on benefits in which they are entitled to by law.
Now go figure...
Hello 8:57.
As far as I know, the AWPPW Portland headquarters did not have a representative present at the BOS hearing last Tuesday. Could you state the specific ways in which they have interceded on behalf of the Evergreen employees to recover the moneys/benefits they are entitled to under ERISA and WARN?
I agree with you that all the taxes paid through decades to these agencies to operate on our behalf have been a waste because when they are called on to do their jobs they are ineffectual or nothing "falls within their jurisdiction."
Hopefully the Department of Labor investigation will hold Evergreen legally accountable on the federal violations under EBSA. It would be refreshing to see one of these companies learn that there are some willful acts of transgression that they cannot perpetrate on their employees. Waiting to see...
Perhaps then, Anon 1:14, along with those boxes of disposable ear plugs and packages of fold-up plastic safety glasses (which can be found up by the mill office for employee use), there should also be another box placed along the counter, or maybe better yet, say a koisk of sorts set right out in the hallway.
Let's call this the K-Y Lube Kiosk. At the K-Y Lube Kiosk, personal tubes of K-Y lube can be dispensed and thus accessed by the workers as they exit the mill premises for the very last time.
The purpose of the lube is to make the 'screwing' more palatable or easier to accept once that the mill gate has been locked up for good behind the dedicated mill workers.
From what you may be implying Anon 1:14 then, is that it is every man and woman out for themselves once that mill closes. And from what you are suggesting, don't expect to get very much help at all from either the union nor local labor board after you are out the front gate (even though you've paid your dues and taxes all those years).
As a suggestion then, perhaps both the AWPPW and the USW leadership should publish in a future issue of their membership newspapers, an article which details what their members should expect (or what not to expect) once they are sent out the plant gate for good when a mill closes. Might make for a good read for the membership.
These two labor unions have known for awhile that the federal WARN Act legislation has been a waste of paper in which it was written on. It provides little protection for the workers.
The politicians have also known this and have done very little to date, to rectify this adverse issue affecting workers up and down the west coast and Northern California.
Maybe then Anon 1:14, as you say, the Department of Labor investigation will make these past wrongs a right for a change and hold some agencies as well as some individuals accountable for both their actions and or (lack of any real action)towards the workers.
4:51 PM: Actually, when I spoke only about taxes and excluded the words “union dues” I left the unions out of that part of the discussion so I really don't know where that tirade came from. I certainly do not want to add to anyone’s pain.
Perhaps you thought I was being facetious when I ask the specific ways that the AWPPW had interceded on the employees’ behalf? I was not. I was only interested as to their approach. I only have respect for anything anyone does to help; whether or not it success does not diminish the effort.
I do not think it should be every man and woman for him or herself. I understand your frustration over what every man and woman has been through. I was only stating the fact that each agency in turn had washed it hands quickly and neatly of the employees' plight.
I agree with you on the WARN Act. Several of the laws that allowed what has befallen the former employees to occur need to be addressed. You seem informed and intelligent and more than adequate at expressing yourself. Perhaps you could get involved in facilitating this action. Former employees have a uniquely insightful voice with which to speak to lawmakers. Now is the time to take that chance and to act.
Thanks 8:49 for the clarification of your earlier posts.
As for the prior references to the union, they have known about the shortcomings of the WARN act. It is my understanding that Local 49 had been down this path once before and did not receive a WARN payout due to a prior mill closure.
Thus, the AWPPW Portland leadership also knew about this as well as the leadership of the UPIU or PACE (now USW), as they had also represented pulp and paper mill workers whom also did not receive a WARN settlement, though they were entitled to it. Hence the need to educate their current membership through their union newspapers about what is actually transpiring after these plants do close up shop.
The California Dept of Industrial Relations/Labor Commissioner's Office-AKA-(the labor board) has also known about the WARN issue as they have been involved in prior mill closures in California where this was a problem.
The poliiticians representing these districts where these mills shut down also knew about WARN's lack of teeth to compel firms to comply.
You are correct Anon 8:49 regarding "that each agency in turn had washed it hands quickly and neatly of the employees' plight."
Thanks for your insight and wisdom.
Any frustration on my part is only because now more workers have been taken advantage of when the unions, the state and the politicians representing these affected workers have known now for quite awhile that there have been some serious issues, whether WARN related, extended health insurance- COBRA, etc after a mill has closed. And now so far, they have chosen not to force these issues out into the forefront and amend the laws accordingly.
9:55pm you are right on all accounts. When are our leaders going to do something but granstand!?
In response to Anon 2:28,
Our leaders will start doing something for us when we take the appropriate action in order to both compel and thus inspire them to do more. In other words, we need to stop 'grandstanding' ourselves.
Many of you are probably too young to remember this, that our industry (the pulp and paper trade) for many, many decades was the leading economic indicater for the United States. When times were bad, our various U.S. mill operations were the last ones to shut down and the very first ones to start back up again. Steel, textile, and other industries always went down before ours.
In my opinion, the U.S. domestic pulp and paper industry is still a good strong leading indicator of how our country is doing financially. The fact that our industry is now basically in shambles is a report card on how well the rest of domestic industries are doing (bankrupt airlines, bankrupt automakers, bankrupt savings and loans, etc, etc, etc.) We have some major, serious issues right now regarding free trade policies.
I for one, could have never realized that our country's industries could have ended up in this shape during my lifetime. Both the politicians and their lobbyist contacts have done their jobs well.
What concerns me even more is the legacy in which we have left for our children and their children. I for one, find this unacceptable.
Many of you have made a good living working at some of these mill operations. For some, you have been able to thus, live a good life. I am afraid however, that the children and or grandchildren are going to have a more difficult time than we had, however.
What also disturbs me is that coworkers and friends have exhausted their life savings to pay for medical expenses when there should have been medical coverage made available to both them and or their families. And for some, they have had to file for bankruptcy.
Thus, the time has come to put away the softballs, place the golf clubs back into the bag, store the fishing pole and for all of us to set a time for labor up and down the west coast to meet and take these above issues to the next level.
Why the union leadership of various unions haven't called for more blunt, direct action is beyond me. The two most common terms 'pulp' and 'paper' are no longer even a part of the name of the largest domestic international union representing pulp and paper workers here in the U.S. What does that tell you?
Various organizations and public agencies have had ample opportunity now (over a period of many years) to make these past wrongs, a right. Labor has been screwed for too long and I am sick and tired of hearing of friends and or coworkers punished for the misdeeds of others.
Aren't you also, sick and tired and would also like to drive the point home once and for all, that we have all had enough now and we want better for our children, and their children than what these politicians have arranged?
Leave me a reply here on the blog, I would like to hear from others.
Thank you.
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