Did I done good?

[chaska]

Edit: I'm the driver (Mr. Downs)

Dear Mr. Downs,

First of all my apologies for the delay in getting back to you on this.
This is my first day back in the mill since your email was received by
GP Corporate in Atlanta and referred to me here at the mill in Toledo,
Oregon.

Thank you for alerting us to the offensive material that you found on a
bulletin board in the driver waiting area here at the Toledo mill.
Please be assured that we will not tolerate any such material (and that we
will discipline anyone found responsible for posting such material up
to and including termination) and that the material has been removed.
We share your disgust with such material.

We have commenced an investigation to try to determine who may be
responsible; and we have re-emphasized with our Toledo Employees our zero
tolerance policy for such actions.

Again, thank you for alerting us to this; and our sincere apologies for
your having been exposed to it.

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Tom Picciano, Communications Manager
Georgia-Pacific Toledo Pulp & Paper Operations
Toledo, Oregon
541-336-8202


-----Original Message -----

Sent: Mon Jun 5 13:42:03 EDT 2006
To: [email protected]
Subject: Georgia-Pacific Corporate Social Responsibility Contact Us
(www.gp.com)

I am a truck driver. I recently picked up a load at your
Toledo, Oregon plant. As I was being loaded I was told to wait in the
driver waiting area. On the bulletin board was stapled a mulitple-page
anti-immigrant screed that made my blood boil.

I am a native-born citizen of caucasian descent. This document was
highly offensive to me. I can imagine its effect upon the many immigrant
drivers that no doubt pick up at that plant.

This ridiculous diatribe couldn't have been written by anyone with
more than an eighth grade education, and was full of lies.
But it certainly didn't fail to hit all the hot buttons: We don't care
how you did things where you came from, learn English and stop
acting all foreign, this is a Christian nation founded by Christians,
If you don t like it you can leave, several others.

This kind of inflamatory rhetoric (of the terminally stupid) is the
default setting of cruel people who desperately need an inferior to
bully. We can pity them, we can educate them, but we cannot allow
them free reign to damage others as they damn well please.

Please have this removed. I hope you will discipline those responsible.

Thank you.

[wildhorses]

1. you done good, real good

had I been said truck driver I would've just pulled down the offending post and tore it into iddybiddy pieces and thrown it away in the proper receptacle...

[chaska]

4. Believe me, it was hard not to, but....

I figured they'd just put it right back up again, so let those whose job it is to handle these things do their job, right?

[wildhorses]

8. thanks for clarifying about being the driver

and of course you are absolutely right...(I mean left:patriot:)

[txwhitedove]

2. Chaska, you wrote the letter to GP Co? Then Bravo, yes

done great!

:applause:

[SeattleGirl]

3. You DID done good!

Your letter is an excellent response to the driver's letter to you. And I hope you find out who posted the offensive screed.

[chaska]

5. oops, hold the phone. I AM the driver.

[SeattleGirl]

7. Oops, flip-flop!!!

I thought you wrote the response. Anyway, you still DID done good in the letter that really is yours. And good on you for bringing it to the mill's attention.

[kiraboo]

6. Yes indeed!

Vewy vewy good.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. Good for you, my dear Chaska!

Too many people would have walked on by, bitching, and done nothing!

Your actions will help stop this sort of garbage from happening again...

Major props!

:applause: :applause:

[chaska]

11. Thanks, Peggy. I hope today finds you in better spirits.....

(and still levitating) than the last time I was here.

[Swede]

10. Very well done chaska.

A tip of the hat to you sir!

[auntAgonist]

12. well done!

Everyone should speak up for what they believe in! :applause:


You did VERY well indeed.


aA

[Droopy]

13. Excellent

There is a lot of the type of behavior that you described in the trucking industry involving drivers as well as dock personel. The more we stand up to that kind of behavior the farther we go to getting rid of that mentality.

[chaska]

14. Hey, Droops! When do you work, exactly? You're always here...

ya lucky stiff. :^)

[Droopy]

15. I just went through orientation with a new job

Last week I worked 8-5 at a terminal near my home. Next week I'll work 7-4 for 3 days in their shop because they want me to have a basic knowledge about their trucks. Then I will hit the road with a trainer for my first 6 loads. After that I will be out on the road for at least 2 weeks at a time.

It's a really good job. There is a union that has a strong foothold in the company. Pay is above average and I will get a 10% raise after one year. My insurance premiums are paid for by the company and they have an excellent pension. It's about as good as I can do in the trucking biz. If I want to do better than that I will probably have to take up a different career. But I plan on staying with the company for a long time. Hopefully until I retire.

[chaska]

16. "Hopefully until I retire." I wish I had that kind of faith in my...

longevity/tenacity. I don't think I've ever worked for anyone for more than 3 years.

One of the things (propaganda) that Schneider (propaganda) teaches us in (propaganda) training (propaganda) is that every trucking company that ever had a union went out of business (propaganda). It was literally hard to keep a straight face hearing some of the bs during the anti-union presentation. Lord knows that company needs a union. Another Schneider driver just today told me (don't know how accurate it is, but...) that 88% of Schneider's drivers don't last a year.

[Droopy]

17. That 88% figure is probably correct

When I signed on with CRST (my first trucking gig) they told us in orientation that they had about a 100% yearly turnover rate. It's all due to cut rate companies. They move into a shipper by underbidding existing companies there. It doesn't take too long before they have to start paying drivers lower wages because of the freight rate cuts. For that reason trucking is a very hard business to break into. Not as a driver, but as an owner.

You can still make a decent living in trucking, but you have to weed through the bullshit first and generally you have to put in a little time at an inferior carrier. If you want more info on my current employer send me a PM. You have to have 1 year OTR experience and you'll have that before you know it.

[chaska]

19. But when do I get to be a rockstar...?

You know, Elvis started out as a truck driver.

[Droopy]

20. Buy yourself an acoustic guitar

and learn some chords and bring it out with you on the road. You'll find that you'll have a lot of song writing material out on the road. ;)

[chaska]

22. Well, uh, I kinda already did that....

35 years ago.

Lot's of material, but no time to play. Of course this computer does kind of cut into my rockstar time. Gotta figure out how to play and drive at the same time.

[SharonRB]

18. Good job, Chaska!

[chaska]

21. Thanks, SharonRB. I hope every1 will take the opportunity 2 do what I did

when the opportunity strikes.

Pleased to make your acquaintence, have not had the pleasure. Who's that in the picture?

[SharonRB]

23. That's me and Randi Rhodes

I had the pleasure of meeting her in New York when I was there for the march in April.

Nice to meet you, too.

[redqueen]

24. sweeeeet

if only everyone would take such action every time they encountered such bile!

:applause:

[Maestro]

25. You done did good!

:applause: