(Managed Care Organizations)

It has come to our attention that Timber Products has enrolled in a Managed Care Organization. What this means is basically if you go to Occupational Health for treatment of a Workers Comp claim, you will be locked into seeing Doctors on the MCO list. Most of the Doctors on the Oregon Health System list are either specialists or not practicing in Jackson County anymore. SAIF has sent the Oregon Health System list to some of our members. There is also a Providence MCO which in our area would be better. Why they don’t participate, in that one we don’t know and haven’t been able to get an answer as yet. It has been stated by the State AFL-CIO, that for you to try and avoid this issue, if you wish to have your personal Doctor treat you, you do the following:

Write out or type: I_______________ currently am not being treated for a Workers Compensation claim. I wish that in the future should I get hurt on the job my personal physician Dr. __________________ will be the treating physician and whichever specialists he should feel he has to send me to will also be allowed to treat me. Signed: _____________________, Employee. Make 3 copies, original to the Company, Copy for Union file and copy for you. This should stop any future misunderstandings.

Remember, stick together on this, some day, you might be the senior person in a classification, or you might be the one who the Company overlooks. Another aspect of this is that the Company will continue to overlook people for overtime, overlook the list, and overlook the people in classification, because, they’re not going to pay. We have one year on our contract left, it’s time we quit bickering and complaining and start getting our act together. The wages, pension, health & welfare, shift differential, holidays and vacations are the result of bargaining. So is seniority rights, The Company is taking them away and you people are allowing it. The grievance procedure, it used to be that people would go on strike for other people’s grievances, now the mention of a strike you people "cower" , you want arbitration but you won’t strike to get it. Then you get some "dummy" advocating getting rid of the Union. Eighty percent of you have never worked non-union. Do you think you’d keep your Union pension and Union insurance when the Union’s gone. Do you think you’ll get pay raises? The last time this place was non- Union there was three pay cuts, insurance was an 80-20 plan, holidays were taken away etc.. Ask around, and see. The Union gets blamed by the Company and a lot of you for the crap that goes on day to day. If you’re referring to the officers and committees, as the Union, they probably don’t have a clue at what’s going on unless you tell them. You see, you are the Union, so when you say "damn Union" you’re really saying "damn you dummy". We have people getting fired for some petty reason, and all you people can do is say, "to bad". Some day it may be your turn. It’s time you people quit being "sheep" and start standing up and sticking up for each other. And it’s time you people leave personalities out of the workplace. You don’t have to like the person you work with but, if they’re a good worker and show up everyday, you should respect them for that, and if the Company is shafting that person, stick up for them. There’s a number of ways this can be done, but you need to come to one of the Union meetings once a month. Oh yes, you might tell the "dummy" that wants to get rid of the Union, to try for a management job or go to Boise. I doubt he realizes how good he has it, until he did one or the other and became an "employee at will".