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"Independent Contractor" * USA - How are Exploited Truckers, and Drive Pollution in Our Ports
It's well-known that deregulation of the trucking industry has led to worse working conditions in the industry and lower safety standards on the roadHelena,MT,USA -Progressive States Network, by Nathan Newman -11 Oct 2007: -- But new coalitions are focusing on the way conditions in the trucking industry contribute to pollution that chokes trucking hubs like our ports... Because the trucks are driven by "independent contractor" truck drivers who make as little as $8 per hour, they don't have the capital to upgrade to clean emission trucks. And because such independent contractors are barred from forming labor unions, they can't bargain collectively to negotiate for higher rates to make such investments possible... In Los Angeles and Long Beach, the American Lung Association of California joined with local Sierra Club advocates to work with the ports unions to form the Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports. They are modeling their solution based on the Port of Vancouver, which has already taken action to require that trucking companies using the port use trucks driven by employee-drivers, not independent contractors, improve wages, and upgrade environmental standards... The Broader Problem of Independent Contractors on the Roads: Similar problems of low pay and lower safety for the public plague the rest of the trucking industry... As the debates in West Coast ports and the lawsuits over FedEx workers show, focus on tightening independent contractor rules is increasingly moving onto our roadways to stop what some call "sweatshops on wheels"... (Photo/Film "They Drive By Night" (1940) with H. Bogart & George Raft as brothers who try to make a living as independent truckers)
Labels: independient truckers
posted by Unknown @ 5:51 AM
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