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Apr 5, 2017

OWNERS DRIVERS * UK: or EMPLOYEMENT TRUCKERS (?)

* North Ireland - Fresh legal action on behalf of workers in 'gig' economy

... The GMB union is taking a case against logistics firm UK Express, which is based in Birmingham but employs staff across the UK... The GMB said it believes the drivers fall into the same category as those at taxi firm Uber, and should be classed as workers, not self-employed... The case is the latest being brought by the GMB to tackle the growing trend of what it calls "bogus" self-employment Maria Ludkin, GMB legal director, said: "This is another case in a long line of legal battles around bogus self-employment. Employers might not like paying the minimum wage or giving their workers the protections they're entitled to in the workplace, but I'm afraid it's not optional" ... "The drivers delivering for Amazon, like Uber drivers and delivery drivers for DX, cannot be classed as anything other than employed when you look at the law" ...  
(Photo: On a typical day a driver has 150-200 parcels to deliver)   --   Belfast, N.I., UK - The Belfast Telegraph - 31 March 2017

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May 12, 2016

TRUCKERS' CLASSIFICATION * USA: Trucking firms into labor dispute

* California - Short-haul trucking industry weighs into legal debate over how to classify workers

--- The nation’s busiest ports are emerging as a key battleground in the legal fight over whether truck drivers should be counted as employees or independent contractors... Several trucking companies operating at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles have filed for bankruptcy protection in recent months, citing mounting costs to settle hundreds of legal claims. These operators haul containers from the docks to rail yards and freight depots, a key journey of just a few miles that allows major retailers and manufacturers to quickly move their imported goods to stores and factories across the country... The bankruptcies in the trucking sector come as some higher-profile cases in the debate over employee status are paying out hefty settlements. The $12 billion-a-year port-trucking business, known as drayage, where hundreds of small operators compete on thin margins, the cost to settle similar claims can be overwhelming, analysts say... The turmoil raises questions about the future of short-haul trucking at the nation’s ports. Litigation with drivers and the higher cost of full-time labor could force drayage operators to charge more for their services or it could put them out of business entirely, reducing the overall number of carriers and raising costs for shippers, analysts say... The California Labor Commissioner’s Office last week began offering port-trucking companies “amnesty” from any penalties they’ve incurred for misclassifying drivers if they voluntarily make their drivers full-time employees and provide back pay. The state Department of Industrial Relations said Tuesday that no companies have applied for the program so far... 
(Photo: The trucking industry is bracing for the classification fight to spread to U.S. ports beyond the ports of Los Angeles, shown, and Long Beach)   --  Los Angeles, CAL, USA - The WSJ, by ERICA E. PHILLIPS - May 11, 2016

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Apr 28, 2016

PORT TRUCKERS * USA: Misscassified as independent contractors

* California - Port trucking company ordered to Court over unfair labor practices

-- In what's being called a historic case, the Los Angeles office of the National Labor Relations Board is looking into whether port trucking company Intermodal Bridge Transport engaged in unfair labor practices toward its drivers by misclassifying employees as independent contractors... The NLRB filed the complaint based on charges by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Union. The Teamsters also charged IBT with threatening and coercing drivers who participated in union-organized strikes... According to court documents, on two separate occasions drivers were interrogated by a supervisor at IBT about their support for the Teamsters union. The supervisor promised drivers more work to get them to stop union activities and later resorted to threatening them with unspecified consequences if they continued to support the union. The supervisor also threatened to close the facility if the Teamsters succeeded, according to the union... The driver misclassification issue is an ongoing one at Southern California ports, with several driver strikes occurring in the past few years affecting multiple trucking companies. Last year, the Los Angeles City Council called on port trucking companies to provide drivers with proper wages and benefits and comply with labor laws... 
(Photo via Teamsters Union) -- Los Angeles, CAL, USA - TruckingInfo, by Steven Martinez - April 26, 2016

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Jul 23, 2015

MISCLASSIFYING TRUCKERS * USA: As independent contractors

* Georgia - Legislators told trucking companies deliberately misclassify workers

-- Two independent truckers choked up separately as they testified before a legislative committee Tuesday about the toll they say comes from companies misclassifying workers as independent contractors instead of employees... A study by the National Employment Labor Project estimates that nearly one in every three workers nationally is improperly classified and compensated. That resulted in $2.7 billion in taxes going paid in 2006, the most recent year available... In Georgia 82 percent of truckers hauling freight from the ports are misclassified, according to Rebecca Smith, the project’s deputy director. That means they earn about $29,000 yearly compared to $35,000 for drivers paid as employees... As contractors, the owner-operators have to cover their own expenses, and most drivers don’t buy health insurance because money is so tight, said Carol Cauley, a veteran driver representing the group Stand Up for Savannah... Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City Terminal averages more than 200,000 truck turns a month... A trade association executive said the system works well for most of the industry... 
 (Photos by Walter Jones/ Morris News Service- Veteran truck driver Carol Cauley of Stand Up for Savannah choked up as she testified Tuesday before a Senate committee in Savannah. She said because trucking companies classify owner-operator drivers as independent contractors instead of employees there is no health insurance)   --   Savannah, GA, USA - Business in Sasvannah, by Mary Carr Mayle and Walter C. Jones - 21 July 2015

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