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Nov 6, 2007

PROTESTS * USA - Sagging economy hurts bottom line for independent truckers

Naples,FL,USA -The Naples Daily News, by JOHN OSBORNE -November 4, 2007: -- Two years ago, independent truck driver Vincente Carrion said he could make $100 hauling a load of sand, shells, fill-dirt or base rock from Daniels Parkway in Fort Myers to Naples. Now he only gets $50 for the same job.... “The problem is that the price the brokers pay for the job is too low,” said Carrion, the only trucker to show up at the Interstate 75/Daniels Parkway rest area on Friday, a day after nearly 30 independent truckers convened in Bonita Springs and Estero to protest falling wages. “The job is very bad right now, and I need more money to pay my bills"... Carrion, who owns his own truck, said his situation is steadily worsening with each passing day... Carrion said independent truckers throughout Lee County are now considering forming a union. They’ve already retained the services of a lawyer to look into the possibility, he said, and a third protest is tentatively planned for Tuesday at the I-75/Daniels Parkway rest area...

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posted by Unknown @ 3:29 PM  0 comments

PROTESTS * USA - Sagging economy hurts bottom line for independent truckers

Naples,FL,USA -The Naples Daily News, by JOHN OSBORNE -November 4, 2007: -- Two years ago, independent truck driver Vincente Carrion said he could make $100 hauling a load of sand, shells, fill-dirt or base rock from Daniels Parkway in Fort Myers to Naples. Now he only gets $50 for the same job.... “The problem is that the price the brokers pay for the job is too low,” said Carrion, the only trucker to show up at the Interstate 75/Daniels Parkway rest area on Friday, a day after nearly 30 independent truckers convened in Bonita Springs and Estero to protest falling wages. “The job is very bad right now, and I need more money to pay my bills"... Carrion, who owns his own truck, said his situation is steadily worsening with each passing day... Carrion said independent truckers throughout Lee County are now considering forming a union. They’ve already retained the services of a lawyer to look into the possibility, he said, and a third protest is tentatively planned for Tuesday at the I-75/Daniels Parkway rest area...

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posted by Unknown @ 3:29 PM  0 comments

Oct 15, 2007

Calport Truckers * USA - Concerned over clean air plans

Drivers are committed to protecting their choice of remaining independent

Long Beach,CAL,USA -Today's Trucking (CAN) -15 Oct 2007: -- Calling the current strategy to retrofit and replace trucks moving goods through the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach unfeasible, the California Trucking Association is pushing port officials to develop an alternative plan that will still meet emission goals... Of particular concern among independent operators was the key provision in the Port Truck Plan that would require truck drivers to become employees of a consolidated number of large concessionaires at the ports. Moreover, the plan called for an immediate implementation date of Jan. 1, 2008... One study suggests that the results of the provisions and timeline would have meant higher transportation costs, fewer drivers and a backlog at the ports reminiscent of the dock workers strike five years ago that shut down all major West Coast ports for 10 days, costing the national economy an estimated $10 billion... What has remained clear is that drivers are committed to protecting their choice of remaining independent. "Any plan that denies that choice is non-negotiable," noted Julie Sauls of the CTA...

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posted by Unknown @ 10:41 AM  0 comments

Oct 12, 2007

"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 road

Helena,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)

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posted by Unknown @ 5:51 AM  0 comments