New Report Documents Exploitation of Truck Drivers at Nation’s Ports

Thousands of truck drivers
shuttling cargo at major ports in the U.S. are being denied basic civil and
human rights due to companies illegally hiring them as “independent
contractors” rather than employees, according to “The
Big Rig: Poverty, Pollution, and the Misclassification of Truck Drivers at
America’s Ports,” a groundbreaking new report
examining the working conditions and employment status of 110,000 port
truckers.

The joint report by the National Employment Law Project, Change to Win, and Dr. David Bensman of
Rutgers University, concludes that despite being paid by the load rather than
the hour, the vast majority of the port truckers at seven of the nation’s
largest ports are not functioning as independent contractors. The researchers
found that:

•  Port drivers are subject to strict behavioral
  controls. Trucking companies determine how, when, where, and in what sequence
  drivers work. They impose truck inspections, drug tests, and stringent
  reporting requirements. Drivers’ behavior is regularly monitored, evaluated,
  and disciplined.

•  Port drivers are financially dependent on
  trucking companies that unilaterally control the rates that drivers are paid.
  Drivers work for one trucking company at a time, do not offer services to the
  general public, and are entirely dependent on that company for which they work.
  Like other low-wage employees, drivers’ only means for increasing their
  earnings is to work longer hours.

•  Port drivers and their companies are tightly tied
  to each other. Drivers perform the essential (and most often sole) services of
  the trucking companies for which they work. Drivers work for years for the same
  company; use company signs and permits; represent themselves to others as being
  from the company; and rarely offer their work independently of the company.

As the report shows, by
treating these drivers as independent contractors, even though most of them are
not operating independently or working for other companies, employers are able
to avoid paying for benefits and the costs of providing and maintaining trucks.
This misclassification also exempts these drivers from basic workers’ rights
such as unemployment insurance, paid overtime, and other protections. And
because the drivers often end up earning as little as $10 an hour, few can
afford to pay for newer trucks or make needed repairs, which is leading to environmental
concerns in communities where the pollution-generating
trucks operate.

Max Galvan, who drives
trucks at Southern California ports, told the researchers that he tried to make a living under this system but gave up after concluding that he was effectively “paying to work.”

Wade Henderson, president
and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, in a foreword
to the report, says “we see these misclassified workers as ‘sharecroppers on
wheels.'”

To help improve the pay
and working conditions of port truck drivers and safeguard the environment, the
report recommends that:

•  U.S. ports adopt uniform rules requiring trucking
  companies to employ drivers and take ownership responsibility for trucks they
  operate. Such requirements would directly address driver misclassification and
  immediately establish the conditions for a revived, cleaner industry.

• Congress pass the Clean Ports Act of 2010 (H.R.
  5967) to allow port authorities to address misclassification where it affects
  the environmental impacts, safety, or efficiency of port trucking operations.
  Port authorities sit in the best available position to enforce appropriate
  worker classification and thereby address the practice’s negative
  environmental, safety, and operational consequences.

• The Department of Labor, the IRS, and state
  enforcement agencies implement comprehensive enforcement strategies of tax,
  employment, and safety laws in the port trucking industry. Concerted
  enforcement in the port trucking industry would help address violations that
  directly harm large numbers of port truck drivers and significantly contribute
  to ensuring the industry is free of now rampant misclassification.

• Federal, state, and local agency funding for
  diesel-truck emissions-reduction programs be made contingent on adoption of
  requirements that end driver misclassification. Taxpayer dollars should not
  continue to be pumped into programs that reinforce a system that violates labor
  laws and is destructive to the environment and the economy.

The full
report is available online from the National Employment Law Project.