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

December 10, 2010 - Posted by Ron Bigler

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.