Port Drivers’ Bill of Rights Act (H.R. 4144) Introduced in the House

Source: Grace Napolitano (D-CA, 32nd)



Washington, D.C. - October 28, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- Reps. Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA-32), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-10), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA-47), and Nanette Díaz Barragán (D-CA-44) held a press conference with port truck drivers as well as representatives from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to announce the introduction of the Port Drivers’ Bill of Rights Act (H.R. 4144) and the Clean Ports Act of 2017 (H.R. 4147).

“Hundreds of port truck drivers are being forced into working as independent operators as a way for their employer to pay them below minimum wage and deny them benefits, creating an unlivable wage for them and their families,” said Congresswoman Napolitano. “These drivers are compelled to lease trucks at prices they cannot afford. It is unthinkable that companies can continue to get away with this scheme to underpay hard working truck drivers. My Port Drivers’ Bill of Rights Act and Congressman Nadler’s Clean Ports Act are important measures that we hope will restore justice and dignity to truck drivers and their families. I thank him and all of our colleagues for fighting to protect the wages, rights, and working conditions of truckers at ports across the country.”

“An active port is imperative for the economic vitality of our cities and regions, and to maintain a diverse middle class. But we must ensure that all those who work at the port are treated fairly and earn a decent wage, and that those who live near ports do not bear the brunt of pollution and inefficient goods movement,” said Congressman Nadler. “I am hopeful that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle can come together on these important issues. President Trump regularly touts his affinity and sympathy for hard working Americans who have been treated unfairly, and there should be no mistaking the hardships faced by port truck drivers and those living near port areas. It is long past time we did something about it.”

“In my community, we hear story after story of drivers who work two shifts only to go home with pennies. Drivers who are intimidated, threatened, and forced by trucking companies to violate hours of service rules over and over again,” said Congressman Lowenthal. “I’m proud to support legislation that will ensure that port drivers have basic rights, and at the same time make it clear—once and for all—that port authorities can regulate truck operations as part of their environmental efforts. This is a common-sense solution that is good for the truckers and good for the ports.”

“What’s happening to these truck drivers amounts to indentured servitude. It goes beyond wage theft. Some workers—many are immigrants who speak little English—end up owing money at the end of the week. My cousin is a truck driver, and I remember him looking at his paycheck to figure out why he got so little money. Sometimes these truck driver are earning less than the minimum wage,” said Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán.

The members of Congress stood proudly with over a dozen drivers and advocates from the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, New York, and New Jersey, who traveled to Washington to bear witness to the injustice they and their families have endured as a result of a broken employment system.

“I believe every worker has a right to earn a living wage, but after months and months of working without earning a salary, I wind up owing the company money. You can imagine the pain when I come home, and my kids ask “let’s go to the movies” and I don’t have a cent to take my children,” said Rene Flores, Ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, misclassified independent contractor fired after telling his story to USA Today. “This Christmas people will go to big companies -- Walmart, Target, Costco – to buy gifts for their children. I wonder if they think about the sacrifice that goes into those gifts. I don’t have a cent to buy my own children presents. What is a day of joy for most, is a day of sadness for me. This is supposedly a country of free speech, but we are still slaves to these companies.”

“This injustice affects all of us. It affects our nation. Our port drivers--our family--have taken on the burden for far too long,” said Daniel “Seko” Uaina, truck driver, Ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, misclassified independent contractor. “Drivers even have to pay for a spot to keep the truck at the company – the truck that we lease FROM the company. Our forefathers made sure that we wanted tomorrow to be better. So let’s make tomorrow better, for all the generations coming behind us. We need to stop this now.”

Fred Potter, Vice President-at-Large of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and Director of the Teamsters Port Division, voiced continued support of all truck drivers and their families, thanking them for persevering despite a system that has failed them, as recently exposed by USA Today’s “Rigged” series by Brett Murphy.

“For years, port truck drivers across the country have been forced to work long hours, often exceeding maximum hours of service set by the U.S. to keep America safe, in order to pay the company to lease and maintain their truck,” said Fred Potter. “The Teamsters are proud to support both the Port Drivers’ Bill of Rights Act to create a Task Force to review the broken system and crack down on bad actors, and the Clean Ports Act to modernize Federal trucking rules to empower ports across America to clean the air, improve cargo efficiency, and mitigate community impacts without forcing drivers to bear the cost. We thank our champions in Congress for introducing them on behalf of our truck drivers and their families.”

An estimated 87 million Americans live in port adjacent communities which fail to meet federal air quality standards. Ports around the country are working toward improving these local conditions by creating environmental quality standards for the ships, terminal operators, railroads, and trucking companies that use their ports. The problem is that current federal law (the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994) limits the extent of what Ports can do to improve their local environment. This same federal law also allows trucking companies to avoid state and local wage laws in order to underpay and overwork their drivers. H.R. 4144 and H.R. 4147 aim to stop the exploitation of drivers and empower local ports to reduce environmental pollution, mitigate traffic congestion, and improve highway safety and efficiency, without putting the burden on the backs of the truck drivers.

Click here to watch the press conference

North American Trucking Associations Issue Statement of Support for NAFTA

Source: North American Trucking Associations

American Trucking Associations, along with the Canadian Trucking Alliance and Cámara Nacional del Autotransporte de Carga – CANACAR – the three largest trucking industry organizations in North America issued a joint statement encouraging their governments who are currently renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement to craft an updated pact that benefits all nations.

“The trucking industries in Canada, Mexico, and the United States have all benefited significantly from NAFTA and we, the national trucking associations from all three countries, urge negotiators to update the trade agreement in a manner that continues to benefit trade,” the statement reads in part. “We strongly encourage our governments to update NAFTA to keep North America competitive internationally. In this endeavor, making border crossings and rules governing international commercial transportation more efficient is a crucial element that will only help our industries make North America stronger.”

The full statement is available here.

“Trucking and trade are synonymous,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “In the more than two decades since NAFTA was enacted, we have seen strong growth in trade – the majority of which is moved by truck – between the United States, Mexico and Canada. It is vital to the health of our industry and our economy that we maintain and strengthen these relationships.”

“Cross-border trade supports over 46,000 U.S. trucking jobs, including 31,000 U.S. truck drivers, and generates $6.5 billion in revenue for our industry annually,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “As the U.S. renegotiates this agreement with Canada and Mexico, we urge them to keep the tremendous benefits to our economy and our industry in mind.”

American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, ATA is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation’s freight. Follow ATA on Twitter or on Facebook. Trucking Moves America Forward

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney Introduces WHEEL Act to Ease Regulatory Burden on Interstate Trucking, Address Growing Trucking Industry Driver Shortage

Washington, D.C. - October 3, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22) introduced the Waiving Hindrances to Economic Enterprise and Labor (WHEEL) Act, H.R. 3889, to ease the regulatory burden on interstate trucking. This legislation will expand a pilot program to study the safety implications of allowing individuals between the ages of 18 and 21 to operate trucks across state lines. Under current federal law, individuals in this age group may obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL) in each of the 48 contiguous states; however, they are prohibited from operating trucks across state lines.

“We already allow qualified drivers between the ages of 18 and 21 to drive from Long Island to Buffalo without a problem, but prohibit them from crossing the George Washington Bridge from Fort Lee, New Jersey into New York City. The WHEEL Act is a common sense measure that would ease the burden on these truck operators by sensibly expanding the interstate truck driving pilot program authorized by the FAST Act, while maintaining strong standards for participants. The trucking industry moves most of our nation’s freight tonnage and is vital to the health of our economy. However, by 2024, estimates suggest that the shortage throughout the country could be as many as 175,000 unfilled driving positions. With a truck driving shortage that is only expected to grow more acute over time, we should take all reasonable steps to address the issue including passing the WHEEL Act,” said Congresswoman Claudia Tenney.

The FAST Act, which Congress passed in 2016 with bipartisan support, created a pilot program to study the safety implications of allowing individuals between the ages of 18 and 21 to operate trucks across state lines. However, this pilot program has been limited by the strict requirements that participants be veterans or active duty between the ages of 18 and 21, a demographic that has been challenging to recruit in statistically significant numbers for the purposes of this study. To address this issue, the WHEEL Act would broaden the criteria for participation in the pilot program.

In a letter of support, Chris Spear, President & CEO of the American Trucking Associations stated, “The bill, which would amend the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act to allow for an expansion of participants within the FAST Act’s younger commercial driver license (CDL) holder pilot program, is a critical step towards addressing the trucking industry’s growing driver shortage. ATA supports this proposed change, and applauds your [Rep. Tenney’s] efforts to address this very important issue facing the trucking industry. We look forward to working with you [Rep. Tenney] to enact this much needed legislation.”

“I applaud Representative Claudia Tenney for introducing legislation to address this critical threat to commerce throughout the United States. Forcing young people to wait until they are 21 years of age before they enter the tractor trailer driving profession discourages them from entering the industry at a critical time in their career decision process. There is currently a shortage of 40,000 to 60,000 CDLA drivers nationally with this number potentially expanding to 200,000 by 2020 according to some estimates. Representative Tenney’s common sense approach to this issue can safely and practically improve this critical situation in a manner beneficial for the industry, for the consumer and quite literally for all involved,” said Terry R. Wood, President & CEO, Willow Run Foods, Inc.

“The Trucking industry faces a severe shortage of qualified commercial drivers. A contributing factor for the shortage is the gap between an individual graduating from high school and their ability to begin a career as a professional driver. With the appropriate training, many of these individuals would safely be able to operate commercial vehicles. We appreciate Rep. Tenney’s recognition of this issue and look forward to continuing to work with her to address the commercial driver shortage,” said Kendra L. Hems, President, Trucking Association of New York.

The updated requirements set by the WHEEL Act will remain stringent – participants must not only possess a valid CDL, they must also have a clean driving record and satisfy the added requirement of completing an additional form of training or certification, as determined by the Secretary of Transportation, that demonstrates aptitude, safety, and suitability. Expanding this pilot program safely through the WHEEL Act will enable a larger pool of qualified individuals to participate and begin their career as a CDL operator earlier, helping to end the driver shortage facing the trucking industry.