News for today's 2018

This week: Walmart protests go global

1:54 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98v2pDkVtEmqvyKJQ5f6P1s5t-AdBBhNDeBn4EcagB1UUvbZem0yzWW_TbxXGPLuwM2xgSUg_3BbXRgfG_lvSw0oqPw0ZsS-hKfeT7MSSe4al0TwUUgCiLnA7tLcsSfJPobGnmXzOqiiv/s1600/All-Workers-Deserve-Respect_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98v2pDkVtEmqvyKJQ5f6P1s5t-AdBBhNDeBn4EcagB1UUvbZem0yzWW_TbxXGPLuwM2xgSUg_3BbXRgfG_lvSw0oqPw0ZsS-hKfeT7MSSe4al0TwUUgCiLnA7tLcsSfJPobGnmXzOqiiv/s200/All-Workers-Deserve-Respect_small.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>‘Tis the season for strikes at Walmart and workers worldwide are catching the spirit. On the heels of increasing strike activity this month, workers are gearing up for <a href="http://blackfridayprotests.org/" rel="nofollow">Black Friday protests</a> with a <a href="http://www.uniglobalunion.org/news/walmart-week-global-action-18-24-november" rel="nofollow">global week of action against Walmart</a>.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.uniglobalunion.org/" rel="nofollow">UNI Global Union</a> – an international federation of 900 unions in 140 countries – has put out the call for global protests demanding respect and good jobs throughout Walmart’s supply chain:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Workers around the world will come together November 18-24 for a global week of action… Workers and their unions in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh and the United States are joining together to demand better pay and working conditions for the 2.2 million Walmart workers and countless supply chain workers. </blockquote>UNI <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/groups/walmart-global-campaign/files/1085/download" rel="nofollow">passed a resolution</a> last month in support of the Walmart campaign, creating the UNI Alliance @ Walmart. Its demands include that Walmart allow workers to organize without fear of retaliation and pay workers a living wage with decent working conditions.<br /><br />The global union wants Walmart to sign a “<a href="http://www.unglobalcompact.org/issues/Labour/Global_Framework_Agreements.html" rel="nofollow">Global Framework Agreement</a>” with UNI that guarantees the rights of Walmart workers around the globe. It’s also calling on Walmart to sign the <a href="http://www.bangladeshaccord.org/" rel="nofollow">Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh</a> and to compensate the victims of factory disasters at <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/05/investors-to-wal-mart-gap-no-more.html">Tazreen, Rana Plaza</a> and Aswad – three factories (or “<a href="http://usas.org/2013/10/16/we-need-a-contract-to-end-deathtraps-in-bangladesh/" rel="nofollow">death traps</a>”) that produced apparel for Walmart stores.<br /><br />According to UNI: <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Walmart must pay its 2.2 million global workforce plus countless supply chain workers a fair wage and treat them with dignity. Workers and union members within the UNI Walmart Global Union Alliance will be taking their legitimate grievances to the street, demanding that the Walton family which controls Walmart finally wakes up and changes the company’s culture.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">As part of the Global Action Week a petition and letter are being sent to the Walmart board cataloging a culture of unfair scheduling, low wages and retaliation against employees who have the temerity to speak out.</blockquote>The Walmart Week of Global Action is the latest in a wave of low-wage worker strikes crashing Walmart’s busiest shopping season. The past few weeks have seen strikes in Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Dayton and Cincinnati.<br /><br />Yesterday <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/11/port-drivers-who-haul-for-walmart-strike-in-la-with-Teamster-support.html">port drivers who haul Walmart goods launched a 36-hour strike</a> in California to protest Unfair Labor Practices, including port companies’ payroll fraud by calling drivers “independent contractors.” The drivers have been joined by <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/11/LA-warehouse-workers-describe-horrifying-conditions-join-strike-line.html">workers at two warehouses that move Walmart products</a> where working condition are horrendous.<br /><br />Teamsters are standing strong with the port drivers and warehouse workers.<br /><br />The momentum for change at Walmart is building steam beyond the streets, too. Walmart is being <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/11/walmart-to-be-charged-by-nlrb-for-illegally-retaliation.html">charged by the NLRB</a> with illegally retaliating against 117 workers. Plus, Walmart is getting slammed in the media with reports about an employee <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/11/walmart-holding-food-drive-for-its-own-employees.html">food drive in Ohio to help “Associates in Need”</a> buy Thanksgiving dinner and a Demos report that says Walmart <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/11/19/wal_mart_could_pay_every_us_employee_14_89_just_by_not_buying_its_own_stock/" rel="nofollow">could afford to pay all of its U.S. employees $14.89</a> an hour if it stopped buying its own stock.<br /><br />With Black Friday on the horizon, now is the time to get involved and support Walmart workers. And while you’re protesting on Black Friday (click <a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/teamsters-support-walmart-strikers">here</a> to find an action near you), don’t forget to support the international campaign for fairness at Walmart by <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/groups/walmart-global-campaign/files/1084/download" rel="nofollow">sending a copy of the UNI letter to Walmart’s HQ</a> and <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/walmart-workers-around-the-world-demand-respect" rel="nofollow">signing the online petition</a> to support Walmart workers worldwide.<br /><br />The globalization of Walmart labor unrest is welcome news for workers in the U.S. We need nothing less than a global movement of workers to take on a global giant like Walmart.

‘Tis the season for strikes at Walmart and workers worldwide are catching the spirit. On the heels of increasing strike activity this month,...

Whoa! Port drivers who haul for Walmart strike in LA with Teamster support

8:09 AM Tukiyooo 0

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vmUBKxQChg4et6CKVaBuQGKm4NgkNPL4AWrL-iRwsjURwCNra0WOUstUwr5v5SBdCLT__eN-C6x1-E1nS80ARYMi6mMBYBILavcn8ji4zr_ju7QLk8Jbq_3xDnF9OVQi_VG6sRFio_3C/s1600/Teamster+port+strike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vmUBKxQChg4et6CKVaBuQGKm4NgkNPL4AWrL-iRwsjURwCNra0WOUstUwr5v5SBdCLT__eN-C6x1-E1nS80ARYMi6mMBYBILavcn8ji4zr_ju7QLk8Jbq_3xDnF9OVQi_VG6sRFio_3C/s400/Teamster+port+strike.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Out in force at Green Fleet Systems today. </td></tr></tbody></table>The latest wave of low-wage worker strikes is upon us, and it begins today with Teamster-supported port drivers who haul goods for Walmart at the Port of Los Angeles. At 5 a.m., port drivers took up "Stop this unlawful war on workers signs" and hit the picket lines in a surprise short strike. Teamsters are marching in solidarity with the drivers.<br /><br />Local television, print and radio crews came out to cover the job action. The advisory informs us port truck drivers at three companies are walking off the job for 36 hours to protest Unfair Labor Practices, including harassment, intimidation, and other violations of Federal labor laws. According to advisory:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Striking drivers at two of the companies – <a href="http://www.greenfleetsystems.com/index.htm">Green Fleet Systems</a> and <a href="http://www.americanlogisticsintl.com/">American Logistics International</a> – are bona fide employees of these trucking companies. Region 21 of the National Labor Relations Board has received charges detailing unlawful retaliations against the drivers at these two companies in their efforts to organize a Union with the <a href="http://www.teamster.org/">International Brotherhood of Teamsters</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.pac9.com/">Pac 9 Transportation</a> misclassifies their full-time, exclusive drivers as “independent contractors.” Those drivers are demanding recognition as employees and have suffered harassment and intimidation from Pac 9 in their efforts. Charges for unlawful retaliation are pending before Region 21 of the <a href="http://www.nlrb.gov/">National Labor Relations Board</a>. This is the first time in decades that port truck drivers classified as “independent contractors” have gone on strike. Their efforts are significantly bolstered by the fact that more than 50 Pac 9 drivers, and hundreds of others have filed claims for wage theft with the <a href="http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/">California Labor Commissioner</a>.</blockquote>Josh Eidelson at Salon wrote a terrific story about the <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/11/18/breaking_truckers_who_haul_for_wal_mart_and_forever_21_plan_surprise_strikes_today/" rel="nofollow">strike</a>, titled, "Truckers who haul for Wal-Mart and Forever 21 plan surprise strikes today." The subhed is even better: "Hundreds of workers will defy vengeful companies and laws that deny they're even employees." Eidelson writes,<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">In labor’s latest challenge to a low-wage economy and a legal system that excludes huge swathes of the workforce, hundreds of non-union Port of Los Angeles truck drivers plan to stage surprise strikes against three companies Monday. The workers transport goods from the port to companies including Costco, Forever 21, Sketchers and Wal-Mart. They allege their companies — Green Fleet Systems, American Logistics International, and Pac 9 — illegally punished workers for organizing and exposing wrongdoing. While drivers striking at GFS and ALI (starting at 5 a.m. PST and 4 p.m. PST respectively) are legally employed by those logistics companies, the workers at the third company, Pac 9, are among the growing ranks of so-called “independent contractors” who legally aren’t employed by anyone at all. They plan to walk (or drive) off the job at 5 p.m. PST Monday. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">“I’m demanding what a worker deserves,” Pac 9 driver Jose Galindo told Salon in Spanish in a pre-strike interview. Wal-Mart, Sketchers, Costco, Forever 21, GFS, ALI and Pac 9 did not provide comment on the workers’ allegations in response to Friday inquiries (Pac 9 referred Salon to a communications firm, which did not respond to a Friday request for comment). </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The port truckers, backed by the <a href="http://teamster.org/" rel="nofollow">Teamsters</a> union, are the latest to take up tactics that have characterized a wave of low-wage, non-union strikes since 2012. Like strikes targeting the <a href="http://www.salon.com/2012/10/09/walmart_strikes_spread_to_more_states/">Wal-Mart supply chain</a> and the <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/08/29/largest_fast_food_strike_ever_today_50_cities_will_be_affected/">fast food industry</a> (also significantly supported by affiliates of the same union federation, Change to Win), the truckers are mounting one-day strikes rather than indefinite ones, and framing their protests as a response to illegal retaliation – two tactics with some potential to maximize public scrutiny on bosses while reducing the ever-present risk that the striking workers lose their jobs. And like fast food workers or Wal-Mart warehouse staff, the Pac 9 truckers are facing down a “Who’s the Boss” problem: Subject to the will of one corporation (McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, Pac 9), but legally employed by someone else: a fast food franchisee, a warehouse company or, in the case of Monday night’s strikers, putatively self-employed.</blockquote>More to come. <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">: </blockquote>

misclassification strike walmart Whoa! Port drivers who haul for Walmart strike in LA with Teamster support

Out in force at Green Fleet Systems today. The latest wave of low-wage worker strikes is upon us, and it begins today with Teamster-support...

Port truck drivers get paychecks for $0

12:28 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrf55QEYY1eh9BR8Rzr0UIh-lJ7b_Lfv83E8wI-NBsfagXuCK0RwZD3fPUyiXqNcMRCnr2DNTW9f4e-BIh2kXcyvkCdO3wRzhbij7oL5ho-eO-h9RvvxAcuO2uEI44e1al6VJDIeUVPIoV/s1600/misclass+paystub+TTSI+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrf55QEYY1eh9BR8Rzr0UIh-lJ7b_Lfv83E8wI-NBsfagXuCK0RwZD3fPUyiXqNcMRCnr2DNTW9f4e-BIh2kXcyvkCdO3wRzhbij7oL5ho-eO-h9RvvxAcuO2uEI44e1al6VJDIeUVPIoV/s400/misclass+paystub+TTSI+(2).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />Take a look at the paycheck of this port truck driver. He worked 32 hours for a net pay of zero. He actually owed his employer $196.30 for the “privilege” of working!<br /><br />The wages of port drivers all over the country are being systematically stolen through employer scams that boost company profits.<br /><br />They aren't the only ones. Josh Eidelson at <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/09/27/i_worked_all_week_for_free_the_horrifying_true_story_of_0_paychecks/" rel="nofollow">Salon</a> posted a story, "I worked all week for free?!: The horrifying, true story of $0 paychecks." He writes,<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">...guest workers employed by Mister Clean Laundry and Cleaning Services filed a federal complaint and went on strike Aug. 19. “We were scared,” said striker Shellion Parris, but “we knew in the back of our heads that we need to do this, we have to do this.” </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Photos provided to Salon by the <a href="http://www.guestworkeralliance.org/" rel="nofollow">National Guestworker Alliance</a>, the group behind the work stoppage, show checks reading “No Dollars and No Cents,” and a page dated June 25 warning guest workers on H-2B visas that, “Any worker who does not show up for your assignment will be immediately removed from Mister Clean Housing and will be reported as AWOL (Absent Without Leave) to ICE (Immigration Custom Enforcement).” The statement, which was in all-caps, continued, “You will then be escorted to pick up your plane ticket and go back to Jamaica. You will have an ICE and Okaloosa County Sheriff Department Escort.” Workers say that warning arrived stapled to their checks. Mister Clean did not respond to a request for comment.</blockquote>Here's how most port trucking companies rip off their workers: The vast majority misclassify drivers as “independent contractors,” though they work the same way as employee drivers. Why? To eliminate the cost of having employees (payroll taxes, health insurance, vacations, retirement benefits, disability insurance), and to eliminate the cost of running a trucking business (truck leases, insurance, maintenance)!<br /><br />With the help of the <a href="http://teamster.org/" rel="nofollow">Teamsters</a>, drivers at ports around the country are fighting back. In California alone, nearly 10 percent of truck drivers serving the <a href="http://www.portoflosangeles.org/" rel="nofollow">Ports of Los Angeles</a> and <a href="http://www.polb.com/" rel="nofollow">Long Beach</a> filed claims with the <a href="http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/" rel="nofollow">California Labor Commissioner</a>. Industry liability could reach $100 million in stolen wages.<br /><div><br /></div>

misclassification port truck drivers wage theft Port truck drivers get paychecks for $0

Take a look at the paycheck of this port truck driver. He worked 32 hours for a net pay of zero. He actually owed his employer $196.30 for t...

NJ Gov. Christie: misclassifying workers is okay

11:36 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7hj4QWGaEdz1D-ykDPYklBMpW9eIV_M58eMy2EY41Ejc2Tf0r_uDjACQzz_ZRRPZCjdYkox65doFKNTWokWsxPD6C_k_GXS_wFzLKu2e3NNvpklnto_CZENTTfpHepYKE4l6cC_YP0Dg1/s1600/misclassification.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7hj4QWGaEdz1D-ykDPYklBMpW9eIV_M58eMy2EY41Ejc2Tf0r_uDjACQzz_ZRRPZCjdYkox65doFKNTWokWsxPD6C_k_GXS_wFzLKu2e3NNvpklnto_CZENTTfpHepYKE4l6cC_YP0Dg1/s1600/misclassification.jpg" /></a></div>This week New Jersey Gov. <a href="http://wepartypatriots.com/wp/2013/09/11/gov-christie-delivers-one-two-punch-to-the-gut-of-nj-construction-workers/" rel="nofollow">Chris Christie vetoed a bill</a> that would have helped the state crack down on the misclassification of workers in the trucking industry. <br /><br />By killing the <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/05/woot-nj-senate-approves.html">legislation</a> (A1578/S1450), Christie gave his blessing to employers that deny basic employee rights to port truck drivers and cheat the state out of tax revenues through willful and widespread misclassification.<br /><br />Teamsters International Vice President <a href="http://www.teamster.org/sites/teamster.org/files/91013A1578VetoCoalitionStatementdocs.pdf" rel="nofollow">Fred Potter said in a statement</a>:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Governor Christie has demonstrated time after time that he does not care about New Jersey’s working families. He is leaving New Jersey behind by doing the bidding for law‐breaking trucking companies that willfully misclassify drivers to avoid paying employer taxes and to push the most basic cost of doing business onto the workforce.</blockquote>The problem of misclassification in the trucking industry is <a href="http://nelp.3cdn.net/000beaf922628dfea1_cum6b0fab.pdf" rel="nofollow">well-documented</a>. It's part of an industry-wide effort to keep workers out of the middle class so companies can rake in more profit. But it's also a problem that -- thanks in part to <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/07/teamsters-fight-misclassification.html">Teamster action</a> -- is finally being addressed in many states. The <a href="http://cleanandsafeports.org/new-yorknew-jersey/about-the-campaign/" rel="nofollow">Coalition for Healthy Ports</a> points out:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Across America, the trucking industry is being modernized as states crack down on the misclassification of truck drivers. A worker misclassification law was recently signed in Illinois and another one is expected to be signed in New York.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">And port truck drivers are not waiting for new laws to assert their rights as employees. In California over 500 claims have been filed with the CA Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (CA DLSE) by port truck drivers who say their companies have misclassified them. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">At a time when so many agencies and Legislatures are moving in the right direction on worker misclassification, Governor Christie’s veto is in the wrong direction.</blockquote>Thousands of port truck drivers in the U.S. are wrongly classified as owner-operators. Drivers are often required to buy or lease their own trucks from companies and pay for their upkeep. But they are denied "employee" status despite the fact that the companies control their compensation and regulate their work. This means the workers are not allowed to form a union and the companies avoid paying millions in taxes.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/175424/industry-where-few-workers-are-employees-teamsters-mount-multi-front-attack#" rel="nofollow">Teamsters have been leading</a> the fight for workers' rights and against misclassification in the industry, using lobbying, lawsuits and organizing to bring dignity to drivers. In July, Teamsters successfully organized Toll Group <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/07/woo-hoo-another-teamster-organizing.html">drivers in New Jersey</a> following an historic organizing victory at <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2012/04/woo-hoo-historic-teamster-organizing.html">Toll in Los Angeles</a>. And just a few weeks ago Teamsters organized a <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/08/la-port-strike-ends-with-return-to-work.html">powerful one-day strike at the Port of LA</a>.<br /><br />But with anti-worker politicians like Christie at the wheel in New Jersey, there's still a lot of work to do to stop the war on workers in port trucking and beyond. <br /><br />Christie also used this week as an opportunity to <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2013/09/09/chris-christie-no-prevailing-wage-provision-in-tax-incentives-bill/?mod=wsj_streaming_latest-headlines" rel="nofollow">attack workers in the building trades</a> by gutting <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevailing_wage" rel="nofollow">prevailing wage</a> provisions in the New Jersey Economic Opportunity Act of 2013. That's a blow to construction workers whose employers won't be required to pay prevailing wages even while they receive tax credits from the state.<br /><br />The struggle continues.

Chris Christie misclassification New Jersey port drivers prevailing wage NJ Gov. Christie: misclassifying workers is okay

This week New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have helped the state crack down on the misclassification of workers in t...

Port drivers fighting abusive employers all over the US

1:51 PM Tukiyooo 0

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgxAejC7jNQtwgWGkjCudl0ktonkfAv69AnHLQKHMvQr4OeFv2n0VjrOiHpZFOBDIR7OOIx6tTLLQESsE389SfWfS4Br1Rs2DZoo_k32dFj9Z0wmnqmGNOEEWprveweY14P1ljXE45263/s1600/GFS+Committtee-Teamster+truck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgxAejC7jNQtwgWGkjCudl0ktonkfAv69AnHLQKHMvQr4OeFv2n0VjrOiHpZFOBDIR7OOIx6tTLLQESsE389SfWfS4Br1Rs2DZoo_k32dFj9Z0wmnqmGNOEEWprveweY14P1ljXE45263/s400/GFS+Committtee-Teamster+truck.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Green Fleet port truck drivers are ready to rally tomorrow</td></tr></tbody></table><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1395542780671801/" rel="nofollow">Tomorrow's large rally</a> to support abused truck drivers at the Port of Los Angeles comes at a time when port workers are rising up everywhere against injustice.<br /><br />Hundreds are expected to gather at a Carson, Calif., warehouse tomorrow to stand with port truck drivers who are harassed and intimidated by Green Fleet Systems because they want to form a union.<br /><br />The company has hired union busters to frighten workers away from union organizers, adding to an already toxic work environment. Green Fleet driver Ramon Guadamuz said he has been forced to work when he was sick with fever. "They didn’t even let me go to my son’s high school graduation even though I had requested that time off,” he said.<br /><br />In Savannah, port truck drivers are speaking out against the<a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/06/300-learn-how-to-cheat-worker-at.html" rel="nofollow"> theft of their wages</a>. In Hazlet, N.J., port truck drivers at Australia-based Toll Group<a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/07/woo-hoo-another-teamster-organizing.html" rel="nofollow"> voted to join the Teamsters</a> in June, and will meet soon to negotiate a contract. They were inspired by the port truck drivers in Los Angeles who<a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/01/amazing-teamster-contract-sending-wave.html" rel="nofollow"> joined the Teamsters</a> last year. In January, those drivers ratified an amazing contract that gives them a $6-an-hour raise, a pension, affordable health care, job security and clean restrooms.<br /><br />California port truck drivers are filing class action suits against wage theft. At least five trucking companies had charges filed against them for labor law violations by Jerry Brown, the current governor of California, in his last role as California attorney general.<br /><br />As of last year, California is one of 14 states actively partnered with the U.S. Department of Labor’s <a href="http://www.dol.gov/whd/workers/misclassification/">Misclassification Initiative</a> to tamp down on worker abuse. Through this initiative, over <a href="http://blog.capital.org/tag/misclassification-initiative/">$9.5 million has been collected in back wages for more than 11,400 workers</a>.<br />Brothers Jose A. and Jose I. Estrada filed a lawsuit in May against Harbor Express Inc., one of the largest Southern California trucking companies, for wage theft and other basic violations after being classified as independent contractors.  Over 400 other port drivers could be affected by the outcome of the suit. Said Jose A. Estrada,<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">We filed this claim because we’re tired of being taken advantage of. They don't pay us a penny for the time we wait at the port.  I live paycheck to paycheck.</blockquote>Instead of being paid by the hour like normal employees, they are given a small lump sum for their work, which is often lower than minimum wage.<br /><br />Although the brothers have driven Harbor Express company trucks exclusively for years, Horizon Express refuses to acknowledge them as employees.  Jose I. Estrada was disabled after an accident at work and may never be able to work again.  As he was hired as an independent contractor, Harbor Express does not have to provide any worker compensation.<br /><br />As a result of trucking deregulation in the 1980’s, <a href="http://www.demos.org/sites/default/files/publications/Port%20Trucking%20Down%20the%20Low%20Road.pdf">an estimated 90 percent of port drivers at the Southern California ports are now illegally misclassified workers.</a><br /><br />