Truck

Drivers Handing Out Roses and Razzies to Shipping Facilities

TORONTO -- Two months since its launch, the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) says its Operation Upgrade campaign is starting to reveal how shipping facilities need to do a better job of removing waste from the system and how drivers value preferred shippers who provide an environment free of harassment when picking up freight. OTA says it has gathered several takeaways since the initial launch of the survey campaign, which attempts to identify the strongest and weakest links in the supply chain by allowing drivers and carriers to assign scores to shippers and consignees based on treatment of truck drivers.

Port Truckers Strike in Los Angeles, Long Beach

LOS ANGELES/LONG BEACH -- Intermodal truck drivers working as independent contractors for four firms serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach hit the picket lines on Monday. At issue are allegations that the carriers illegally classify the drivers as independent contractors, rather than company employees, and deny them the benefits typically paid to company workers, according to DC Velocity. Truckinginfo.com reports the drivers are claiming wage theft on part of their employers due to being misclassified. Despite being labeled independent contract workers, the drivers are driving trucks owned by the trucking companies and working exclusively for them without being able to negotiate rates, refuse loads or take work from competitors.