Posts tagged independent truckers
Californifying the U.S. Labor Market
August 23, 2022 // The Biden administration came into office with a sweeping union agenda embodied in the PRO Act, which would have rewritten key elements of decades-old American labor law. Stymied in Congress, however, the administration now seems likely to impose at least one component of that legislation on the workplace through a Department of Labor rule that would narrow the definition of an independent contractor in ways similar to California’s controversial AB5 law. Doing so would likely upset employment policies and practices at a vast array of businesses nationwide, just as has happened in the Golden State, where freelancers lost work because companies couldn’t afford to employ them full-time and truckers recently shut down a port to protest efforts to end their independent status. In the post-Covid world, workers are seeking more flexibility in income-earning. The Biden administration’s effort, which views the independent contractor almost exclusively as an exploited worker denied the benefits of full employment, is a step backward for individual workers—but a gift to unions.
Trucking Looks for New Owner-Operator Strategies as Independent Contractor Model is Threatened
August 2, 2022 // Motor carriers that use owner-operators in California are working to re-evaluate their operations in order to meet strict restrictions on the use of independent contractors, as labor officials at the national level push to crack down on “employee misclassification” as well. Recent independent trucker protests that brought the Port of Oakland to a crawl gained plenty of media attention, but California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office indicated a lack of concern. Landstar, Joe Rajkovacz with the Western States Trucking Association, oil and gas industry, two-check system, TransForce AB5 Dedicated Solutions Program, TransForce, New Jersey, Illinois, Washington, and New York,
CALIFORNIA; OPINION: WHEN WILL GOVERNMENT UNIONS STAND UP FOR ALL WORKERS?
July 20, 2022 // Government unions in California have the power to make changes that help everyone, instead of just their members. For starters, they can stop marching in solidarity with the teachers union, which is incorrigible. Then they can find common ground on at least some issues with conservatives, while agreeing to disagree on others. They might take on the environmentalists, by supporting spending on new water supply infrastructure and by helping to restore California’s timber industry.
Pennsylvania Task Force Wants To Import California’s Catastrophic ‘ABC Test,’ Crush Independent Contractors
March 3, 2022 // However, since the PRO Act is currently stalled in the U.S. Senate—and may be impossible to pass after the 2022 mid-term elections—unions and their political allies are trying to put the ‘ABC Test’ into effect in the statehouses.
Ongoing concrete union strike snarls projects, including light rail expansion
January 29, 2022 // An ongoing strike of concrete truckers and drivers is slowing down or stopping major projects in the Seattle region, including the light rail expansion, resulting in hundreds of layoffs. Ongoing concrete union strike snarls projects, including light rail expansion.