On Tuesday, XPO Logistics (NYSE: XPO), whose port truck drivers at subsidiaries Pacer Cartage (“Pacer”) and Harbor Rail Transport (“HRT”) are currently on strike at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and at Pacer facilities adjacent to the U.S.-Mexico Border, announced the acquisition of French 3PL Norbert Dentressangle for $3.5 Billion in cash and debt. Statement by Fred Potter, Director of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Port Division: “We are shocked to learn that just as XPO Logistics battles the company’s immigrant port truck drivers in California Superior Court to avoid reimbursing them more than $2 Million in illegal deductions stolen by the company’s subsidiary, Pacer Cartage, from their paychecks, the company has gone on what is being called an “acquisition spree.” The timing of the announcement is particularly shocking in light of the fact that Pacer Cartage and Harbor Rail Transport drivers are currently on strike from Los Angeles down to the U.S./Mexico border to protest the company’s illegal business and labor practices.” Statement by Humberto Canales, Port Truck Driver for Pacer Cartage (NYSE: XPO): “I can’t help but wonder if the reason that XPO has enough cash on hand to buy another company for $3.5 Billion isn’t because they are avoiding business expenses like payroll taxes and equipment maintenance by misclassifying us as independent contractors. I worked 48 hours a few weeks ago and they deducted so much from my check that I literally made zero dollars. This just isn’t right.” (Click here for a copy of Mr. Canalaes’ paycheck for the period ending March 12, 2015.)
Picket lines cause major back up at ITS terminal at Port of Long Beach.
Picket lines cause major back up at ITS terminal at Port of Long Beach.
BACKGROUND LA and Long Beach port truck drivers, fed up with toiling in the shadows of one of America’s greatest economic machines, began fighting back in 2012 by suing their bosses for wage theft and misclassification as “independent contractors.” In 2013, driver – facing harassment, retaliation, and intimidation for concerted union activities, began striking to protest labor law violations. o Fall 2012: The Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE) held a legal workshop that resulted in the filing of hundreds of wage and hour claims with the California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE). Drivers also have filed individual and class action lawsuits for wage theft. · The industry now faces an estimated annual liability for wage and hour violations of $850 million in California alone. These unlawful deductions can add up to $60,000 or more per year for a single driver. · Each time the government (the DLSE, California courts, and/or Federal courts) have made a determination that these deductions are illegal, employers are liable for reimbursing drivers for this full amount. o August 2013: Facing retaliation for their claims and concerted union activity, truck drivers working for Green Fleet Systems (GFS) – both employee drivers AND misclassified “independent contractors” – went on strike. o November 2013: Drivers at Pacific 9 Transportation (PAC 9) and American Logistics International, joined Green Fleet drivers in their second strike. o April 2014: Drivers at GFS, Pac 9, and Total Transportation Services Inc. (TTSI) went on strike. o November 2014: As drivers at GFS, Pac 9, and Total Transportation Services Inc. (TTSI) prepared to go on strike, GFS and the Teamsters entered into confidential discussions. Drivers from Pac 9 and TTSI went on strike, and were joined throughout the week by drivers from Pacer, Harbor Rail Transport (HRT), QTS Inc., LACA Express, and WinWin Logistics. By the end of the strike, the Teamsters and all struck companies were in confidential discussions. Port truck drivers work long hours hauling nearly $4 billion worth of cargo every day, yet often receive paychecks below the minimum wage. These professional drivers, who transport imports from American seaports for companies like Walmart, Home Depot, Target, and Polo/Ralph Lauren, are on the front lines of the fight to end wage theft through misclassification as “independent contractors.” Unwilling to wait for the lawless industry to transform, drivers are rising up, to improve their jobs and rebuild the ever diminishing middle-class.