Port truckers: ‘We are employees’
By Mary Carr Mayle, Savannah Morning News, Ga. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
"We are out here today to bring attention to the fact that we are being misclassified by our employers," said
"If they would classify us as employees, which is the way they treat us, drivers would earn a little more and have some of the benefits of employees, such as access to health care insurance," she said.
"As it is, after all their out-of-pocket expenses, these drivers are working for pennies on the dollar, living paycheck to paycheck" said Cauley, who has been driving for
"We really need to get that changed."
"We really are employees," he said. "The trucking companies tell us where to pick our load up, what time to be there, what time to deliver it. If we don't perform, we get fired just like an employee."
The group hopes legislation introduced last session at the Capitol in
Senate Bill 401 and SB 402 would align
Asked if the group was trying to organize as a union, Cauley said that wasn't the primary reason for the rally.
"We're just trying to get our classification changed from contract worker to employee," she said. "Once that happens, we will look into other options, but the push right now is simply to get a fair wage for a day's work."
A study released earlier this year by the
In
But
"This is strictly a union-inspired event," he said. "It is part and parcel of a nationwide effort by the
As truck drivers were protesting outside GPA gates Monday, drivers who haul cargo in and out of the West Coast Ports of
The protest at the
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