Los Angeles XPO Port Truck Drivers Strike over Employee Misclassification

In June, XPO port truck drivers participated in a strike at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles over their alleged employee misclassification as independent contractors rather than employees.

The Teamsters Local 848 has been involved with allegations that the XPO port truck drivers are misclassified as independent contractors and have filed a formal complaint with the National Labor Relations Board regional office in Los Angeles.

Workers who participated in the strike state that their classification as independent contractors is a ploy by employers to deny them their rightful compensation.

In addition to XPO port truck drivers, workers from other companies who are also alleging employee misclassification also participated in the strike, including employees from California Cartage Company LLC and Intermodal Breach Transport Inc.

A statement by the truckers indicated that their strike was in protest of the “exploitation by greedy corporations using predatory subcontracting schemes, including misclassifying employees as independent workers in order to lower wages, denying them benefits such as health insurance, unemployment, and workers’ compensation.”

XPO has maintained that not all XPO port truck drivers wish to be classified as employees. An XPO spokesperson told Bloomberg BNA, “We know firsthand the majority of owner operators prefer to work as independent contractors, and we will continue to advocate for their right to do so.”

In addition to the employee misclassification concerns, a recent addition to the Clean Air Action Plan by Los Angeles mayors Eric Garcetti and Robert Garcia includes a revision to the Clean Truck Program that has a goal of zero emissions at local ports by the year 2035.

This goal has also concerned Teamsters Local 848, as the union worries that XPO port truck drivers will have to end up paying to meet this goal.

NBC News quoted Eric Tate, the secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 848 as saying, “The last time they did this in 2008 with the Clean Truck Program, the corporations ended up passing on the cost to the workers by requiring them to lease a truck in order to get hired and illegally misclassifying them as ‘independent contractors,’ leaving very little for the workers to take home to their families. We don’t want that to happen again.”

Do You Belong to a Group of Misclassified XPO Port Truck Drivers?

If you belong to a group of XPO port truck drivers, it is possible that you are misclassified as an independent contractor when you may actually be considered an employee of the company.

Employees are offered a number of benefits over independent contractors, and the main distinction between the two, in most states, is the amount of control that the employer has over the employee.

Employees are required to have certain time off for rest and meal periods, must be paid overtime for the work they perform, must have expenses reimbursed, must be provided health insurance and other benefits that may include workers compensation, unemployment benefits, Social Security, disability insurance and more.

If you would like more information about the possibility of your misclassification as an independent contractor rather than an employee, a lawyer can provide you with a free consultation to discuss your situation and can help you understand if you qualify to take legal action.

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If you work as an XPO Logistics delivery driver as an independent contractor, you may be entitled to compensation.

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