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Fair is fair... Unless your a Trucker |
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For years, OOIDA has pressed federal officials to have truckers covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act. That's the act that forces employers to compensate hourly employees for time worked over 40 hours a week.
Back when that law was first passed in the 1930's, truck drivers were exempted from its protection. Why that was done, I can't tell you. I suspect it was to keep the companies who hired them from paying the overtime they were owed. But that's just my theory.
What I can say is how much I think truckers need to be included under that act.
If truckers were paid hourly and covered under that law, do you think carriers would stand for the docks holding you up for 4, 6 or 8 hours, waiting to unload or load? No. They would charge the shipper or receiver for your time.
Would they permit a dock to force you to load or unload - or to have to pay for a lumper? NO. That would end up as an expense for them.
The fact is, all the free market advocates have missed this: Truckers' time has value, but they are prohibited from charging for it. Therefore, because of the government's action in this case, the docks, the carriers - everyone involved is allowed to artificially treat the truckers' time as if it has no value.
That is not free market. That is exploitation, pure and simple. And it plays directly into logbook compliance, safety and every other issue that these folks care about.
You want to fix the problems in trucking? Then fix the problems faced by truckers.
It's that simple.
Written by Mark H. Reddig - OOIDA
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