Business News
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called on President Donald Trump Friday to sign an executive order ending the exploitation and abuse of port truck drivers.
Sanders’ request comes after he met with Los Angeles port truckers to discuss the exploitative labor practices exposed by USA Today.
“The federal government should not be rewarding trucking companies that exploit and abuse their own workers,” Sanders wrote in a letter to Trump. “If you are serious about your support for our nation’s truck drivers, I would urge you to sign an executive order to deny government contracts and subcontracts for trucking companies that misclassify workers as independent contractors, force workers to lease the trucks they drive, and engage in other abusive labor practices.”
“Truck drivers are the backbone of the American economy. They deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, not like modern-day indentured servants,” Sanders added.
Trucking companies are misclassifying drivers as independent contractors, requiring them to lease their own trucks and trapping them in a vicious cycle of debt.
Companies are using this debt as leverage to force drivers into working long hours for starvation wages.
At the end of the month, some workers end up owing more on the lease than their paycheck is worth, forcing them to essentially work for free.
Sanders also called on Trump “to direct the Labor Department to conduct an audit of all federal contracts and subcontracts awarded to port trucking companies to ensure sure that they are in compliance with the prevailing wage and labor requirements of the McNamara - O’Hara Service Contract Act. Those companies that are not in compliance with our nation’s labor laws should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and required to pay back wages to their workers so that they receive all of the benefits they are legally entitled to receive.”
Read Sanders’ below.
Sanders’ request comes after he met with Los Angeles port truckers to discuss the exploitative labor practices exposed by USA Today.
“The federal government should not be rewarding trucking companies that exploit and abuse their own workers,” Sanders wrote in a letter to Trump. “If you are serious about your support for our nation’s truck drivers, I would urge you to sign an executive order to deny government contracts and subcontracts for trucking companies that misclassify workers as independent contractors, force workers to lease the trucks they drive, and engage in other abusive labor practices.”
“Truck drivers are the backbone of the American economy. They deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, not like modern-day indentured servants,” Sanders added.
Trucking companies are misclassifying drivers as independent contractors, requiring them to lease their own trucks and trapping them in a vicious cycle of debt.
Companies are using this debt as leverage to force drivers into working long hours for starvation wages.
At the end of the month, some workers end up owing more on the lease than their paycheck is worth, forcing them to essentially work for free.
Sanders also called on Trump “to direct the Labor Department to conduct an audit of all federal contracts and subcontracts awarded to port trucking companies to ensure sure that they are in compliance with the prevailing wage and labor requirements of the McNamara - O’Hara Service Contract Act. Those companies that are not in compliance with our nation’s labor laws should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and required to pay back wages to their workers so that they receive all of the benefits they are legally entitled to receive.”
Read Sanders’ below.
111017 Sen. Bernie Sanders letter to President Trump on truck drivers by LakeCoNews on Scribd
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- Written by: Editor
SACRAMENTO – State Treasurer John Chiang announced today that his office is introducing new financing programs and making current programs more accessible to residents, small businesses, advanced and green manufacturers, and community health clinics damaged by recent devastating wildfires.
The State Treasurer’s Office offers low-cost financing and tax incentives for construction, manufacturing equipment, waste hauling, recycling and more.
“The wildfires that recently ravaged North Bay’s wine country and Southern California have caused deaths and injuries, destroyed and damaged property and uprooted people’s lives,” Chiang said. “But the people of California are resilient. When disaster strikes, we rebuild our communities even better than they were before. That is why my office is providing additional financing tools and making it easier and faster to access them.”
His offerings include:
– Increasing by 50 percent state funding to spur lending and guarantee private bank loans to small businesses. Protecting lenders against defaults will make it easier for business owners to borrow money to rebuild more quickly.
– Redirecting state deposits to qualified community banks to encourage recovery lending. The Treasurer will deposit hundreds of millions of dollars to any qualified community bank or credit union that agrees to actively participate in the reconstruction and recovery of their local communities.
– Reimbursing certain fees charged to private waste haulers and recyclers for bond financing to pay for the cost of removing rubble before rebuilding can begin.
– Fast-tracking applications to exempt manufacturers from paying sales tax on new equipment purchases, and exploring application fee waivers and prioritizing manufacturers that are rebuilding.
– Assisting community and rural, non-profit health clinics by refinancing and deferring payments on existing Treasurer’s Office loans as well as exploring the issuance of up to $2 million in available funding from an existing loan program. The loans could be used for working capital, infrastructure, building purchases, renovations and equipment.
– Supporting small business lending for recovery efforts by aggressively purchasing government-guaranteed portions of Small Business Administration loans.
Some of the Treasurer’s financing opportunities already are available while others could be in place by December or early next year.
“It is critical to public health and safety for small businesses and health clinics to be up and running as soon as possible,” Chiang said.
The State Treasurer’s Office offers low-cost financing and tax incentives for construction, manufacturing equipment, waste hauling, recycling and more.
“The wildfires that recently ravaged North Bay’s wine country and Southern California have caused deaths and injuries, destroyed and damaged property and uprooted people’s lives,” Chiang said. “But the people of California are resilient. When disaster strikes, we rebuild our communities even better than they were before. That is why my office is providing additional financing tools and making it easier and faster to access them.”
His offerings include:
– Increasing by 50 percent state funding to spur lending and guarantee private bank loans to small businesses. Protecting lenders against defaults will make it easier for business owners to borrow money to rebuild more quickly.
– Redirecting state deposits to qualified community banks to encourage recovery lending. The Treasurer will deposit hundreds of millions of dollars to any qualified community bank or credit union that agrees to actively participate in the reconstruction and recovery of their local communities.
– Reimbursing certain fees charged to private waste haulers and recyclers for bond financing to pay for the cost of removing rubble before rebuilding can begin.
– Fast-tracking applications to exempt manufacturers from paying sales tax on new equipment purchases, and exploring application fee waivers and prioritizing manufacturers that are rebuilding.
– Assisting community and rural, non-profit health clinics by refinancing and deferring payments on existing Treasurer’s Office loans as well as exploring the issuance of up to $2 million in available funding from an existing loan program. The loans could be used for working capital, infrastructure, building purchases, renovations and equipment.
– Supporting small business lending for recovery efforts by aggressively purchasing government-guaranteed portions of Small Business Administration loans.
Some of the Treasurer’s financing opportunities already are available while others could be in place by December or early next year.
“It is critical to public health and safety for small businesses and health clinics to be up and running as soon as possible,” Chiang said.
- Details
- Written by: Editor
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