Both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have measures pending that would seemingly roll back an 84-year-old law that denies truck drivers fair overtime compensation. In a reasonable political climate, such actions might be expedited to place the men and women who deliver 72 percent of America’s goods and materials on equal footing with other workers. We do not live in reasonable times and truckers may be wise to maintain a healthy skepticism.
“Truck drivers are the engines of our economy, ensuring that everything from consumer goods to commodities reach their destination on time. Outdated labor regulations have denied these vital workers overtime, leading to high turnover and supply chain disruptions. Don’t be fooled by the trucking companies’ crocodile tears. There is a simple way to recruit and retain drivers: increase their pay. The Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act does exactly that by eliminating the overtime exemption,” Sen. Edward J. Markey reportedly stated.
The Massachusetts Senator announced the bill shortly after Labor Day Weekend as the country gets back to work and the mid-term elections come into focus. Sen. Markey, whose party trails in the national generic poll, joined Democratic Party colleagues Sens. Alex Padilla, Richard Blumenthal, Elizabeth Warren, and Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders who caucuses with them, in support of the measure.
Unfortunately, this is the same Senate majority that was open arms to include additional safe truck parking funds in the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure spending measure. Truckers lost that workplace necessity before the bill was finalized and signed into law. In the House, Michigan Rep Andy Levin introduced the Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act back in April.
“Truck drivers across the country face brutal working conditions marked by inadequate pay and long hours,” Rep. Levin reportedly said when introducing the measure. “Despite their tireless work, truck drivers do not receive overtime pay for overtime hours. As a result, the trucking industry faces an extremely high turnover rate as truckers cannot keep up with the thankless demands of their work. We all stand to benefit when truckers are paid what they’re owed.”
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and the Truck Safety Coalition threw their support behind the bill, which initially garnered seven Democrat and one Republican co-sponsors. Little movement has taken place since the bill was filed and some feel efforts to require companies to pay overtime are futile. Major trucking corporations are said to possess significant lobbying influence in Washington, D.C.
The House recently pushed a measure through committee that would provide upwards of $755 million to create safe overnight truck parking spaces. Called the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act, lawmakers put guidelines into the measure that would not allow the U.S. DOT to use any of the funds for electric vehicles. Under DOT Sec, Pete Buttigieg, none of the discretionary funds from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package are being used to build parking spaces. Millions are going toward new electric vehicles.
Although Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act measure moved out of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and is available for a floor vote, it remained idle for two months.
Politicians are keenly aware the country has more than 3 million truck drivers who vote their feet. Filing these bills garners splashy headlines, giving them improved favorability. But…truckers have been denied overtime pay for 84 years — enough said.
Sources: markey.com, frieghtwaves.com
That exactly why unions were created to force fair wages and so somday we will see a major national strike shutting down the country until these career politians start doing the job they there hired todo.
You can see the U. S. DOT’s Report supporting to remove this exemption for overtime for truck drivers, but where is the USDOL’s Report? Why the USDOL does not release the study for overtime wage to truck drivers? In Texas, the daily driving hours on duty is 12 hours per days and the total of the service hours per day is 15 hours and the big trucking companies don’t pay the overtime wage.