Lumpers - are they needed

I knew I had posted this somewhere and I found it! Here is the second half of the "lumper/unloading law" I also sent a letter to the editor at LandLine and hope to hear from them also!


§ 14103. Loading and unloading motor vehicles

(a) Shipper responsible for assisting.--Whenever a shipper or receiver of property requires that any person who owns or operates a motor vehicle transporting property in interstate commerce (whether or not such transportation is subject to jurisdiction under subchapter I of chapter 135) be assisted in the loading or unloading of such vehicle, the shipper or receiver shall be responsible for providing such assistance or shall compensate the owner or operator for all costs associated with securing and compensating the person or persons providing such assistance. (b) Coercion prohibited.--It shall be unlawful to coerce or attempt to coerce any person providing transportation of property by motor vehicle for compensation in interstate commerce (whether or not such transportation is subject to jurisdiction under subchapter I of chapter 135) to load or unload any part of such property onto or from such vehicle or to employ or pay one or more persons to load or unload any part of such property onto or from such vehicle; except that this subsection shall not be construed as making unlawful any activity which is not unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act or the Act of March 23, 1932 (47 Stat. 70; 29 U.S.C. 101 et seq.), commonly known as the Norris-LaGuardia Act.
CHAPTER 149--CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES

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§ 14905. Penalties for violations of rules relating to loading and unloading motor vehicles
(a) Civil penalties.--Whoever knowingly authorizes, consents to, or permits a violation of subsection (a) or (b) of section 14103 or who knowingly violates subsection (a) of such section is liable to the United States for a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each violation. (b) Criminal penalties.--Whoever knowingly violates section 14103(b) of this title shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.
GENERAL INFORMATION ON LOADING AND UNLOADING SHIPMENTS TRANSPORTED IN INTERSTATE COMMERCE

The general rule is that motor common and contract carriers provide loading and unloading as part of their service without separately stating the charges. These are considered part of the composite line-haul rate. The carrier, in conjunction with the shipper or receiver, determines the loading and unloading services to be performed and whether the driver is responsible.
A driver engaged in interstate commerce, whether an employee of the carrier or an owner operator leased to the carrier, is subject to the carrier's directions regarding the operation of its vehicles and the services to be provided to customers, including loading and unloading.
Illegal lumping describes loading and unloading required by operators at warehouses, terminals, ports and other facilities when drivers are coerced into paying for loading and unloading. If a shipper or receiver requires a driver to use lumpers, the shipper or receiver must provide the lumpers or pay for their services.



In other words there are 2 sides to every rule! KNOW what your company OR your BROKER (for you newer O/O's and L/P's) require of you!
As it shows above SOMEONE has to pay the unloading charges and it's NOT you unless you are the carrier! ie: O/O's who contract for a brokered load. If you are NEW to trucking learn this real fast and ASK the broker how much is added to the rate for unloading! If you are only given a per mile of say $2.50 or above then you know that it's been added to the rate as rates are down right now and $2.50+ is very good for reefer and dry! You know this and know that FSC and all the extras have been added but you can ask for the breakdown if you just have to have it that way! Me I know whats what and just go with the flow as I don't need to be told BS I already know!

For the rest of you company drivers, If they pay you to unload it's up to you! I wouldn't for any piddling $40 ,$50 or chump change hourly change when they (carriers) get $100's, BUT don't go stampeding onto the dock with the attitude that YOU don't unload trucks and bust your mouth to that fact unless your company tells you differently! I've seen company drivers and new O/O's with an attitude do just that and the next thing you see if Mr. Dock Foreman handing him the bills back and telling him not to let the door hit him where God split him! Before you hire on with anyone when you do your phone interview that should be one of the FIRST questions you ask, Who or how much is unloading pay! Me, I wouldn't turn the key on a truck if they think I'm going to unload their freight for peanuts!

Yes that 49u.s.c. is sweet but only for those who don't know the whole story. Now, there is another code and I kept it in my brief case for years but I thought it was in my filing cabinet and I looked for it for an hour after reading this whole thread (yeah, I don't have a freaking life right now! LOL) before posting here, but finally gave up the search, but if I find it rest assured that I will post the whole code number so you will have the rest of the story! There are 2 parts to this law and you need both to know the full deal even though whats posted above in the 1st paragraph covers it pretty much.

 

Hello there all. I am NOT a trucker, but have worked in warehouses for the past 7-8 years. The majority of that as a selector, but for 2-3 months I worked as a lumper. I had just moved to the Roseville/Citrus Heights CA area, and was desperate for a job. I was the only one there that spoke english as their first language. Has anyone here delivered to Albertson's DC in Roseville, CA? World Super Services is the Lumping outfit that works out of there. The pay was low, something like 9-12 dollars an hour, depending on the load and how much work we had for the day. During the interviews when discussing pay, I made a comment about how low it was compared to how much I had made selecting, and the boss said something like "my guys think the pay is great". Yeah, I wonder why. We were not allowed to use any of Albertson's powered equipment. We had to use malfuctioning hand pallet jacks to unload everything, to full pallets of bannanas to sugar to soda, everything. Sometimes we were lucky and the guy who would deliver some of Albertson's liquor had his own stand up electric pallet jack and he would let us borrow it to offload a sugar or soda trailer. As soon as I got hired at Tony's Fine Foods in West Sac, CA as a selector, I left that job without notice. These lumping services are totally taking advantage of everybody, the truckers and the immigrants who are commuting from Fresno to Roseville just to make 10 dollars an hour. Lumping sucks.

 

They can require what ever they wish, The law is you cannot sign away liability on a accident before it happens. I other words they are liable if the accident happens on there property. That paper just keeps the passive people away. It like the sign on the back of a dump truck that says Not liable for broken windshield. Neither are worth what there printed on. If you get hurt the property owner is liable, so is the tenant.

 

Look you just need to use the system to your own advantage, Take the lumpaer charge, double it and keep half. Let someone else do the work and you get paid to take a nap. Quit fighting the system your not going to change it, so use it and profit from it.

 

So being dishonest is OK in your book?

 

I don't consider being compensated for my time as being dishonest. These trucking companies are ripping off drivers in this scam on a regular basis, it is tome for the drivers to get what they have coming to them. When it comes to being paid or working for free, if you wish to work for free then go ahead. These companies what you to lie in your log books, run hours you do not show, never go home on a decent schdule, lie to you about your wages, make you sleep in conditions that the rest of the country will not let there dogs tolerate, deprive you of simple things like rest rooms, and your going to tell me about being dishonest. WAKE UP, this is why they get away with it... The system is setup to be used. As long as you turn in receipts to match lumper charges they will simply pay you without question. There is not such thing as a honest politician or trucking company.

If you work for one of these companies getting even and earning a decent wage for your family is your responsibility. Consider all the free services that a driver gives to a employer, that every other employee gets paid for, without even a thank you. Endless hours of waiting to get loaded, unloaded, trucks repaired, dispatching (standing by for days at times), and should a driver what to get home, they give him feces type loads because he'll do them to get home.

If you treat your dog the way most trucking companies treat there drivers you would go to jail. OTR driver deserve every penny they can squeeze out of these tightwad companies. By what ever means necessary. Dishonest Hell No just getting a little more of what they deserve.

 

Don't work for Werner then..they won't buy it unless you can get the shipping/recieving manager in on your scam. When you send the message for authorization for a lumper, they want the name and phone number of the lumper, and the shipping/recieving manager, and they want the shipping/recieving manager to tell them that you absolutely cannot unload it yourself...

last time i had a lumper, the price was so extraordinary that it looked like it had already been doubled..hah.

 

Just get smart and run flatbed or tanker .

 

about 6 yrs ago i delivered to a supermarket dc(can't remember where or who)..i walk in give them my paperwork and they tell me i cannot unload myself i MUST have a lumper unload me..my exact words were "i am not paying for a lumper so go #### yourself"..reciever tells me he wiil kick me out and refuse load..i grab my paperwork and get 1/2 way to my truck when he chases me down and tells me to back in..by the time i got back into the building i was almost unloaded and i didn't even have to sort and segregate....everytime i went after that they always unloaded me and i didn't have to sort and segregate...let them refuse enuff loads and when they run out of product they will change their attitudes real quick!!!!

 

this morning at US Foods, I had 2 pallets of frozen flavored ice, and the lumper says you want a llumper for this? I have never seen so many lazy people.

My answer, I don't get paid to unload the product, you do, now how much?

These 2 pallets became 10 pallets, as it had to be sorted by flavor. 45 minutes and $70 and I was headed down the road.

It is a scam, but my company pays the lumper no problem, but will pay me less than 1/2 to do it myself, and then I have to log it as on duty, not driving. I would rather go to the sleeper.