Bills introduced in the New York and New Jersey legislatures that would eliminate independent owner-operators in major segments of the trucking industry.
Trucking leaders in both states said the bills, introduced in January and February, specifically target truckers working at ports and in “package delivery.”
The bills are part of an effort by the Teamsters union to organize drayage drivers at the Port of New York and New Jersey, as well as FedEx Ground drivers, who are largely independent operators, state trucking executives said.
“This is just another in a long list of things that the Teamsters have attempted,” said Gail Toth, executive director of the New Jersey Motor Truck Association.
Kendra Adams, president of the New York State Motor Truck Association, said: “It’s a Teamster bill that was handed to the Senate and the Assembly sponsors and their motivation is to try to get to the port and get to . . . small package delivery companies.”
Both bills say that under labor law drivers working at ports and in the package delivery service must be classified as employees.
