Lumping Lawsuit Settled
A settlement between a produce wholesaler and a group representing owner-operators could dramatically change how trailers get loaded and unloaded in this country – and who pays for it.
Poor conditions at loading docks rank among the top problems generating the most bitter complaints from truck drivers. Long waits, pressure to use – and pay – free-lance unloading assistants, or “lumpers,” and rude behavior on the part of dock personnel are some of the more familiar sources of irritation.
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Nineteen months after the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and truck driver Douglas B. Bailey filed a lawsuit against Detroit-based Michigan Repacking & Produce Co. for illegal lumping practices, a consent decree was finalized Nov. 10 among the parties.
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Last month’s consent decree gives legal weight to the need for reform in this area, according to attorneys for the plaintiffs.
