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n2doc

(47,953 posts)
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 06:21 PM Jun 2017

Rigged: Forced into debt. Worked past exhaustion. Left with nothing.

By Brett Murphy

June 16, 2017
Los Angeles — Samuel Talavera Jr. did everything his bosses asked.

Most days, the trucker would drive more than 16 hours straight hauling LG dishwashers and Kumho tires to warehouses around Los Angeles, on their way to retail stores nationwide.

He rarely went home to his family. At night, he crawled into the back of his cab and slept in the company parking lot.

For all of that, he took home as little as 67 cents a week.

Then, in October 2013, the truck he leased from his employer, QTS, broke down.

When Talavera could not afford repairs, the company fired him and seized the truck -- along with $78,000 he had paid towards owning it.

more
https://www.usatoday.com/pages/interactives/news/rigged-forced-into-debt-worked-past-exhaustion-left-with-nothing/

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Rigged: Forced into debt. Worked past exhaustion. Left with nothing. (Original Post) n2doc Jun 2017 OP
67 cents a week? Bayard Jun 2017 #1
Their pay - gas, insurance, lease of the truck, Flaleftist Jun 2017 #6
Neo-slavery malaise Jun 2017 #2
People... dchill Jun 2017 #21
Yep malaise Jun 2017 #23
I bought that album in 1976... dchill Jun 2017 #25
That is one great album malaise Jun 2017 #27
Ordering Survival. Love Bob. panader0 Jun 2017 #28
I know every single word of every single song malaise Jun 2017 #32
Love that song...quite the appropriate anthem! Docreed2003 Jun 2017 #34
Indeed malaise Jun 2017 #38
Just another one of the ungrateful 47% - Mitt n/m bagelsforbreakfast Jun 2017 #3
Flat out slavery. DK504 Jun 2017 #4
That is blatent slavery! Useless in FL Jun 2017 #7
To some lesser but significant degree, most of us are there. dchill Jun 2017 #22
Long article. Igel Jun 2017 #13
Horrendous. Lindsay Jun 2017 #5
Similar to construction/home renovation industry delisen Jun 2017 #8
Very difficult for an honest contractor to compete MichMan Jun 2017 #35
It is just about Impossible to compete. delisen Jun 2017 #37
Damn. Depressing. Well worth the read. Freethinker65 Jun 2017 #9
This is more common than people think. Wellstone ruled Jun 2017 #10
Ummmmmm....a cot at the local truck stop? Seriously? A HERETIC I AM Jun 2017 #39
Most likely it was a Booth in the Cafe. Wellstone ruled Jun 2017 #40
You're exactly right. eom CanSocDem Jun 2017 #42
Honestly,lost track of the Guy's Wellstone ruled Jun 2017 #43
Indeed. CanSocDem Jun 2017 #45
This exact same thing happened to my nephew. They seized the truck, paid him nothing after mfcorey1 Jun 2017 #11
We need another Jimmy Hoffa mountain grammy Jun 2017 #12
That is good reporting. Everyone should read this. mn9driver Jun 2017 #14
One of those Brokers used to be in St Paul Park. Wellstone ruled Jun 2017 #30
Sounds like a recording industry contract 7962 Jun 2017 #15
The truckers that are making a go of it shanti Jun 2017 #31
Horrible. Horrible. I wouldn't drive a truck even for good wages. nt Honeycombe8 Jun 2017 #16
Oh, but remember in America everyone who works hard realizes their dreams misanthrope Jun 2017 #17
Appalling story of worker exploitation. PatrickforO Jun 2017 #18
Special shelf in hades for companies like this benld74 Jun 2017 #19
And a lot of truckers are gonna get hosed when the new Ca. gas tax hits. miyazaki Jun 2017 #20
Wow, that is just terrible. n/t Zing Zing Zingbah Jun 2017 #24
This is so depressing. smirkymonkey Jun 2017 #26
Any business that can't pay a comfortable living wage doesn't deserve to exist. hunter Jun 2017 #29
Like logging camps in the 1800's NickB79 Jun 2017 #33
This kind of stuff is the same thing dipshit donnie has pulled on his employees. nt duncang Jun 2017 #36
They need union representation TEB Jun 2017 #41
How is this not slave labor? Initech Jun 2017 #44

Flaleftist

(3,473 posts)
6. Their pay - gas, insurance, lease of the truck,
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 06:34 PM
Jun 2017

office supplies, toilet paper, etc. etc. Some end up owing money.

dchill

(38,324 posts)
21. People...
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 08:47 PM
Jun 2017

You don't know who to trust.

Who the cap fit, let them wear it.

(Thanks to Bob Marley!)

dchill

(38,324 posts)
25. I bought that album in 1976...
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 09:09 PM
Jun 2017

As I was turning into a hippie liberal. I was already a musician (guitar), so it wasn't a giant leap. "Who the Cap Fit" might not have been my favorite song on the album, but it's turned out to be the most memorable.

malaise

(267,845 posts)
27. That is one great album
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 09:15 PM
Jun 2017

I think Crazy Baldhead wins for me, but I love Who the Cap Fits, War and Rat Race.

My favorite album is Survival

malaise

(267,845 posts)
32. I know every single word of every single song
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 09:30 PM
Jun 2017

There was a time when I played that CD in the car every single morning on my way to work

"...we've got to face the day, come what may..." from So Much Trouble in the World - used to replay that track over and over.

DK504

(3,847 posts)
4. Flat out slavery.
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 06:30 PM
Jun 2017

Where is the lawsuit???? This is the daily horrors Americans are dealing with, along with the housing market become the cutthroat deadly procedures again.

Useless in FL

(329 posts)
7. That is blatent slavery!
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 06:36 PM
Jun 2017

Omigod, this is where we are headed, if we're not already there, total suppression and .... slavery! This is very scary.

Igel

(35,197 posts)
13. Long article.
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 07:34 PM
Jun 2017

Lots of lawsuits before a state regulatory agency.

Article takes pains to blame the industry. Problem goes back to 2008. Independent contractors had old trucks that polluted. State said to stop using them. Now, this was 2008. Trucking companies had used contractors, couldn't afford billions for new trucks. Contractors couldn't get loans for new trucks. The result of a hard-hitting regulation and an economic downturn led to this. The solution sucked; but a lot of workers wound up with their own trucks.

A bit more state involvement would have set up a way to make the loans portable, or set up a state loan system. Or just not ordering people to decommission vehicles without looking at the consequences of the regulations on people and how to mitigate them.

It was a problem that these were workers with few resources and no other recourse.

Lindsay

(3,276 posts)
5. Horrendous.
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 06:33 PM
Jun 2017

Thank you for posting the link, and kudos to USA Today for bringing this to public attention.

delisen

(6,039 posts)
8. Similar to construction/home renovation industry
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 06:42 PM
Jun 2017

Undocumented immigrants are being paid very low wages by construction companies and have no where to turn for justice.

If you live in a state with lots of immigrant labor and you buy a house or have renovations or repairs done there is a good chance you are part of the chain of exploitation.



MichMan

(11,790 posts)
35. Very difficult for an honest contractor to compete
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 11:38 PM
Jun 2017

With the large number of undocumented immigrants working in construction and landscaping, how in the hell does a contractor that is paying a living wage, workman's comp, FICA and benefits supposed to compete when getting underbid for every job?


delisen

(6,039 posts)
37. It is just about Impossible to compete.
Sat Jun 17, 2017, 02:14 AM
Jun 2017

I've found in getting renovation done it is best to avoid the licensed general contractors who depend upon undocumented workers because those contractors cut corners in other ways too, don't provide good supervision, and then blame the undocumented workers for the bad outcomes.



 

Wellstone ruled

(34,661 posts)
10. This is more common than people think.
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 07:18 PM
Jun 2017

There are Freight Brokers who rip people off all the time. People thinking they can make it as a Independent Trucker get sucked into these deals daily. Get a Haulage Contract,okay,how about that Tractor setting over there,low miles good rubber. Oh by the way,I can finance that for you. What I will do is hold back so many dollars from your settlement checks to cover the Payments and the fuel you use.

Seen this type of deal many a time. Have had Guy's beg for a Twenty in order to get a Burger and a cot at the local Truck Stop. Even had people abandon their rigs in our yard and hitch a ride back to their home town.

So many scams out there,so many people wiped out.

A HERETIC I AM

(24,321 posts)
39. Ummmmmm....a cot at the local truck stop? Seriously?
Sat Jun 17, 2017, 06:19 AM
Jun 2017

"Seen this type of deal many a time. Have had Guy's beg for a Twenty in order to get a Burger and a cot at the local Truck Stop."

When? How long ago?

I've been driving OTR for almost 30 years and the last time there were "cots" available at truck stops was in the 70's.

None of the major truck stop (now "Travel Centers) chains offer beds of ANY kind, let alone cots.

And in 30 years of driving I've never come across even a mom and pop truck stop that had sleeping accommodations.

The last chain that did so was the Union 76 truck stops but they were pretty much out of business by the early 90's and their room rental business had shut down in the mid 80's

So.....unless you were in the business back then, that little snippet of your story doesn't ring true

 

Wellstone ruled

(34,661 posts)
40. Most likely it was a Booth in the Cafe.
Sat Jun 17, 2017, 12:51 PM
Jun 2017

Do remember a Truck Stop about four or five blocks south of our Distribution Center that had a Bunk Room. And that was in the early eighties. It was still going a couple of years ago when we drove by it.

 

Wellstone ruled

(34,661 posts)
43. Honestly,lost track of the Guy's
Sat Jun 17, 2017, 06:32 PM
Jun 2017

that just plain bailed. Even had a few who ran out of Fuel waiting for a Dock Door,had someone from our Shop Crew put enough fuel on-board for the Guy to Spot his load and unload to get some type of Revenue.

 

CanSocDem

(3,286 posts)
45. Indeed.
Sat Jun 17, 2017, 06:45 PM
Jun 2017

I remember the days when husband mortgaged the house, bought a truck and soon had his wife and kids living in the truck with him. Big companies have these "independent owner-operators" by the short and curlies with just enough cash to get to their next load. That's why there is always a McDonald's near the truck stop if not right inside.


.

mfcorey1

(10,997 posts)
11. This exact same thing happened to my nephew. They seized the truck, paid him nothing after
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 07:22 PM
Jun 2017

almost a month and left him to find his way home from Georgia to Florida. A lot of other truckers told him of th same thing happening. Unfortunately, he could not afford a lawyer.

mn9driver

(4,412 posts)
14. That is good reporting. Everyone should read this.
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 07:56 PM
Jun 2017

It's hard to believe something like this is possible.

 

7962

(11,841 posts)
15. Sounds like a recording industry contract
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 08:12 PM
Jun 2017

I know a handful of drivers & they make great money. They also dont drive 16 hrs a day. Thats ILLEGAL; along with a lot of other things this company was doing. They're in BIG trouble.
These drivers should be able to get well paying jobs elsewhere if they have CDLs.

shanti

(21,672 posts)
31. The truckers that are making a go of it
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 09:25 PM
Jun 2017

are probably Teamsters. My brother, 58, was a truck/independent contractor and said Teamsters are the only ones making any money. He ended up quitting the trucking business and working for a legal mm facility. He's much happier now!

misanthrope

(7,405 posts)
17. Oh, but remember in America everyone who works hard realizes their dreams
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 08:21 PM
Jun 2017

Isn't that what we've heard all our lives? The poor have no one to blame but themselves and busting your tail is always rewarded?

PatrickforO

(14,516 posts)
18. Appalling story of worker exploitation.
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 08:34 PM
Jun 2017

And, you know what?

There, but for the grace of God, go all of us.

Think about that a moment, and then become PRO UNION.

hunter

(38,264 posts)
29. Any business that can't pay a comfortable living wage doesn't deserve to exist.
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 09:19 PM
Jun 2017

Any business that depends on these businesses doesn't deserve to exist.

NickB79

(19,114 posts)
33. Like logging camps in the 1800's
Fri Jun 16, 2017, 10:10 PM
Jun 2017

You were paid with company script instead of real money, and basically spent it all at the company-owned general store for overpriced supplies, or to pay rent at company-owned housing. And if you tried to leave without paying off your debts, you might end up in debtors prison. It was fucking slavery then, and its slavery today.

TEB

(12,716 posts)
41. They need union representation
Sat Jun 17, 2017, 04:35 PM
Jun 2017

The business agents from union hall need to get these men organized.

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