UPS Teamster Magazine, Summer 2011 - International Brotherhood ...

Misclassification ResolutionWHEREAS, statistical evidence hasproven that the practice of worker misclassificationhas skyrocketed over thelast 25 years at a rate of 7% increaseannually, negatively impacting workersand businesses which play by the rules,and both state and federal governmentsin that a handful of bad-acting employersreceive an unfair advantage overcompetitors. In fact, studies indicate upto 48% of all independent contractorsnationwide may be misclassified employees;andWHEREAS, workers who are misclassifiedas independent contactors arestripped of the basic human right toassociate with unions and basic workplaceprotections, including but not limitedto the National Labor Relations Act,the Fair Labor Standards Act, OSHA,and even the Americans with DisabilitiesAct. Additionally, misclassified workersare not protected under state workers’compensation systems, unemploymentinsurance, and disability benefits.Most egregiously, these workers arehighly unlikely to have any healthcareor retirement benefits due to misclassification;andWHEREAS, companies which play bythe rules and properly classify workers asemployees pay their fair share of workerrelated expenses and, often times, pay upto 25% more in these expenses due tocompetitors cheating the system andmisclassifying workers; andWHEREAS, worker misclassificationcosts federal, state and local governmentsbillions of dollars each year; andWHEREAS, the most notable bad-actingemployer is FedEx Ground, a subsidiary of Federal Express. Over thelast 15 years, the company deceitfullymisclassified more than 27,000 currentand former drivers throughout thecountry—who have filed a class-actionlawsuit against FedEx Ground—andhas thus far been investigated by morethan 40 states for this practice; andWHEREAS, in 2009 and 2010, a bipartisangroup of 20 state Attorneys Generalinvestigated the company’s egregiouspractice of misclassification. Mostnotably, three Attorneys General claimedthe practice to be a “serious injustice” todrivers in their respective states, and as aresult forced the company to change itsbusiness model throughout the countryin hopes of avoiding further scrutiny.Despite these changes, public officialsacross the country have remained determinedto reveal the company’s ongoingabuse of drivers; andWHEREAS, misclassification alsoextends beyond FedEx Ground intoother industries, most notably in theport trucking, bakery, taxi, and constructionindustries, among others. Evidenceclearly suggested that this practice continuesto extend throughout variousindustries, compromising approximately12 million workers nationwide.NOW, THEREFORE, BE ITRESOLVED, that this 28th Conventionof the International Brotherhood ofTeamsters calls for meaningful legislationto be pursued in states across the countrythat protects workers from beingmisclassified by employers. This legislationshould include the “ABC” test,which highlights the employer’s day-todaycontrol of workers in determining1 2 | upsTEAMSTER | SUMMER 2011 | www.teamster.org