Wage thieves still at large, truckers say

The busy ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are operated by many thousands of port workers and truck drivers, a large number of whom are misclassified under the tax code, say recent reports. This arrangement excludes many truckers from the protections of union membership, resulting in less pay for a substantial fraction of workers, classified as “independent contractors.” Worker advocates say the companies’ efforts to save money for themselves by avoiding certain taxes amounts to wage theft. “A misclassified driver performs all the duties that an employee does, except that they have no protections under the law. They have no protections to be able to have benefits.” The full report is on Voicewaves.