Emergency Call to Action

NJ LEGISLATURE TO BAN INDEPENDENT OWNER OPERATORS BY DECEMBER 2019

Important Updates

CLICK HERE FOR SAMPLE RESOLUTION
STATING OPPOSITION TO S4204

CLICK HERE FOR ONLINE PETITION
TO SAVE INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS IN NJ

Flyers for Drivers
ATTENTION DRIVERS
CONDUCTORES DE ATENCION

** ICYMI ** Bi-State President Lisa Yakomin discussed S4204 on NY Truck Stop radio last Saturday, and the negative impact it would have on the Port of NY & NJ
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW


The Independent Contractor trucking model is under attack in New Jersey. 77% of the drivers who work at the Port of NY & NJ are independent contractors, but the NJ legislature is set to ban owner operators in New Jersey next month, crippling the ability to move freight at the second-largest port in the U.S.

Two bills, S4204 and A5936, re-write the ABC classification test so that Independent Owner Operators cannot pass & must work as Company Employees.

Many Independent Owner Operator drivers have no idea that they will lose their ability to work in NJ very soon if these bills pass in December. Please share this important news update with them.

Contact these legislators today and tell them you OPPOSE S4204 and A5936:

Senate President Sweeney 856-251-9801, sensweeney@njleg.org
Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean 908-232-3673, senkean@njleg.org
Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, 732-855-7441, asmcoughlin@njleg.org
Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick, 908-232-2073, asmbramnick@njleg.org

Contact your local legislators, too. Look them up using this link:  https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/districts/municipalities.asp

** NEW ** Find a full list of Legislator’s phone numbers at this link: https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/printable_roster.pdf

Email your legislators using an online form at this link:  https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/SelectMun.asp

Press Coverage:

Links to Additional Resources:


WHY DO WE OPPOSE S4204 AND A5936?

The Port Driver perspective is being ignored. The sponsors of these bills did not speak to anyone from the trucking community when drafting these bills, and no one from the trucking industry was included on the Governor’s Misclassification Task Force.

The Drivers Do Not Want This  77% of port drivers are Independent Contractors, and they want to remain independent business owners. These bills take away their right to pursue the American Dream.

— Freight Transportation Requires a Flexible Workforce The Legislature does not understand how essential Independent Contractors are to the Port Trucking industry. Freight volumes fluctuate throughout the year, and the workforce must be able to expand and contract along with it.

— Minority-Owned Businesses Will Be Hardest Hit  The transportation industry has a larger share of minority workers than any other industries in NJ.  This legislation will hurt minority-owned businesses

— Jobs Will Be Lost There are 6500 Owner Operators at the port, and trucking companies cannot afford to hire all of them as employees

— NJ Will Suffer Financially These bills will cost the State of NJ billions of dollars in federal, state, and local tax revenues when there aren’t enough drivers to move freight. Shippers will send their freight to other nearby ports (Philadelphia, Baltimore, Norfolk)  and we will never get that business back.

Consumers Will Pay More–for Everything!  NJ is already one of the most expensive places to live in the U.S.  This bill will make it worse: the cost of everything that travels by truck will increase significantly, including food, medicine, fuel, clothing, electronics, and more, hitting NJ’s low-income and middle class residents the hardest.

CONTACT THE NJ LEGISLATURE AND GOVERNOR MURPHY AND TELL THEM YOU STAND WITH THE PORT TRUCKERS!