XPO Logistics CEO Brad Jacobs commented on the contentious relationship between the union and his company after Teamster-affiliated protesters burst into one of the morning sessions at JOC’s TPM Conference in Long Beach, Calif.
Tensions were running high at the Journal of Commerce’s annual TPM Conference in Long Beach, Calif. on Monday as the Teamsters organized protests outside the event and even burst into one of the morning sessions.
Union members and supporters gathered to protest what they consider illegal misclassification of drivers on the part of XPO Logistics and other third-party providers. Tensions came to a head when demonstrators attempted to disrupt the conference shortly before XPO CEO Brad Jacobs’ keynote address.
Afterwards, Jacobs had some choice words for the union.
“I don’t believe in the Teamsters,” he said in response to a question about the demonstration. “I believe in some unions. In Europe, we have cordial, respectful, courteous [labor relations], it works well, it’s very functional.”
However, he said, “The Teamsters are out of control.”
For their part, the Teamsters said in a statement they held the rally to demand that Jacobs “end his company’s abhorrent mistreatment of workers in the United States and across the globe.”
“When we raised concerns with management we were ignored, so we decided to organize,” said Ryan Janota, a freight driver at XPO in Aurora, Ill. “Instead of respecting our rights, XPO spent a fortune on high-priced union-busting consultants to try and silence us. It didn’t work and we elected to join the Teamsters so Bradley Jacobs will have to listen!”
According to the Teamsters, XPO’s classification of port and rail drivers as independent contractors instead of employees amounts to wage theft, and has led to numerous protests and lawsuits at ports in the U.S. and Europe.
The independent contractor model has been the norm in both drayage and short- and long-haul trucking operations since their inception, but has increasingly come under attack in recent years as drivers seek to be treated as employees.
And courts have, for the most part, sided with the drivers, who contend their employers have deprived them of wages, benefits and legal protections by misclassifying them as independent contractors rather than employees. Notable recent examples include lawsuits against popular ride-sharing company Uber and traditional ground carrier FedEx Corp, which in 2015, settled a driver classification case in California for $228 million.
The union went on to accuse XPO of not respecting the rights of drivers and warehouse workers to organize and of using threats and intimidation to discourage unionization.
“Because XPO treats us like employees but pays us as ‘independent contractors’ and deducts their truck expenses from our paychecks, there are many weeks when we don’t even earn the minimum wage,” said Luis Meza, an XPO drayage driver at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. “This is abuse and that’s why my co-workers and I have filed lawsuits against XPO.”
According to the union, Jacobs has repeatedly refused to meet with workers and has ignored issues of driver classification and warehouse safety.
“Mr. Jacobs didn’t meet with us today, but I know that the Teamsters will keep standing with us, fighting for all XPO workers,” said Jose Ramirez, a freight driver from Aurora. “Our fight for justice continues.”
Jacobs said in his address that more than 99 percent of XPO’s North America operations are non-unionized and “very likely to remain union-free.”
“I don’t see the value they bring to employees or to the company,” he said of the Teamsters. “It’s a business they are running and they have to get membership up.”
XPO’s Jacobs: Teamsters ‘out of control’
