A settlement between a produce wholesaler and a group representing owner-operators could dramatically change how trailers get loaded and unloaded in this country – and who pays for it.
Nineteen months after the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and truck driver Douglas B. Bailey filed a lawsuit against Detroit-based Michigan Repacking & Produce Co. for illegal lumping practices, a consent decree was finalized Nov. 10 among the parties.
Poor conditions at loading docks rank among the top problems generating the most bitter complaints from truck drivers. Long waits, pressure to use – and pay – free-lance unloading assistants, or “lumpers,” and rude behavior on the part of dock personnel are some of the more familiar sources of irritation.
Last month’s consent decree gives legal weight to the need for reform in this area, according to attorneys for the plaintiffs.
For the full story, see the Dec. 6 print edition of Transport Topics. .
