Port driver awarded unemployment benefits

The Teamsters says payment shows shows driver was misclassfied as an independent contractor.    A Teamsters-affiliated group, Justice for Port Truck Drivers, says a port truck driver who allegedly was misclassified as an independent contractor has been awarded $9,000 in unemployment benefits by the California Employment Development Department.
   The Teamster group said Yesenia Rivas was one of 35  “independent contractor” port truck drivers who participated in recent unfair labor practice strikes and filed “wage and hour” claims with the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.
   It claims those driver were fired by their employer, Total Transportation Services Inc. (TTSI), when they refused to withdraw their claims for wage theft as misclassified “independent contractors.”
   Fred Potter, Director, Teamsters Port Division, and International Vice President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said, “Once again, the authorities have affirmed that port truck drivers misclassified as ‘independent contractors’ are, in fact, employees. This recent decision has dealt another blow to the illegal misclassification scam used in the port trucking industry to lower business costs, avoid paying taxes and prevent unionization.”