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Hostile, threatening environment...but I'm a 'contractor', not employee.

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Chugga

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? In North Dakota

I will try to keep this as brief and concise as possible. I am a contractor for the Ground division of a well known, world-wide shipping company. The entire bulk of the delivery drivers for this division of this company are 'contractors', whereas the people who work in other divisions, such as the Express and Freight divisions are regular employees. The Ground division has been embattled recently with many contractors forming class-action suits against the company to gain employee status, and have won in a few states.

I am what is called an MVC...multiple van contractor. I own multiple contracted delivery routes, the trucks that service them, and I employ the drivers as my own employees. My trucks are lettered with the corporate logos of the company I contract for and I must operate to the letter of their corporate rules. None of this has been a problem for me, my service is top notch and my business is run professionally.

The problem in our terminal lies with our Senior Terminal Manager, referred to as TM from here on in.

I don't know where to start. I guess with the treatment of MY employees. TM finds great joy in attempting to intimidate contractors employee drivers if for any reason TM does not 'like' them. Contractors are threatened with contract termination if a specific employee driver is not fired at the TM's demand. If a contractor refuses, TM will begin harassment of that driver. Specific examples include: one employee driver was pulling away from the terminal in his delivery vehicle in the morning, and stopped to remove his jacket. In the process he set his ID badge on the console. After removing his jacket, he buckled in and proceeded to pull away. TM saw him fail to replace his ID badge, and RAn, full tilt, after the moving vehicle, began pounding on the glass of the sliding door, then proceeded to open the door on the still moving vehicle and leap into it. He then threw the ID badge towards the driver, said nothing, and stormed back into the terminal building. Other drivers have complained of being 'stared down', followed around the terminal building, and other passive forms of intimidation. Another specific example was when an employee driver entered the office to ask a question relevant to the delivery of a few packages that were not his responsibility, yet were 'given' to him to deliver. When he stated they were completely away from his service area (we are talking different towns) and he was unable to take them, TM stormed out of his office, got inches from the driver's face, and began screaming about how this drivers employer 'needs to learn how to run their god da*ned business'. It is explicitly outlined in our contract that Corporate employees cannot talk directly to contractors employee drivers at all.

I have had my contracts threatened by three separate managers in the terminal, including TM, for reasons not enforceable by the contract. We (all contractors in the terminal) are regularly referred to as 'pieces of sh*t', both among management and from management to other contractors.

Being screamed at in the sortation area in front of our employees and all other contractors is a regular occurrence. Being told we are worthless, being called profane names, and being threatened with contract termination IN FRONT OF OUR OWN employees is often what we are greeted with in the mornings.

Contractors contact the corporate Contractor Relations rep for our region, but are told that "that is just how TM is, get used to it." when informed that the tactics used by TM have cost many contractors good employee drivers not willing to weather the horrible environment created, we are met with "well, that is your problem." best of all, when TM gets his copy of the Contractor Relations complaint, the retaliation is terrible. Things are unbearable for whoever makes a complaint until a new one rolls in from somebody else. I was recently targeted for retaliation and the TM decided to revoke my eligibility to drive. This is not completely disabling to the operation of my business, but makes it much more difficult. One of his underling service managers Ghent took it upon herself to inform two of MY employee drivers that I was disqualified from driving. This is directly hurtful to my business, as there is absolutely no reason they need to be brought into an operations issue. Especially by a member of management who is prohibited to share any information with an employee of a contractor.


Five contractors from our location are writing formal letters of complaint to the senior VP of Contractor Relations, but over my years of dealing with this, I expect it not to get us too far.

Is the daily verbal and emotional abuse of not only us as contractors but of our employees, in addition to the regular threats, any grounds for ANY sort of legal action?
 


justalayman

Senior Member
first, let me say I am on the side of the guys that believe you should not be allowed to be IC's. There is too much control expressed by the company to consider you as IC's in my opinion.


With that said:
.

It is explicitly outlined in our contract that Corporate employees cannot talk directly to contractors employee drivers at all.
and? If it is in your contract, then you need to deal with your employees and then you need to deal with the delivery company.

If wearing a company badge is an absolute, YOU need to make sure your employees do so or you should expect repercussions. You are in charge of your employees and you must make sure they follow whatever requirements your contract demands.

Is the daily verbal and emotional abuse of not only us as contractors but of our employees, in addition to the regular threats, any grounds for ANY sort of legal action?
You are allowed to take whatever action your contract allows for.

I'm trying to figure out how they could DQ you from driving. After all, you are an independent contractor. Sure seems like they are treating you like...well, an employee. Qualifying a driver, or DQ'ing them, doesn't seem like it is something the company has any right to control.

One of his underling service managers Ghent took it upon herself to inform two of MY employee drivers that I was disqualified from driving. This is directly hurtful to my business, as there is absolutely no reason they need to be brought into an operations issue.
yet one of your drivers felt it was ok for them to go to the company management and attempt to deal with a package they shouldn't have had? You are right, your employees have no right being involved in an operations issue and they should refrain from doing so. If your employees have a problem, they should speak with you only. If they do not follow such rules, you are going to be held accountable for your employees actions.

the only actual problems I see your drivers had was caused by their own actions. Not sure how one can follow anybody around the terminal. If you mean inside; well, they are technically visitors in the terminal. Maybe they should limit their actions inside the terminal to loading their trucks and getting out. To being "stared down"; any reason they pay that much attention to whomever is staring them down? They should have plenty to do to not even notice it.
 

Chugga

Junior Member
Thank you for your insight. That is what figured, looking for feedback on what constitutes 'harassment'. I was pretty sure an angry guy with a chip on his shoulder doesn't.

Unless you have dealt with constantly having your entire livelihood threatened on a daily basis, and watching the same threats laid upon and carried out upon your colleagues over the years, is hard to empathize, I'm sure.

I guess at our terminal, it is just hard to see how every single contractor is always in the wrong, always the ones violating, and TM and the terminal workers never are. It is truly a one sided contract...and the only 'violations' can come from the 'contractors', not the company.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
I'm curious.

Do you think that our empathy will somehow make the law say something different?
 
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