Hundreds of independent dump truck drivers parked their trucks along a major Miami thoroughfare Monday to protest low wages.
About 300 dump trucks and a dozen tractor-trailers formed a mile-long chain on both sides of Okeechobee Road at the Florida Turnpike. Other truckers protested in West Palm Beach, Orlando and Naples, a total of about 600, according to the Associated Press.
The truckers say they gross about $100 a day before paying for fuel, insurance and maintenance, with rates less than what they earned before deregulation in 1980. They want their brokers to establish a minimum wage that is 50% higher than the rates they now earn.
The "Support Dump Trucking Group" has hired a lawyer to negotiate with company brokers.
One broker told the AP that there are more truckers than jobs, which keeps rates from going up. "They've been hurting themselves for all these years because they keep accepting the cheap prices," said Raul Smith with Allied Trucking. "They don't have to go to the jobs if they don't like the price."
About 300 dump trucks and a dozen tractor-trailers formed a mile-long chain on both sides of Okeechobee Road at the Florida Turnpike. Other truckers protested in West Palm Beach, Orlando and Naples, a total of about 600, according to the Associated Press.
The truckers say they gross about $100 a day before paying for fuel, insurance and maintenance, with rates less than what they earned before deregulation in 1980. They want their brokers to establish a minimum wage that is 50% higher than the rates they now earn.
The "Support Dump Trucking Group" has hired a lawyer to negotiate with company brokers.
One broker told the AP that there are more truckers than jobs, which keeps rates from going up. "They've been hurting themselves for all these years because they keep accepting the cheap prices," said Raul Smith with Allied Trucking. "They don't have to go to the jobs if they don't like the price."
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