A switch in trucking providers used by a grocery chain to make Columbus, Ohio, area deliveries means 130 Ruan Transportation workers will be out of work this summer,
according to the Columbus Dispatch.
Kroger Co. has awarded its delivery contract to a Dallas-based transportation company, which will result in the loss of 130 jobs at Ruan.
Those losing jobs will be able to interview with the new trucking provider, but under much different conditions, the Dispatch reported.
The new transportation provider basically requires drivers to become owner-operators instead of driving company-owned rigs. Drivers will be paid by the mile instead of by the hour.
Kroger said it is making the change because it must cut its transportation costs to remain competitive, a company spokesman told the Dispatch.
The grocery chain's contract with Ruan expired this year, and Brisk Transportation outbid Iowa-based Ruan.
Gil Litton, president of Teamsters Local 413, complained that a company such as Ruan, which pays union wages, can't compete with a nonunion company such as Brisk, which uses owner-operator drivers.
He estimated union drivers who made between $45,000 and $50,000 for Ruan probably would make between $15,000 and $20,000 with Brisk after paying for maintenance, fuel, insurance, repairs and other costs of owning a rig.