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US Truck Drivers Call For Federal Action To Improve Working Conditions 

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US truck drivers are currently pushing for federal action to be taken to improve the conditions in which they’re working. Drivers are asking for higher ups to address their deteriorating working conditions, decreasing pay, and rampant fraud. 

Caleb Fernandez is a part of the movement, and has been a long-distance truck driver since 2017. He stated to the media that he will often spend hours loading and/or unloading his truck’s cargo without getting paid for the full time. 

“I think that I’ve got my schedule down and then just one customer can completely mess it up. Even if there’s an appointment, they just don’t show much that they care about wasting my time.”

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“My whole week gets wrecked because of one customer that just didn’t care about the time. It’s a chaotic life,” he said. 

May 1st of this year, 75 members of the Truckers Movement for Justice held a protest outside of the US Department of Transportation offices in Washington DC, demanding action be taken on things like wage theft, lack of overtime pay, and unpaid wait times for delivering cargo or taking on loads. 

The group met with senior officials from the Department in 2021 as a part of President Joe Biden’s trucking action plan, and set initiatives that were meant to increase the supply of truck drivers. The group has claimed that they have yet to see any improvement on the three core demands made during the meeting. 

“We’ve lost our patience. This has been going for years and has only gotten worse with the lack of federal action. We don’t need taskforces and studies,” said Fernandez, who is also the deputy secretary for Truckers Movement for Justice.

When we look at the stats and consider the impact of inflation on salary, truck drivers in the US in 1980 made about $110,000 annually, and today they make, on average, about $48,000. There are currently more than 2 million Americans working as truck drivers today. 

Ray Randall also spoke on the hours he’s worked unpaid, and other working conditions that he was not compensated for in his 20 years working as a truck driver. 

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“Drivers should be paid detention time. We believe all drivers should be paid for all hours worked, because once you come on duty, you’re working. If you come to a shipper and have to wait, I’m working. Also, after 40 hours, companies pay employees overtime but drivers don’t get any overtime and we can put in 70-plus hours a week. We can be on duty 12 hours a day and we’re not getting paid for those 12 hours,” he explained. 

William McKelvie, a truck driver for over 25 years, explained that “in addition to unpaid detention time, broker fraud and a lack of overtime pay, layover rates for overnight hauls have decreased in years, down from $500-$1,000 to $250 or less.”

“Drivers have a right to review freight bills, which provide the transaction information regarding loads to ensure all parties that no one is being ripped off. Many brokers will blackball or push drivers out for requesting to see freight bills, to avoid any pushback or criticism of how the costs are dispersed from shippers to brokers and what portion is paid out to drivers,” said McKelvie. 

“This is something that corporations and others have used their strong arms and intimidation tactics to overrule and overpower the working men and women in the industry,” he said.

“The more of our time that they waste, the more it hurts us financially, economically, and the ability to go and get our proper rest and relax for the next load,” McKelvie said.

“From back in the day we went from working 50 hours a week to 60 hours a week, to now we are at 70 hours a week, and with the extended work, that doesn’t give us any time for any real-life quality,” he said.

David Bowie Song Catalogue Publishing Rights Sold For $250 Million

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The publishing rights to David Bowie’s extensive and iconic catalogue of songs have been sold by his estate to Warner Chappell Music (WCM), the publishing arm of Warner Music Group. According to an anonymous source, the deal is worth at least $250 million. 

Guy Moot, chief executive of WCM, said: “These are not only extraordinary songs, but milestones that have changed the course of modern music for ever … We are looking forward to tending his unparalleled body of songs with passion and care as we strive to build on the legacy of this most extraordinary human being.”

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The deal itself means that Warner now owns all the rights to Bowie’s songwriting itself, as well as almost all of the recordings of it. In September of this year, Warner completed a deal to acquire Bowie’s recordings and songs from 2000 to 2016 when he passed away. 

Warner already owned all of Bowie’s recordings that were done between 1968 to 1999. There is now just a small number of recorded music that Bowie recorded before the late 60’s that Warner Music does not own. 

Warner Music has been repackaging Bowie’s back catalogue in a series of box sets in recent years, which happens fairly often when an older musical legend’s discography is purchased by a larger label. 

Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Fleetwood Mac are some other musical legends who have sold the catalogues of their music to various companies as a means of earning more money in exchange for the rights. 

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These deals and acquisitions allow publishing companies to acquire income from royalties, as well as when music is licensed for use in films, TV, and advertising as well. 

The specific terms of the Bowie deal have not been disclosed to the public, however, the Bowie estate in the past has been known for closely controlling the use of his music. The 2020 David Bowie biopic, Stardust, which was about the creation of Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust persona, was forbidden by the estate from using any of Bowie’s music in the film. 

WCM co-chair Carianne Marshall said: “We were pleased that the estate felt that Warner Chappell has the knowledge, experience, and resources to take the reins and continue to promote a collection of this stature. All of our global leaders and departments are incredibly excited and primed to get to work with these brilliant songs across multiple avenues and platforms.”

Another film has already been approved by the estate, and will be a documentary by Brett Morgan, who is using thousands of hours of rare and unseen live performance footage.

President Biden Reflects On ‘Deadlist Year On Reacord For Transgender Americans’ During Day Of Remembrance 

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President Joe Biden released a statement for Transgender Day Of Remembrance, where he paid tribute to “those we lose in the deadliest year on record for transgender Americans.” 

“We also remember the countless other transgender people, disproportionately Black and brown transgender women and girls, who face brutal violence, discrimination, and harassment.” 

The White House marked the day on Friday with a vigil in the Diplomatic Room of the White House, hosted by second gentleman Doug Emhoff. 

Transgender Day of Remembrance is meant to be the final day of Transgender Awareness Week, and it takes the time to memorialize victims of anti-transgender violence all across the country. The Human Rights Campaign recently declared 2021 as the deadliest year on record for transgender and nonbinary people, with at least 45 transgender or gender-nonconforming people on record being killed in hate-filled acts of violence. 

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 “Our hearts are with all who knew and loved the 45 people who have been killed this year. The march to end this epidemic of violence continues.” White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a tweet.

Within his statement, Biden called on the Senate to pass the Equality Act, which amends the 1964 Civil Rights Act to protect people from being discriminated against based on sexual orientation and gender identity. 

“The Equality Act will ensure that all people are able to live free from fear and discrimination, a right all Americans should have.” 

The Equality Act was passed in the House back in March, but has since been stalled by the Senate. “In spite of our progress strengthening civil rights for LGBTQI+ Americans, too many transgender people still live in fear and face systemic barriers to freedom and equality,” Biden wrote.

According to news reports, “the administration also released a report Saturday from the first Interagency Working Group on Safety, Opportunity, and Inclusion for Transgender and Gender Diverse Individuals, which is made up of representatives from the US Agency for International Development, the Departments of State, Justice, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Education, Homeland Security, Labor, Interior and Veterans Affairs, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the US Interagency Council on Homelessness.”

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The report also emphasized that the “violence against transgender Americans is the direct result of systemic anti-transgender stigma and hate, pervasive discrimination, disproportionate criminalization, and marginalization and exclusion of gender minorities, with violence against transgender communities heightened today due to a historic spike in legislation targeting transgender people for discriminatory and unjust treatment.”

Biden’s statement is the latest in a series of administrative motions that aim to support the LGBTQ+ community. Biden has since revered former president Trump’s ban on transgender Americans in the military, reinstated a special envoy for LGBTQ+ rights, and issued the first presidential proclamation to mark Transgender Day Of Visibility as an official day in March. 

Beyond the heightened violence that transgender Americans have faced this year, from a legislative standpoint their rights were also being consistently threatened. In fact, 2021 also marked a record year for anti-transgender legislation; 100 bills have been introduced among state legislators across 33 states all of which aimed at restricting the rights of transgender individuals. 

A majority of the bills target transgender youth, to which Bien responded:

“To ensure that our government protects the civil rights of transgender Americans, I charged my team with coordinating across the federal government to address the epidemic of violence and advance equality for transgender people,” Biden stated. 

“I continue to call on state leaders and lawmakers to combat the disturbing proliferation of discriminatory state legislation targeting transgender people, especially transgender children. Today, we remember. Tomorrow — and every day — we must continue to act.”

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Ellen DeGeneres Draws Criticism for Friendship with George W. Bush

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On Sunday, Ellen DeGeneres drew attention for what seemed to be an unlikely occurrence: she was spotted in a suite at AT&T Stadium watching a football game while seated next to none other than former President George W. Bush. Initial reactions to the pairing were ones of humorous bewilderment; it seemed inconceivable that DeGeneres, a Hollywood liberal who is happily married to her wife Portia de Rossi, would be so close with a President who infamously supported a constitutional amendment to define marriage as being a union between one man and one woman. 

This surprise turned into outrage as Twitter users argued that Bush, responsible for starting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, was in fact a war criminal whom DeGeneres ought not associate herself with. The controversy, which continues to unfold even after DeGeneres addressed the criticism by urging kindness among people with political disagreements, speaks to the increased polarization of modern American culture and raises questions about the role of celebrity in shaping the image of politicians even after they leave office.

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Adopting her trademark cheeriness and sunny disposition, DeGeneres sought to downplay criticisms of her friendship with the former president by stressing the importance of remaining civil even with people who don’t “think the same way you do,” and asserted that it’s okay not to share beliefs with people whom you consider to be your friends. Reaction to DeGeneres’ monologue were split; while many viewers applauded the talk show host for her willingness to extend an olive branch across the ideological divide that characterizes much of American political life, other, more vocal critics accused DeGeneres of leveraging her privilege as a celebrity to whitewash Bush’s image when she had an obligation to instead call him out for his crimes. 

This is but one criticism of the event; other denizens of the Internet pointed out, in detail, the former president’s long history of advocating policies that discriminate against LGBTQ people, and some argued that DeGeneres’ philosophy of kindness was ill-suited to the modern political era. The general consensus among internet thinkpiece authors was that DeGeneres enjoyed the privilege and freedom of being able to maintain friendships with people who represent harmful political ideologies because her celebrity status protects her from the consequences of these ideologies.

The fact that several other celebrities, including Kristen Bell, Blake Shelton, and Reese Witherspoon quickly took to social media to rush to DeGeneres’ defense did little to satisfy critics who saw DeGeneres’ friendship as an example of how celebrity privilege can whitewash criminal behavior. Rather, these same critics interpreted this wave of celebrity defenses as an example of class unity, as rather than engaging with the arguments of people with genuine political grievances, the celebrities simply protected a member of their tribe.

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That being said, a handful of celebrities were among those voicing their dissent. On Twitter, Mark Ruffalo suggested that “we can’t even begin to talk about kindness” until Bush was “brought to justice for the crimes of the Iraq War,” among which he claimed were “American-lead torture, Iraqi deaths & displacement, and the deep scars—emotional & otherwise—inflicted on our military that served his folly.” And Susan Sarandon, quoting a piece from out.com, suggested that Degeneres’ lighthearted framing of her friendship with Bush was disingenuous, as she treated the former president as someone of differing opinions rather than acknowledging his numerous accusations of being a war criminal.

Whether or not one considers DeGeneres’ handling of the controversy to be responsible, the episode has opened up a broader conversation about celebrity privilege and how fame enables even members of marginalized groups to tacitly support oppression under the guise of friendship. While DeGeneres and her allies would argue in favor of reconciliation between political groups as an opportunity for healing during an era of extreme partisanship, those who are on the receiving end of political oppression would beg to differ.

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New California Legislation Forces Gig Economy Companies to Treat Workers as Employees

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The explosion in popularity of services such as Lyft, Uber, and DoorDash has given rise to a new type of occupation, where workers make their own hours and can use their personal vehicles as part of their job, but are beholden to the operation of a smartphone app instead of working for a traditional employer. These workers, in the so-called “gig economy,” are currently legally classified as contractors, not employees, meaning they lack the protections and rights granted in more traditional jobs. In California, however, that is due to change, as new legislation which is expected to go into effect on January 1st reclassifies these workers as employees, fundamentally changing how these businesses must be run in the state. This pioneering legislation, known as Assembly Bill 5, has the potential to bring about change in other states as well, as employee rights advocacy groups lobby for similar laws to be passed in states like New York, Washington State, and Oregon.

Although the app-based companies that would be affected attempted to negotiate an exemption from the bill, this attempt failed, and the bill in question passed 29 to 11 in the California State Senate. After the bill goes through the State Assembly, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, is expected to sign the bill into law, as he endorsed the bill this month. According to the New York Times, the law would designate workers “as employees instead of contractors if a company exerts control over how they perform their tasks or if their work is part of a company’s regular business.” Classifying workers as employees rather than as contractors means they would be granted protections such as a right to a minimum wage and unemployment insurance, among other benefits. Because of the broad phrasing of the bill, several industries, including custodial services, nail salons, and construction could be affected.

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Companies that have built their business on the cheap labor afforded by contract work have fiercely opposed the bill, spending $90 million in a failed attempt to defeat it. These companies have argued that contract work gives people more flexibility and independent, and have claimed that this legislation has the potential to destroy their businesses. Although these “gig companies” have provided a tremendous amount of innovation by making it quicker and easier for smartphone users to request goods and services, they have done so by taking advantage of the loose restrictions placed on hiring contractors, many of whom complain about being underpaid, unfairly let go, or burdened by the costs of upkeep and maintenance the job imposes. Contractors for these companies, most notably ride-hailing drivers, are unsurprisingly supportive of the bill’s passage.

The passage of Assembly Bill 5 represents a major victory for contract workers for Uber, Lyft, and Doordash, who have fought for years to be classified as employees. A number of lawsuits have been brought against these companies from drivers arguing that they have the legal right to the same rights as employees, and the companies have responded by settling these lawsuits out of court. The companies have also worked to secure exemptions to rules threatening the contractors’ freelancer status in a number of states.

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While the specifics of how gig economy companies will react to the new law is unclear, it is estimated that treating workers as employees could raise costs by 20 to 30 percent, and Uber and Lyft claim that the law would require them to schedule drivers in advance, prohibiting their freedom to choose when and where to work. Experts, however, disagree, and claim that the companies are free to leave their system of scheduling workers the way that it is. Not all drivers are in favor of the bill, as they fear the law will limit their flexibility, and Uber and Lyft urged drivers to call their legislators to oppose the bill.

Reaction to the concept of reclassifying contractors as employees nationwide generally varies along the political spectrum, with people on the left praising the bill for the benefits it grants workers and people on the right complaining that the bill represents excessive government interference in the affairs of private businesses. In any case, the passage of the bill in California is sure to provide a valuable test case for how similar legislation in other states would impact workers, businesses, and consumers.