OOIDA to truckers: Tell FMCSA about predatory lease-purchase agreements

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is encouraging truck drivers to make their voices heard when it comes to predatory lease-purchase agreements.

Later this month, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will be hosting a Truck Leasing Task Force meeting at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky. The meeting will be from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, March 21 in room C108 in the South Wing of the Kentucky Exposition Center. The meeting will include public comment periods from 11 a.m. to noon and 2 to 3 p.m.

OOIDA, which represents small-business truckers, sent an email to its approximately 150,000 members last week and encouraged them to participate.

“This is a chance to tell FMCSA and the Truck Leasing Task Force about how predatory leasing arrangements impact potential owner-operators and small trucking businesses,” OOIDA wrote.

Congress established the Truck Leasing Task Force with the goal of ending predatory lease-purchase arrangements in the trucking industry. In these agreements, a carrier leases a truck to a driver but still possesses control for the majority of the operation. In fact, the carrier is in control of the trucker’s ability to pay off the loan.

In past meetings, the task force has highlighted stories of drivers working full time only to owe money to the carrier at the end of the pay period.

“The instances we’re most concerned about is often a misclassified employee who is simply being paid less for their labor,” said Steve Viscelli, a task force member and economic sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania. “There’s no business benefit there. There’s no equity. There’s no profit.”

Register to attend online or at MATS

For truckers who are not able to attend the truck show in Louisville, there still will be an opportunity to participate in the meeting online.

Online participants must register for the meeting by Thursday, March 14. Any written materials to be submitted also must be received by that date. On-site attendees are not required to register in advance, but those who wish to speak are encouraged to do so.

In addition to the meeting at MATS, FMCSA also recently asked truckers to provide the agency lease-purchase documents for review. A complete list of information and documents sought by FMCSA can be found here. Those who make submissions are asked to follow the appropriate steps to ensure that private details are designated as such. LL