Our People Our Port Coalition
CLUE has been working closely with LAANE and a part of the coalition Our People Our Port, to fight for fair wages and protections for port truck drivers. Since the beginning of the year, we have been advocating for two-state bills, SB 338, AB 794, to create consequences for law-breaking trucking companies and to fight against systemic misclassification. We are celebrating that Governor Newsom signed both of these bills into law! These laws will go into effect in January 2021.
SB 338, championed by Senator Lena Gonzalez, will add trucking companies to an existing Division of Labor Standards Enforcement “bad actor” list if those companies do not provide required health and safety protections and benefits to their workers. Customers who contract with bad actors on this list are jointly liable for future violations. In addition, SB 338 requires companies to prove that they have fixed the underlying violation in order to get off the list, and specifically targets repeat offenders that systemically incorporate wage theft and deny worker protections as part of their business model. This law will expand the scope of supply chain accountability.
AB 7794, championed by Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo, will ensure that law-breaking trucking companies that misclassify drivers will not receive public funds from the state to purchase zero-emission trucks.
Long Beach / Los Angeles Port Truck Drivers Win Again
Drivers at XPO Logistics trucking company, one of the world’s largest trucking companies, won a historic $30 million wage theft settlement. This is the largest ever settlement at California ports!
This settlement will resolve class-action suits for misclassification and wage theft for almost 800 drivers at XPO Logistics. This settlement is a testament to the strength of drivers organizing and fighting for years to win justice. It is also a testament to the support from community, faith leaders, and partners in sustaining the struggle of drivers.
Safer Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) Coalition
CLUE is a part of the Safer Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) coalition to advocate for justice for Mona Rodriguez, an eighteen-year-old woman, who was shot near Millikan High School in Long Beach, by a security safety officer. CLUE and LA Voice co-sent a letter with hundreds of signatures of faith leaders to LBUSD to demand the removal of arms from school campuses and the investment in healing resources and alternatives to policing. In response, LBUSD invited faith leaders to have a meeting with them last week. Our CLUE faith leader in Long Beach, Pastor Darren Hagood, joined community leaders in the meeting to advocate for structural changes in providing healing and safety for school campuses. The strong advocacy of the Long Beach community caused the arrest of officer Eddie Gonzalez and his charge of first-degree murder by District Attorney Gascon. This is one step closer to holding the officer accountable for his action. We mourn the death of Mona and will continue the fight for safety and healing for students, teachers, and families in Long Beach.
Tenants’ Workshops
CLUE in partnership with LAANE is helping vulnerable tenants apply for rental assistance and advocating with city councilmembers for a streamlined process to help tenants easily access the federal emergency funding for tenants of $46 million. 16,000 Long Beach renter households are behind on their rent. Burdensome and confusing paperwork requirements have created a barrier for thousands of tenants from applying. We hosted two workshops to support tenants in their application process. CLUE would like to support congregation members who are struggling with this application process. Please contact Mary Duong via [email protected] if you would like this resource for your community, friends, families, or yourself.
For more information, please contact Pastor Mary Duong [email protected]
