IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
“Congressman Denham has already made a name for himself in the Central Valley for selling out his constituents with his vote to slash funding for Medi-Cal, gut protections for those with pre-existing conditions, and devastate rural healthcare,” said Drew Godinich, DCCC spokesperson. “But taking nearly $200,000 from special interests lobbying to eliminate workplace protections for truck drivers makes the roads more dangerous for all Californians. Jeff Denham has sent a powerful signal that the health and well-being of Californians comes at a price – a sizable donation to his campaign account.”
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The Mercury News: California truckers would get fewer breaks under new law
Casey Tolan | July 20, 2017
Truckers rolling down California’s highways are entitled to take more breaks than drivers in most of America. But that would change if a congressional attempt to override the state’s work rules succeeds — which union officials and truck drivers say would make the state’s highways more dangerous.
“It’s about having safe roads when people are driving literal killing machines alongside you,” said Rome Aloise, the president of Teamsters Joint Council 7, which represents truckers and delivery workers. “I want to make sure that the guy in the truck next to me, driving 60,000 pounds, is not going to run me over because he falls asleep.”
Truckers driving through California are now subject to the state’s employment laws. Transportation employees are generally entitled to a 30-minute meal break every five hours they work, as well as a 10-minute rest break every four hours they work.
But since the election of President Donald Trump, trucking companies feel they have a good chance to override the California rules. Legislation moving through Congress this week, originally written by Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, would prevent states from setting their own rules for truck drivers’ work hours. State rules would be preempted by federal regulations that require only a 30-minute rest break after eight hours of driving.
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“As a truck driver, you’re constantly being pushed to keep moving and moving, or you’re trying to eat while you’re driving,” said Dilts, 45, who lives in Fontana. Getting a long enough break could be “a matter of life and death in some situations,” he said.
Truckers and union officials point to studies showing that driver fatigue is one of the top 10 causes of large truck crashes.
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Denham has become the trucking industry’s point man on this issue, introducing amendments aimed at overriding state meal and rest break rules in 2015 and 2016. One amendment passed the House in 2015, with Republican support and Democratic opposition, but died in the Senate.
The provision included in this year’s bills is copied from Denham’s previous amendments. But his staff declined to comment.
The industry has rewarded Denham handsomely. Since he first ran for Congress in 2010, Denham has taken $38,500 from political action committees associated with the American Trucking Association, one of the biggest groups lobbying for changing the meal and rest rules. In all, he’s received more than $193,000 from the trucking industry, according to data from OpenSecrets, a campaign finance website.
Denham’s district voted for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016, and he’s seen as one of the most vulnerable Republican House members in the country.