The Truckers Movement for Justice (TMJ) organization’s roots date back to a failed union organizing drive that began with New Jersey port truckers in 2007 and lasted through early 2009. While the move to unionize failed, what survived was a group of truck drivers, including TMJ founder Billy Randel, who formed the group with an eye toward organizing operators across the country.
Randel, a company driver for much of his career and a self-described labor organizer for more than five decades, was mostly retired from his organizing efforts until, in 2021, he was contacted to see if he would lead another campaign.
“This time, we took a different approach because we learned from the mistakes drivers have made for the last 40 years,” Randel said. “Our approach is mass-based, across the whole industry -- small carriers, owner-ops, company drivers. One organization designed to reach an agreement with the industry ... a national agreement to set standards for wages for company drivers, standards for minimum to the truck, home time. Quality of life in general.”
Randel said the group’s three main goals are:
“Pay us for our time, all of our time,” Randel said. “Why do we work and don’t get paid when we sit at a loading dock? Why do we not get paid for driving deadhead miles to pick up a load? We want to get paid for every minute of our time. We’re ruled by the ELD or paper logs, why can’t we get paid?”
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Regarding transparency into freight charges when working with brokers, Randel said he “can count on my hands how many drivers have ever seen a shipper’s bill of freight to be able to negotiate a fair rate,” adding that he’s not talking about the carrier getting 100% of what the shipper’s paying the broker, but having the transparency into the financial transaction to be able to fairly negotiate.
