Have Never Heard of this Action!

The Willow, AK highway job has been somewhat of a night mare sense it started.  Tony Green of AKA Plow, Anchorage, received the contract for trucking from QAP (Quality Asphalt Paving).  No one wanted to go the Willow to work, but the trucking community is always willing to toss the ROI book right out of the room. ROI is "Return on Investment."

Few truckers understand that subject.  In fact for every one that does there are 135 who have never heard of it. General contractors know what it is and live by it.  That is one of the biggest reasons the general contractors don't have their own trucks.

The Willow job has issued a huge blow to the ROI of the trucker.  It seems the Department of Labor for the State of Alaska has issued an order to stop all payments to truckers and or subcontractors for the job.  Wow, the DOL doing something other than sitting on their butts and watching the grass grow!  Truckers do not know why. QAP knows why and Tony Green knows why.  But the average trucker is just going to operate in normal mode and simply not get paid.

The DOL is acting off a complaint, I would guess.  Because the DOL operates under the cloak of secrecy, only QAP, Tony Green and the complainant knows what is going on.  It has been my experience the complainant may not know what is going on.  As blatantly unfair as the DOL is, the trucking community cannot expect any more from the educated group of "self job protecting" people in the Wage and Hour Division of the Alaska Department of Labor.


It would be my guess that whatever has closed this job down to the flow of funds, understand the work has not stopped, just the money, the reason could be applied to 99 per cent of all jobs in the State of Alaska where DOL W&H has any control!

Inaction is what the Labor Department is counting on.

We are really giving them what they want.  If we earth haulers don't pay attention to the pressure being applied to have things change for the better, nothing is going to happen.  We need to organize and put money in the association of earth haulers and then put real pressure on the Department of Labor to do things correctly.  As I write to politicians I find out that they do not believe anything we say and most do not even want to get involved in our situation.  

Hauling dirt is not a reputable business and we must change this thinking.  We must invest in our lives.  We must changed things we can control.  The problem, of course, is the General Contractors will simply put us out of business if we stand up and lead.  That is why we need an association that can keep the members secret. 

We owe Senator Hollis French and his office

Because Donna Stark and Charlotte Emerson worked together on our benefit we have Senator Hollis French taking interest in our troubles with the Alaska Department of Labor.  There have been a number of other Representatives and Senators we went to and were able to receive no interest.  Harry Crawford displayed some interest and Johnny Ellis's office expressed a bit of interest.  So many others told me they did not know any body in our industry.  What difference does that make; if the politician is told we are in trouble and the DOL is abusing us, we should receive assistance!  They should have helped by, at least, sending us to another person who could help us.

Because of Senator Hollis, The Commissioner of Labor, Mr. Bishop, decided to direct our most ardent enemy, Grey Mitchell, Director of Standard and Safety, to have a hearing which turned out to be a teleconference which only about 30 contacts called in. That was 30 out of 4,000 Earth Haulers in Alaska.  But there was about seven non earth haulers in the conference.  Grey Mitchell sent 450 announcements to Alaska Earth Haulers and opened only 100 phone lines for call ins.

Where did the mailing list come from?  June 23, 2009 the Security Tax Division under the Alaska DOL mailed a letter about leasing trucks on Public Construction Projects and Grey Mitchell used that list is is my guess.

Charlotte Emerson said it has been 16 years that nothing has been done for the Earth Haulers and I believe it has been 23.  Grey Mitchell has been involved in every event for more than 25 years and he is still here abusing the people of Alaska!  It bothers me that a man in charge who is educated and knowledgeable about every little detail in the business is fearful of the cost of ligation to adjust a problem that places hundreds of earth haulers in poverty every year.  His actions, alone, influenced many General Contractors, truck brokers and truck owner operators to take a path of learning the details of Pamphlet 400 and "CHEAT" as much as possible because they wanted to survive.  The AK DOL was not going to enforced any laws in public construction and therefore truckers and their families could not win against such a formidable foe!

This letter was sent by Senator French to the Alaska Attorney General, Dan Sullivan July 28, 2010.

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8 AAC 30.020 (e) in Pamphlet 400

8 AAC 30.020 (e) If a contractor is under contract to provide trucks on a public construction project and leases a truck to an individual truck driver or dispatches an owner/operator working on that same project, the contractor shall pay no less than the prevailing wage for each hour worked each certified payroll reporting period to that driver.

When trucks work on a public construction project in Alaska the driver even if it is owner operator should be paid at least the hourly wage and benefits every week or two.  It is required, but the Alaska Department of labor, Wage and Hour Division has no interest in doing the right thing by enforcing the regulation.  WHY?  Corruption!

Only one time in the history of Alaska has this rule been followed and the W&H had almost nothing to do with it.  Dick Strahl's integrity got that done.  The contract was taken away from him soon there after.

8 AAC 30.020 in Pamphlet 400 in LDB

8 AAC 30.020 (d) In part - After deducting operating expenses, the actual payment received by an owner/operator performing duties as a laborer, mechanic, or field surveyor must meet or exceed the minimum prevailing rate of pay in the applicable classification for each hour worked on a public construction project.

In Wisconsin and Minnesota the DOL decided it was in everyones interest to establish an operating cost guideline for the dirt truckers of their states.  Several other States were to do this.  Both States agreed and this is the guideline for operating cost of a truck after 18 months of communications with th industry without a driver.  The Department of Labor, Wage and Hour should do something about things.

The numbers are per hour rental for the truck only.  A driver may be the owner or the hired driver.  Either way the Alaska W&H should use this as a guideline.
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July 20th Teleconference

There are those who think we made headway and I say if it were not for Senator Hollis French and a couple of truckers we would not have gotten anything.  Sad but true.  20 years and nothing until Mr. French got involved.  It is very sad that the Alaska Department of Labor is so very closed minded to the people.

It is a week later and still nothing.  No communications by the DOL. No help and I don't believe there will be any. We truckers are slaves to an oppressive system and it will not change any time soon.  The people do not matter.  The Politicians just are not concerned for us.  Maybe Senator French will prove this a untruth and lead the other politicians to getting involved with the people outside of asking for donations.

An Airport job when it is really needed!

We have a job in Anchorage.  Dirt Truckers can rest a bit because about 20 trucks are going to be able to go to work.  But don't spend your money too fast.  You are not going to make much!

Add on top of that is the State of Alaska thought it would take $45,000,000 to do the job and QAP is doing it for $33,000,000.   AIC bid $40,000,000 and still lost it.  What happens tot he $13,000,000 dollars.  We don't get it so the DOT must get it if Alaska Politicians don't steal it. Now lets go to the trucking.  Trucking is a good bit of the bill. But the general contractor is going to the bank with all of our profit money.  Alaska Pro Truck won the bid for trucking over World Equip. and RL Trucking and Fry's Services and AKA Hauling amoung others.  Alaska Pro Truck is going to pay $95 for the truck.  Can you operate for $95?  I guess you know the fuel prices are going back up.  Oh, I know, you can pay your drivers less!  If you boycott this job, Zapay can do the job with his trucks that he rents to the drivers by the day to avoid payroll.

Also you can rent your truck to a driver and not worry about Payroll taxes and workers comp insurance.

• ANC RUNWAY 7R/25L REHABILITATION, PHASE I & ANC RUNWAY 7R/25L DRAINAGE AND EMBANKMENT View Certified Bid Results
  Project# / Federal#: 58540/52410 / 3-02-0016-129-2010, 58540/52410 / 3-02-0016-130-2010
  Region: Central
  Bids opened 3/10/2010 at with a total of 4 bidders.
  Bid Tabulations available in the following format(s):  (MS Excel 97)

QAP:

Basic Bid:	$33,830,478.40
Additive Alternates:	none
Bid Total:	$33,830,478.40