The Teamsters believe XPO Logistics, Inc.’s stated plan to buy more companies and expand its global operations to Asia and beyond is fraught with risk because of the company’s record of integrating businesses while implementing unsustainable policies and practices that harms its workforce.
“My message to XPO CEO Bradley Jacobs is clear: before you buy up more companies in your endless zest to make even greater profits, fix the problems that are wreaking havoc on your existing workers,” Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said. “XPO freight workers in the U.S. have lousy health insurance, no retirement security and the company spends hundreds of thousands of dollars to deny workers their federally protected right to form a union, while port drivers are illegally misclassified as independent contractors and are subject to wage theft.”
Last month, port drivers at XPO and other companies went on strike to protest the illegal misclassification and wage theft. Meanwhile, workers at six freight terminals and one warehouse have formed their union as Teamsters, despite the company spending hundreds of thousands of dollars—$3,000 per day for each union buster it hires—to stomp on workers’ rights to form their union. The company has stooped to new lows by firing three freight workers in Trenton, N.J. who supported the successful union drive at that terminal.
During recent media interviews, Jacobs said he wants to acquire more companies. However, he is facing shareholder revolts in the U.S. and in Europe. In May, a near-majority of independent shareholders opposed XPO’s “say-on-pay” measure, and in Europe an investor called for the removal of XPO executives from the board and whose minority ownership of XPO Logistics Europe may impede Jacobs’ plan for further acquisitions.
These plans are further hampered due to the company’s heavy debt load (over $5.3 billion).
Meanwhile, Jacobs has received a $20 million mega-equity and got the board to rubber-stamp a $110 million stock-bonus plan (the largest in the U.S. in 2016) for himself and a chosen few.
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