Use of contractors tramples workers' rights.

Byline: Bob Bussel For The Register-Guard

In the film version of John Steinbeck's classic novel "The Grapes of Wrath," there is a memorable scene in which tenant farmers are told that they are about to be evicted from the land that their family has worked for generations.

The tenants, overcome with bewilderment and anger, ask: `Whose fault is it?' The official who has given them the news first names a land and cattle company, but then notes that the company is controlled by a bank, which in turn takes its orders from an unnamed entity `back East.'

Finally, reflecting the enormity of the problem faced by ordinary people during the Depression and the increasing complexity of corporate ownership and business organization, the official wearily shrugs and concludes: `I just don't know who is to blame.'

The experience of workers in Eugene who deliver packages for DHL, the largest courier company in the world, reminded me of this poignant scene and of the struggle to determine employer responsibility. A German-based firm, DHL has been rapidly expanding in the United States over the last decade.

Attempting to seize market share from UPS and FedEx, DHL is the official delivery provider for the 2006 U.S. Winter Olympic and Paralympic teams and has spent massively on advertising in an aggressive attempt to gain public recognition.

An estimated 60 percent of DHL's U.S. employees work for contractors rather than being employed directly by the company. In Eugene, DHL has contracted with Utah-based Runia Transport to provide it with workers, and Runia has employed a series of temporary agencies to oversee hiring and management of local operations.

The complex, shifting nature of these employment relationships has placed DHL workers in Eugene in a position similar to that of Steinbeck's Okies in attempting to determine who will accept responsibility for the conditions of their employment.

At a recent hearing of the Lane County Workers Rights Board, workers testified about their treatment under the different temp agencies that DHL's contractor has employed.

Workers employed by the temp agencies wear DHL uniforms, drive DHL vehicles and perform under DHL standards even though they do not officially work for DHL.

They reported receiving low wages, minimal vacation pay and no overtime, paid holidays or health care benefits. They also have no job security, especially when the contractor decides to use a new temporary agency to manage the operation.

Yet workers in Portland who are employed by DHL and do the same work under a Teamsters Union contract earn substantially higher wages, along with job security and a full range of fringe benefits.

These conditions led workers in Eugene to file for representation by the Teamsters Union, a process that was delayed while the National Labor Relations Board held hearings to determine which entity was the actual employer. The NLRB eventually found the temporary agency to be the employer of record.

In September 2004, the workers voted for union representation, but negotiations stalled when a new temp agency was hired. Workers went on an unfair labor practices strike a year later to press their demand for a contract.

DHL denied any responsibility, asserting that it `does not employ pickup and delivery couriers in Eugene.'

The temp agency that was bargaining with the union admitted it was the workers' employer but appeared to pass the buck when its staffing manager asserted: `I get my orders from my client (Runia Transport).'

To add insult to injury, 15 workers involved in the Eugene organizing effort were fired in December 2005 when DHL once again switched contractors. The result is that the workers' desire to have a union and negotiate about the terms and conditions of their employment has been thwarted.

The circumstances facing workers in Eugene must be placed in a broader context. Seeking to reduce costs, avoid managerial obligations and gain competitive advantage, a growing number of employers in such industries as poultry processing, retailing, hotels, apparel, forestry and agriculture have relied on contractors and middlemen to meet their labor needs.

Of course, contracting has a long history in this country, going back to the `sweating system' in the apparel industry a century ago, under which contractors had to `sweat' workers by limiting their wages and providing minimal amenities in order to earn their profits.

As the DHL example in Eugene suggests, the updated version of this system contains great potential for mistreatment of workers, allows primary employers to evade fundamental responsibilities, and leaves workers with limited leverage in seeking fairer, more equitable workplace conditions.

What can be done to curb these abuses? Here history provides some useful guidance.

A century ago, many segments of society mobilized to combat the contracting system in the garment industry, and a similar mobilization is now needed.

Consumers can choose not to patronize companies who use contractors to evade their responsibilities as employers.

The media can contribute to public understanding of contracting and draw attention to incidents of exploitation and abuse.

Government can enact legislation that makes employers who use contractors equally responsible for conditions of employment.

And citizens can support workers' efforts to organize unions and back changes that would strengthen the nation's labor laws and make them true guarantors of workers' rights.

As part of an `employee recognition program,' DHL is offering its employees the opportunity to work at DHL facilities in Torino during the Winter Olympic and Paralympic games.

DHL and other employers would do well, however, to adopt a more meaningful form of `employee recognition': acknowledging their responsibility to provide decent working conditions to all workers whose labor is fundamental to their successful operation.

Bob Bussel is director of the Labor Education and Research Center at the University of Oregon and a member of the steering committee of the Eugene-Springfield Solidarity Network.