Consumer, Immigrant & Civil Rights Groups to Deliver Report Condemning Mercedes-Benz/Daimler Finance Scheme to German Embassy; MI Corporate Headquarters

    "Foreclosure Crisis on Wheels" National Day of Action Set for Wed;

Features NAACP, LULAC Officials



    WASHINGTON and FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., Aug. 18 /EMWNews/

-- On Wednesday, August 20, as a part of a nationwide day of action to call

attention to a Mercedes/Daimler truck finance scheme that has been likened

to the next generation of subprime loans, a delegation of high-ranking

representatives from consumer, immigrant, and minority rights groups

including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

(NAACP) and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) will

protest and then deliver a report to the German Embassy in Washington, DC

and Mercedes-Benz' parent company in the Detroit-area entitled "Foreclosure

on Wheels: Long Beach's Truck Program Puts Drivers at High Risk for

Default." In Washington, a statement by NAACP Chairman Julian Bond will be

read to the protestors. Several dozen advocates carrying signs to demand an

end to Daimler's predatory lending are expected between both cities.



    Daimler Truck Financial was awarded a contract by the Port of Long

Beach to finance its "Clean Trucks Program." Under the terms of the

lease-to-own scheme, Daimler will back the funding for a low-emissions

vehicle to any independent port truck driver whose dirty diesel rig is

banned by the port, regardless of his/her credit worthiness and ability to

pay. Discounted for volume, clean diesel and alternative fuel trucks cost

$100,000-$200,000. A Daimler official publicly told the Long Beach

officials that the company expects "over 40%" of port drivers to have "high

difficulty meeting the payments" and that the company's strength is

"managing collections," i.e., repossessing trucks.



    Some 16,800 mostly immigrant drivers who haul goods for the Port will

be expected to pay between $500 and $1,000 per month for seven years, with

a balloon payment of $7,000 to $15,000 at the end of the lease term. U.S.

port truck drivers' precariously live on the edge of poverty, toiling in

what has been widely-chronicled as a "Sweatshop on Wheels." Press accounts

reveal they can scarcely afford new tires for their existing rigs, much

less manage a new truck payment and high-tech maintenance required of the

new, environmentally-friendly vehicles -- particularly with skyrocketing

diesel costs and shrinking trade volume. A coalition of air-quality

advocates have lobbied instead for the shipping industry -- not underpaid

workers -- to take responsibility for cleaner commerce.



    This predatory lending is detailed in the report authored by the

Consumer Federation of California (CFC), League of United Latin American

Citizens (LULAC), Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE), and the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The

report will be hand-delivered at the Daimler Financial Services' U.S.

headquarters in Farmington Hills, Michigan near Detroit; and at the German

Embassy in Washington, D.C. Los Angeles-area port drivers and their

advocates will also submit the report this week to Daimler officials at the

Port of Long Beach. See background information following the event details.



    Nationwide Action Day Event Locations



    Date: Wednesday, 8/20/08



    Time: 11:00 AM EST



    Location: German Embassy steps



    4645 Reservoir Rd NW



    Washington, DC 20007



    Date: Wednesday, 8/20/08



    Time: 11:00 AM CST



    Location: Daimler Financial Services HQ



    27777 Inkster Rd



    Farmington Hills, MI 48334



    Background



    San Pedro Bay Ports* Driver Profile



    -- 16,800 port truck drivers service the San Pedro Bay Ports.



    -- 85% are misclassified as independent contractors (also referred to

as owner/operators).



    -- 80% have no current truck payment but remain responsible for all

fuel, maintenance, repairs and insurance.



    -- 93% of drivers are Latino, and many are legal immigrants from

Mexico, Central and South America.



    -- Independent port drivers are paid by the load; a 2006 study found

they port drivers annual net average is $29,000, a figure that is lower now

that diesel has spiked above $5 per gallon).



    *The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach



    Overview of Clean Trucks Program



    The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach together handle 40 percent of

the imports into the United States and are ground-zero for reducing port

pollution. In November 2006, the two ports adopted the landmark "San Pedro

Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan" to "curb port-related air pollution from

trucks, ships, locomotives and other equipment by at least 45 percent in

five years."



    A key component of that plan aims to reduce diesel truck pollution by

80%. The Clean Trucks Program requires the scrap and replacement of roughly

16,000 polluting trucks that service the ports. Beginning October 1, 2008,

trucks built before 1989 will be banned from the terminals, and the program

progressively bars all trucks that do not meet 2007 emission standards by

2012.



    The Port of Los Angeles has adopted a "concession model" for their

Clean Trucks Program that shifts the responsibility of financing,

operating, and maintaining the trucks from the drivers to capitalized

companies employing the drivers to sustain the emission-reduction measures.

The Port of Long Beach, however, perpetuates the current exploitative

scheme in which the drivers are paid a flat fee by the load and remain

responsible for all truck-related expenses.



    Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil

rights organization. Its members throughout the world are advocates for

civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and

monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.



    The League of the United Latin American Citizens (http://www.lulac.org)

advances the economic conditions, educational attainment, political

influence, health and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through

community-based programs operating at more than 700 LULAC councils

nationwide.



    The Consumer Federation of California is a non-profit organization,

established in 1960, that advocates for consumer protection laws and

regulations.



    The Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy is a non-profit organization

that has issued numerous reports on poverty, employment and economic

development. Founded in 1993, LAANE is recognized as a national authority

on issues affecting the working poor. By promoting a practical approach to

social change, LAANE has helped set in motion a broad movement based on the

principle that hard work deserves fair pay, good benefits and decent

working conditions.