Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/376180
Logbook 12 | Overdrive | September 2014 Keith Sampson was named winner of the Overdrive-Red Eye Radio's Trucker Talent Search last month at the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas. The Landstar owner-operator per- formed an original song, "The Woman Behind the Man Behind the Wheel," before show attendees. A four-judge panel named Sampson winner of the competition, which was sponsored by Delo. Recording artist and professional driver Tony Justice served as emcee, performed after the three finalists and presented Sampson with his award. "I'm just excited to be here doing something like this," Sampson said. Voting by Overdrive readers deter- mined the finalists: Sampson, Brad James and Jennie Simpson. Sampson received a $1,000 prize from Overdrive and a Cobra GPS and CB from Red Eye Radio, which also awarded each finalist a pair of Justin boots. Sampson will be featured in the October Overdrive. – James Jaillet Landstar contractor named Trucker Talent Search winner Two recent court rulings thwarted fleet claims that their drivers were indepen- dent contractors, instead favoring the driver plain- tiff positions that they are employees and therefore entitled to certain compen- sation and other benefits. A federal appeals court ruled in August that about 2,300 FedEx Ground drivers in California be- tween 2000 and 2007 were classified wrongly as inde- pendent contractors and should have been classified as employees. That desig- nation would make them eligible for state-required benefits such as overtime compensation, required rest periods and more. The California Supreme Court also ruled in July that drivers signed on as independent contractors for Pac Anchor Transpor- tation also were misclas- sified as employees of the Long Beach-based carrier. The FedEx ruling issued Aug. 27 was the third pro-employee decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals this summer. Rulings oppose contractor status Keith Sampson, the man behind "The Woman Behind the Man Behind the Wheel," impressed judges at the Trucker Talent Search finale. CON-WAY FREIGHT driver Jeffrey Langenhahn was named the 2014 Bendix Grand Champion at the 77th annual National Truck Driving Championships. The competition is sponsored by the American Trucking Associations. Langenhahn, of Plover, Wis., has more than 1.9 million miles in 28 years as a professional driver. THE SEVEN outstanding lawsuits against Pilot Flying J over its fuel rebate with- holding scheme were ordered to mediation. The trucking companies that opted out of the fuel provider and truck stop chain's $85 million class-action settlement will seek to reach a separate settlement with Pilot. FREIGHTLINER RECALLED 2015 Cascadia, 122SD and Business Class M2 models built between March 20, 2014, and April 10, 2014, because of a potential error that could cause axle assembly beams to bend or wheels to separate.