Listen Live
Donate
 on air
    Schedule

    KCRW

    Read & Explore

    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Food
    • Culture
    • Events

    Listen

    • Live Radio
    • Music
    • Podcasts
    • Full Schedule

    Information

    • About
    • Careers
    • Help / FAQ
    • Newsletters
    • Contact

    Support

    • Become a Member
    • Become a VIP
    • Ways to Give
    • Shop
    • Member Perks

    Become a Member

    Donate to KCRW to support this cultural hub for music discovery, in-depth journalism, community storytelling, and free events. You'll become a KCRW Member and get a year of exclusive benefits.

    DonateGive Monthly

    Copyright 2026 KCRW. All rights reserved.

    Report a Bug|Privacy Policy|Terms of Service|
    Cookie Policy
    |FCC Public Files|

    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Port truckers are modern day indentured servants, investigation suggests

    Truckers who work the ports in LA and Long Beach went on strike this week. Some port truckers regularly work 20-hour days for little pay -- one man made just 67 cents a week. They must finance their own trucks. If they miss payments, they can lose the truck and money they’ve paid into it.

    • rss
    • apple-podcasts
    • spotify
    • Share
    By Madeleine Brand • Jun 21, 2017 • 1 min read

    Truckers who work the ports in LA and Long Beach went on strike this week. Some port truckers regularly work 20-hour days for little pay -- one man made just 67 cents a week. They must finance their own trucks. If they miss payments, they can lose the truck and money they’ve paid into it. They have little protection under the law because they’re classified as independent contractors.

    The full episode

    3 of 5
    Charlie Beck: Local police shouldn't do jobs of federal immigration officers
    1. 0:00What California Democrats and Republicans can learn from the Georgia special election
    2. 8:17LAPD chief Charlie Beck why police shouldn't enforce immigration laws
    3. 16:43Port truckers are modern day indentured servants, investigation suggestsYou’re reading this
    4. 26:31How being a Muslim woman helps Souad Mekhennet report on terrorism
    5. 45:25Why do people care so much about avocado toast?
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Madeleine Brand

      Host, 'Press Play'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Gina Pollack

      Producer

    • KCRW placeholder

      Sarah Sweeney

      Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

    • KCRW placeholder

      Michell Eloy

      Former Producer/Line Editor, Press Play

    • KCRW placeholder

      Brett Murphy

      USA Today

    • KCRW placeholder

      Daniel Uaina

      trucker on strike

      News

    The full episode

    3 of 5
    Charlie Beck: Local police shouldn't do jobs of federal immigration officers
    1. 0:00What California Democrats and Republicans can learn from the Georgia special election
    2. 8:17LAPD chief Charlie Beck why police shouldn't enforce immigration laws
    3. 16:43Port truckers are modern day indentured servants, investigation suggestsYou’re reading this
    4. 26:31How being a Muslim woman helps Souad Mekhennet report on terrorism
    5. 45:25Why do people care so much about avocado toast?
    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand