Home Depot: Respect Workers' Rights

Home Depot CEO Craig Menear

Home Depot stores are connected to more than 2,000 communities across the United States. As the largest home improvement retailer in America, it is paramount that the company act responsibly and and holistically to ensure that direct and indirect workers -- those in Home Depot stores and in the company’s supply chain -- as well as Home Depot patrons are respected. That is currently not the case and the company needs to step up.

Port truck drivers provide a critical service to the company. Most port truck drivers that haul goods for Home Depot are classified as "independent contractors" and have to pay for company expenses like truck maintenance, tires, insurance and fuel. This unconscionable exploitation has been called “modern day indentured servitude” by the USA Today.

But it’s not just Home Depot’s port truck drivers who are suffering at the hands of the company; the men and women who are providing day labor to Home Depot customers through IDEPSCA Day Laborer Community Job Centers are being harassed and threatened by Home Depot’s security contractor, Point2Point, in the Los Angeles area. Many Latinos feel they are being racially profiled by Home Depot’s security firm, and it’s past time for Home Depot to end to the company’s business relationship with Point2Point to ensure this does not become a national precedent.


To: Home Depot CEO Craig Menear
From: [Your Name]

We live in communities with Home Depot stores. We shop at Home Depot. We know about the supply chains utilized by Home Depot to ensure store shelves are full.

We want to send a coordinated message to Home Depot that respect is what we expect. Because Home Depot is connected to our communities, workplaces and supply chains, it has a responsibility to work with vendors that respect the rights of workers and follow the law.

Port truck drivers work for companies like Cal Cartage/NFI at the Port of LA and are misclassified as "independent contractors" even though they are treated like their employees. Trucking companies like Cal Cartage/NFI cheat drivers out of their hard-earned wages by deducting company expenses like fuel, insurance and new tires from drivers’ paychecks. Drivers have even been charged for toilet paper!

At Home Depot stores in the Los Angeles area, day laborers are being threatened and harassed by Point2Point Security which has been hired by Home Depot. We can’t let this become a precedent in other stores.

We call on Home Depot to ensure that ALL workers are treated with respect and that ALL vendors follow the law.