Quick Industrial Leasing, Inc. AKA Quick Industrial Catering with Sister Company - Sunrise Foods Wholesale, Inc. GRIEVANCE ISSUE: Misclassification of Employees as Independent Contractors/ Applicable Employees: Lunch Truck Route Drivers in Spokane, Washington

Have you seen this "Help Wanted" Ad in Spokane WA Craigslist over the last years? The latest one posted August 12, 2010.

"WANTED: DESPERATE HOUSEWIVESEarn $80-$110/DAY (Spokane) Date: 2010-08-12, 11:58AM PDT 

Earn $70-$120 DAILY running your own mobile catering route. We have established routes in the Spokane area and provide full training, insurance, a fully prepared menu, and a truck. A drivers license, food handlers permit, and good driving record is required along with a positive attitude and a willingness to work.

Hours of operation are 5am-1pm Monday-Friday.

Please at: 3625 E. Ferry Ave.-Located 3 blocks North of Sprague and off of Freya between the hours of 10-Noon Monday-Friday, 10:30-Noon on Thursday. Quick Industrial Catering, serving people where they work" *

Location: Spokane * Compensation: $70-$120 DAILY * Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster. * Phone calls about this job are ok. * Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests. PostingID: 1895147974"

*******OR MAYBE YOU'VE READ THIS AD, POSTED AUGUST 9, 2010???******

Date: 2010-08-09, 10:09AM PDT Reply to: job-2ghxn-1889108568@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

 LOOKING FOR A SELF MOTIVATED PERSON TO RUN A MOBILE LUNCH TRUCK IN THE SPOKANE AREA.

 GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO GET INTO A SMALL BUSINESS AT LITTLE COST. WE PROVIDE AN ESTABLISHED ROUTE, LICENSED/INSURED TRUCK, MAINTENANCE ON TRUCK, LICENSED COMMISSARY, WAREHOUSING AND COLD STORAGE, AND ONE WEEK OF TRAINING. YOU PROVIDE: BUSINESS LICENSE, RESELLER PERMIT, GOOD ATTITUDE, MERCHANDISING AND SALES KNOWLEDGE, AND EAGERNESS TO GO OUT AND MAKE MONEY! DAILY ROUTINE LEASE THE ROUTE/TRUCK BUY FOOD AT WHOLESALE AND SELL IT AT RETAIL FILL GAS AND PROPANE SIMPLE AS THAT CALL 509-535-8411 *

 Location: SPOKANE * Compensation: SALES * This is a contract job. * Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster. * Please, no phone calls about this job! * Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests. PostingID: 1889108568

These ads have been posted on "Spokane/ CDA Craigslist" in the last several years with many formats, but they are all the same company. 

This is a JOB SCAM advertised in the Food/ Beverage Industry Section of Craig's List.   Waitress', Bartenders, and lower level restaurant workers,  especiially women appear to be targeted as the most viable employees for this company.  It is speculated that this is due to Co.  stereotypes of this job sector as itenerant, compliant, and ignorant of state and federal employment law, and usually lacking in funding or legitimacy to dispute illegal working conditions.  If you are a "Desperate Housewife", woman, displaced worker,  or shut out of the job market due to factors beyond your control (factors that might ordinairly garner you protected status in a normal employment environment, such as age, sex, weight, race, etc.) your status may be recognized and exploited by the Owner(s)/ Operator(s) of this company. 

At some point, it will be disclosed you are being hired as an "Independent Contractor."  is company has given you the Independent Contractor Status to avoid paying payroll taxes on your labor you are providing them in driving their truck and selling their food.  Additionally, they are attempting to shift responsibility for WA State Excise Taxes (Sales Tax) to the driver/ employee.  For Mobile Food Sales, the IRS has specifically addressed these practices with the finding that,  "Lessor" Drivers for mobile food sales are NOT  Independent Contractors, but in fact employees of the company for whom they are driving and whose food products they are selling.    There is a 140 + page IRS Audit Manual that addresses this specific industry.   

It is apparent these company(s) are structured solely for the purpose of moving/ selling food from their Commissary (Sunrise Wholesale Foods, Inc.) out into the public domain/ City of Spokane and surrounding areas.  This is accomplished via their Lunch Trucks,  owned by Quick Industrial Leasing, Inc.  The company represents itself as "Quick Industrial Catering" via business cards, advertising medium, however Quick Industrial Catering is not listed with the State of Washington as a viable company.  Quick Industrial Catering is however licensed as a business within the City of Spokane.  The Leasing Company, and the Catering Company are owned and/ or operated by a father/ son team both indicated on State Licensing Websites for each company respectively.   It is recommended that prior to potential involvement with either company, become thoroughly informed.  Investigate the company's licenses, structure, purpose, former and current employees, customers, etc. to be up to date and informed about potential issues. Investigate the definition of employee vs independent contractor on state and federal licensing and labor websites. 

If employed by this company, "Quick Industrial Leasing, Inc/ Quick Industrial Catering/ Sunrise Wholesale Foods, Inc.", it will begin with you providing:

1.)  5 days Free Labor to this company while you train under their Lead Driver to learn the mobile sales route to which you are assigned. 

2.)  Your hours will be set for you.  You will arrive at work at 5:00 am, work till 1:00 to 1:30 pm, without breaks, and return their truck to their location daily. 

3.)  You will buy food to be carried on the truck and offerred to the public, exclusively from the sister company (also located on the same premises) Sunrise Wholesale Foods, Inc.  This is the licensed Commissary.  Your food will come pre-priced, thereby presetting your profit margin.  This means that the company (not you) has ultimate control over your profit margin, what you are allowed to sell, your ability to cater to clientle, your pricing structure.  During training, you will be told and expected to memorize the price of all items sold on the truck.  Additionally, you will be told what food to carry, the quantity of food, how to merchandise your oven, and when and how to reduce the prices and run "specials".  Your take home pay will be reduced significantly by the amount of unsold food you bring back (waste) each day, how much you have to discount food to get it sold, and over ordering more food than the traffic on the truck's route will purchase.

Sunrise Foods Wholesale/ and the "President" Vinnie expects you to sell the food at the prices you are trained to to maintain "average sales expectations" (their profit margin) for that route.  Your sales quota will be based on the "spot sales" quota of their employee and Lead Route Driver (currently Harry). 

4.)  You will be required to pay for the use of the truck on a daily basis.  Your use fee is called a "Truck Lease Fee".  The amount you pay will be determined by the President and is dependent on your food volume sold.  As you sell more, the daily cost of the truck will go up.  The Lease Fee is called "one of your expenses."  If you buy $200.00 per day worth of food for them, your lease fee will be $25.00 per day.  If you buy $250.00 per day, it will rise.  It will rise incrementally as you attempt to sell a higher volume to make enough to live on.  You will realized that the more you try to get ahead, the more you are "bled" for additional money.

For your information, and hoping you can figure out the math, a sample days profit margin and expense schedule is indicated below:

Expenses:  Food/ Inventory Purchased   $200.00  /  Truck Lease Fee  $25.00/  Gas   $25.00 / Propane  $5.00  / Sales Tax $24.02  / Waste of perishables estimate $ 5.00.

Total Expenses:  $ 284.02

This company figures your profit margin at 35%.  This means if you sell the food at the prices they train you on, you will average a 35% return on food purchased.  Therefore, food purchased at $200.00 will have $70.00 markup, bringing Tuesday's

Gross Sales to approximately $269.98, the sales tax is added to bring gross receipts to:

   (including tax collected)  $ 294.00

Therefore the wage being paid on this days labor is $ 9.98.  You are being paid less than $2.00 per hour. 

It should be simple to realize that if you sell below $200.00 in food inventory per day, or you have increased waste due to "QIL" or company owners/ operators pressuring you to "run up your food bill",  or you encounter theft, or the price of fuel rises, or your customer base in your assigned area diminishes, you are loosing money.

There are many many Driver's who have worked for this company, and left after putting in many weeks of free labor.  They leave OWING MONEY TO THIS COMPANY, AND BEING SUED, PROSECUTED,  AND SENT TO COLLECTION, for food they could never pay for...food they had to throw away and never sold.

SO, YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF TO BEWARE, BE INFORMED, and BE WISE.  Do the math.  

It matters not to this company how many Drivers go in, train, and leave over a year's time.  There is always a "sucker" to replace the ones that leave.  Don't be a sucker, this is Spokanes "dirty little secret".... it's a SWEATSHOP on WHEELS. 

Additionally, if you are a Customer of this company, you know how many Driver's have been running the trucks year in and year out.  Now you know the reason that no Driver ever stays with this job.  One of the best ways to stop this kind of Labor Exploitation is witholding your dollar, and refusal to condone or support Sweat Shop Labor exploitation. 

This is an Opinion Editorial on the current labor market in Spokane, WA.