Decision Lets Marijuana User Return to Driving a Coal Truck

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld an arbitrator’s decision that allowed the driver of a coal-ming truck under union contract to return to work after he twice tested positive for marijuana use within 16 months. The decision is not likely to have an effect on unionized freight carriers.

The driver was protected by a clause in a United Mine Workers of America contract. The UMW contract is markedly different with regard to substance abuse rehabilitation than the National Master Freight Agreement, which covers some 75,000 Teamsters drivers at four national and two regional less-than-truckload carriers. Unionized over-the-road drivers are allowed to return to work only once after testing positive for drugs or alcohol.

“We already get criticized that we would put a known drug user back on the road after they are rehabilitated for a one-time violation, which is part of National Master Freight Agreement, but it would never happen that we would do that twice,” said Tim Lynch, chief executive officer of the Motor Freight Carriers Association, which negotiates the NMFTA with the Teamsters union every five years.

A spokesman for American Trucking Associations said drivers who use alcohol and drugs do not get a second chance in the freight-hauling industry.

For the full story, see the Dec. 4 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.