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A delegation of Consumer, Minority, Civil Rights & Worker Advocates conducted joint protests today at Daimler-Benz's headquarters in Farmington Hills, Michigan and the German embassy in Washington, D.C.

The group which included the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), delivered a report entitled "Foreclosure Crisis on Wheels".  The report accuses Daimler Benz and the Port of Long Beach, California, with targeting low income Latino-American and immigrant port drivers with a predatory lease-to-own scheme.

Daimler will financially back low-emissions trucks (costing $100,000-$200,000 after volume discounts) to any driver whose dirty diesel rig was recently banned by the port, regardless of his/her credit worthiness and ability to pay. Port drivers, before the cost of fuel skyrocketed, netted an average of $11 an hour.

 "Instead of trying to help residents and workers, a public, government entity has outrageously teamed up with Daimler/Mercedes to hoodwink the hard-working drivers who haul cargo from our shores to America's stores," said LULAC President Rosa Rosales, whose organization helped lead the German Embassy protest and delegation.

A Daimler official told Long Beach officials in a public forum on June 30 that the company expects "over 40%" of port drivers to have "high difficulty meeting the payments."

There were no surprises as United Parcel Service released its second quarter results this morning, due to last month’s lowered earnings guidance.  Earnings per share at $0.85 (diluted) compared with $1.04 a year ago were in line with company estimates, a decrease of 18%. For the quarter, UPS said it earned $873 million, versus $1.1 billion in Q2 2007, a drop of 21%

CEO Scott Davis said, "It's obvious to everyone in the business world that economic conditions continue to slow," and maintained that "Recovery is expected to be a slow, drawn-out process."

While the company’s supply chain and freight segment posted a more than 50% increase in profitability, this segment only represents about 10% of operating profits.

UPS is the world's largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain and freight services. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The company can be found on the Web at UPS.com.

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