Strike by LA/Long Beach truck drivers spreads to more companies

Drivers said they are striking QTS, LACA Express, and WinWin Logistics Monday and will add other drayage companies,    The strike by port drivers in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is spreading to encompass more companies.
   Drivers who are seeking to be recognized as employees and become unionized went on strike against three additional companies Monday morning, and organizers say they will announce additional strike targets in a press conference.
   The strikes come as the two ports are already suffering from congestion, which terminal operators say has been aggravated by job actions by members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
   The Teamster-affiliated group Justice for Port Truck Drivers said workers this morning have struck three additional drayage companies – QTS Inc., LACA Express and WinWin Logistics, Inc.
   “Drivers are striking to end mis-classification as ‘independent contractors,’ a scam that has led to massive wage theft and denied drivers basic workplace protections such as safety and health regulations, disability insurance, workers compensation and unemployment insurance,” the group said.
   It said it planned to announce the names of additional companies that will be struck on Tuesday at a noon press conference.
   Ricardo Ceja, who the Teamsters said was a misclassified independent contractor at  LACA Express, said, “We are coming out of the shadows to demand our rights as company employees to provide a better future for our families.”
   Barbara Maynard, a spokesman for the group, said drivers were determining where they would set up pickets this morning.
   Drivers at two other companies, Total Transportation Services Inc. (TTSI) and Pacific 9 Transportation, set up picket lines at company offices and a half-dozen marine terminals in the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach on Thursday and Friday. But on Friday, they decided that while they will continue their strike, they will take down picket lines after a meeting organized by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
   A statement issued by Garcetti’s office on Friday said the Teamsters, TTSI and Pac9 “have agreed to continue their dialogue in an effort to resolve outstanding issues between them. Both sides have expressed a desire to sit down and continue confidential discussions of these issues and challenges facing the drayage industry. TTSI and Pac9 have made clear that they respect drivers’ right to choice with regard to unionization.”
   Lee Peterson, a spokesman for the Port of Long Beach, said while there may have been some affect on truck-queuing times at terminals targeted by pickets, terminals have remained open.
   The protesting drivers say they are being mis-classified as independent contractors and complain of “wage theft.” They say they have business expenses deducted from paychecks for fuel, insurance, truck inspections and repairs.
   The workers, who have signed a pledge stating their desire to be Teamsters, stated they want “barriers to unionization, including mis-classification as independent contractors, retaliation, harassment and union busters (also called union-avoidance consultants)” eliminated.
   They said they want a “fair wage for every hour worked, including waiting for dispatch to give us a load, sitting in traffic on the road to the company’s customer, and waiting in line at the port” and “basic American workplace protections, including safety and health regulations, disability insurance, workers compensation, and unemployment insurance.”