Drayage drivers to picket Los Angeles/Long Beach container terminals

In a separate action, warehouse workers began a strike Tuesday morning against California Cartage warehouse in Los Angeles.    Drayage drivers for Pacific 9 Transportation who are seeking to organize a union said they will escalate protests Tuesday by performing “ambulatory picketing” at marine terminals in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, while continuing to picket the company’s headquarters in Carson.
   Meanwhile, workers at a California Cartage warehouse at the Port of Los Angeles, also began a separate strike this morning seeking to improve wages and working conditions.
   According to Barbara Maynard, a spokeswoman at the Teamster affiliate Justice for Port Drivers, the Pac 9 drivers, who have been on strike since July 21, say 38 drivers are waiting for a ruling from the California Labor commissioner on wage and hour claims for more than $6 million they claim they are owed.
   Sheheryar Kaoosji, co-director of the Warehouse Worker Resource Center, said today that a couple dozen militants who are employed at the Cal Cartage warehouse at 2401 E. Pacific Coast Highway, walked off the job this morning. Kaoosji said the facility employs about 150 people year-round, but its workforce can double during busy periods. About half of the strikers are employees of Cal Cartage and half work directly for a staffing agency, he said.
   The warehouse serves major retailers such as Amazon, Lowes, Sears, and Kmart and is located on property owned by the city of Los Angeles.
   Bob Sanders, general counsel for Cal Cartage, said the company had no immediate comment and was evaluating the situation.
   Kaoosji said the objective of the current protest is not to unionize the workers, but to improve safety and working conditions as well as increase salaries.
   He said workers have filed complaints about defective horns and brakes on forklifts, potholes on loading docks, and workers not being given sufficient work breaks when, for example, working outside on outdoor loading docks and in containers in the summer heat.
   Some contract employees make only minimum wage, and workers want salaries to be increased to $15 per hour, said Kaoosji, adding that because the warehouse is located on Port of Los Angeles property, workers should be covered by the city’s “living wage” requirement.
   The Warehouse Workers Resource Center said workers have filed a class-action lawsuit alleging they are owed millions of dollars because workers were not paid the City of Los Angeles working wage. It also said that workers filed a complaint with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.