LA/Long Beach port truckers plan strike vote on Saturday

A strike could come as soon as Monday, according to a statement from Teamster affiliate Justice for Port Truck Drivers.    The Teamster affiliate Justice for Port Truck Drivers said in a statement port truck drivers will meet on Saturday to decide whether to go on strike against drayage companies in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach next week.
   The advocacy group said it will announce the outcome of the meeting, and whether the drivers will strike, Monday morning.
   Drivers seem well aware of the havoc a strike could cause at the nation’s two largest ports, noting a “crippling slowdown in early 2015 sent shock waves through the U.S. economy” when the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and employers were at loggerheads over a new contract that is still pending ratification from ILWU membership.
   Barb Maynard, a spokesperson for the group, said the drivers will decide which, if any, companies to strike on Saturday.
   “Since drivers last struck in November 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor has also come down on the truckers’ side. In addition to the California courts and the State of California, the DOL has ruled that port drivers at Shippers Transport Express must be reclassified as employees rather than ‘independent contractors,'” the group said.
   “The Shippers drivers’ victory has inspired other misclassified drivers to escalate their demands to be recognized as employees and end the wage theft. In their fight to hold onto an illegal business model, company owners are continuing to harass, intimidate, and coerce drivers.”
   The group has also launched a national petition asking Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia to ban lawbreaking for profit from the ports.
   Last fall, drivers struck Green Fleet Systems, Pacific 9 Transportation, Total Transportation Services Inc., Pacer, Harbor Rail Transport (HRT), QTS Inc., LACA Express, and WinWin Logistics. By the end of the strike, the Teamsters and all struck companies were in confidential discussions.
   Maynard some of these companies or others could be struck by the workers next week.
   Last year, drivers picketed trucking company offices and port terminals.
   Art Wong, a spokesman for the Port of Long Beach, said the port would monitor a strike if it occurs in order to ensure safety and make sure drivers who want to access the terminals can do so.
   Weston LaBar, executive director of the Harbor Trucking Association, a group that represents drayage companies in Southern California, said of the announcement, “We are not surprised that the Teamsters are looking to picket. What I am surprised of is the timing of it. The ports are working diligently to dig out from the backlog due to congestion, which was compounded by labor issues. I believe now is a horrible time to introduce any slow-downs to the supply chain.”
   “Is it really in the best interest of port drivers to stage labor rallies with Teamsters from ports that are already stealing our cargo?” LaBar asked. “This is certainly not in the best interest of our supply chain or the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Maybe this is just my thinking, but if they want to be a part of the real solution perhaps they should suspend these efforts until we get closer to a normal flow of cargo in the San Pedro Bay. We don’t want to put any more jobs in our region in jeopardy.”
   “I think it is absolutely ridiculous. I understand their issues, but this puts another black eye on the ports of LA and Long Beach and does not help rebuild the trust in the ports. All these kinds of issues continue to have impact on the reliability and predictability of the ports,” said Jonathan Gold, the vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation.