Truck strike over fuel surcharges threatens L.A., Long Beach ports

Truck strike over fuel surcharges threatens L.A., Long Beach ports    Independent truck drivers who serve the ports of Los Angles and Long Beach are gearing up for two work stoppages this week to protest their inability to be reimbursed for the rising cost of fuel, according to West Coast trucking sources.
   The Teamsters union, which has been trying in the last couple of years to represent shuttle drivers in ports around the country, is organizing the protest, according to Stephanie Williams, vice president of government affairs for the California Trucking Association. Truckers will stop work and block traffic today from noon to 1:30 p.m. during a rally to coincide the Long Beach harbor commissioners meeting, she said, citing a Teamsters flyer.
   Another protest action is scheduled to take place 9-10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Los Angeles Port Authority.
   The main grievance is the rising cost of diesel fuel, which is now $2.36 a gallon in California compared with the national average of $1.70 a gallon. Truckers are reportedly upset that vessel lines who hire them to move cargo to customers are not willing to pay a fuel surcharge to help cover this major expense.
   A driver work stoppage will shut down all work at the port because longshoremen will not cross the picket line, Williams said.
   Calls to the Teamsters office in Long Beach were not returned by press time.