Port Strike Highlights Pay, Emissions Regulation Struggles
Picketers at XPO Logistics’ port operations say port truck drivers should be classified as employees. Photo via
Picketers at XPO Logistics’ port operations say port truck drivers should be classified as employees. Photo via Justice4PortDrivers Twitter
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Southern California truck drivers and warehouse workers who serve the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach went on strike on June 19, protesting poor wages and labor practices.
The strike involves workers for Intermodal Bridge Transport, XPO Logistics, and California Cartage, and is just the latest in a series of wage and labor disputes surrounding the major Southern California ports complex.
In a letter from truckers to the clients of IBT that was released by the Teamsters Union, the drivers bring up the practice of hiring independent contractors to haul cargo to and from the ports as part of an “illegal business model.”
“You cannot deny knowledge that your subcontractor is breaking the law as we have struck before, we have sent you letters, and the company’s illegal behavior has been widely reported in the news media,” the drivers stated.
The impact of the strike is expected to be minimal to the ports, according to the Harbor Trucking Association. Similar picketing actions have occurred as many as 15 times in the last three years, and security and port operations personnel are prepared.
“It’s not really a strike, it’s just ambulatory picketing and [the impact] tends to be minimal,” Weston LaBar, executive director for the HTA, told HDT in an interview. “The most I’ve seen a dozen picketers at one terminal, most of them have single digits or no picketers whatsoever.”
The driver misclassification issue cited by the protesters argues that although the port trucking companies classify their drivers as independent contractors, they are not truly independent from the companies they work for and should be classified as company employees and given requisite benefits and wages. This has led to several lawsuits from …Read the rest of this story
