Port problems persist on Pacific Coast

A group of truck drivers who serve the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach stopped working on Monday, April 27, claiming they are underpaid. The nearly 500 drivers represent just 3.4 percent of the total of more than 13,000 drivers who serve the two ports, and a report on the Orange County Register website said the walkout “is not expected to have a major impact on operations.”

The drivers who have walked out are receiving organizing report from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, according to media reports, and are seeking full-time employment status rather than their current independent contractor status.

 

The confrontation, based on the drivers’ job status, has persisted for several years and also has resulted in more than 15 class action lawsuits and filings with the federal Department of Labor Standards Enforcement.

 

In a separate action, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) in the San Francisco Bay Area says it will idle the ports of Oakland and San Francisco on Friday, May 1, to support police reform efforts.

 

According to a report on the Journal of Commerce website, ILWU Local 10 is allowed one stop-work meeting each month and has chosen a busy first-shift Friday time slot for its “Union Action to Stop Police Killings of Black and Brown People” meeting.

 

Initially, Local 10’s meeting had been scheduled for the evening shift on April 30, but the union reached agreement with employers to move the meeting to align with other May Day activities in San Francisco and Oakland.