During the past week, hundreds of truck drivers who service two of the nation’s most trafficked trading ports have been on strike. The work stoppage stems from the Teamsters union, the members of whom argue that their employers are misclassifying them as independent contractors, giving shippers the ability to reimburse less for drivers’ services.
Yet despite fewer drivers on hand to handle incoming and outgoing shipments, it’s been business as usual at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, workers there say.
According to Port of Long Beach Communications Director Michael Gold, the day-to-day activities at area ports has been steady, without any discernible interruptions caused by striking workers, the Long Beach Post reported.
“There are quite a few companies, and not a large percentage of [total] company workers are picketing,” said Gold. “Quite a few aren’t associated with the Teamsters.”
There are approximately 16,000 truckers who service the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Of these, about 500 work for the shipping companies drawing Teamster union members’ ire, including Intermodal Bridge Transport (IBT), Pacific 9 Transportation (Pac 9), Pacer Cartage and Harbor Rail Transport.
“We are here to make sure that these companies stop their lawless behavior,” said Hector Flores, port truck driver for IBT. “We demand re-classification to employees. We know what we are doing is right, and we are not going to stop striking until these companies stop breaking the law.”
Humberto Canales, who works for Pacer Cartage as a trucker, noted that the law is on truckers’ side, and it’s time that shipping companies do what the courts have ruled.
“They keep fighting me, so I am fighting back,” said Canales.
Weston LaBar, executive director of the Harbor Trucking Association, told the Long Beach Post that of the member companies that receive packages from California’s ports, “minimal impact” has been the general consensus, which is saying a lot given that ports are still recovering from the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) labor unrest.
Teamsters say retailers have been affected
It may be a different story for retailers that stock store shelves with the contents of port shipments. The Teamsters union says that a number of major retailers have experienced supply disruptions, the likes of which include Walmart, Toyota, CVS, Family Dollar, Macy’s, Louis Vuitton and Costco.
There’s been limited reaction from shipping companies that Teamsters members accuse of “wage theft.” A spokesperson for Pacific 9 recently issued a statement on behalf of the company, pointing out that it has met with Teamsters union member leaders and will continue to do so, so that these issues can be discussed in an open and honest way, the Los Angeles Times reported. The three other firms have either declined to comment or couldn’t be reached.
This latest driver strike is the second one since November. Several agencies since then – including the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and California Division of Labor Standards and Enforcement (DLSE) – have issued statements indicating that drivers are being misclassified as independent contractors. Some shipping companies have since changed their policies.