I’m at the port of Los Angeles today (Monday, July 7) picketing alongside port truck drivers from three leading drayage firms who have begun widespread indefinite unfair labor practice strikes against truck yards and marine terminals at the twin ports of L.A. and Long Beach. This is the fourth such strike in the last 11 months and is a dramatic escalation from prior actions. The low-wage port truck drivers are protesting unending retaliation in flagrant violation of U.S. labor laws as the companies attempt to hold onto a business model that falsely classifies the drivers as independent contractors instead of employees. These professional drivers labor long hours hauling nearly $4 billion worth of cargo each day—and often receiving paychecks that are below the minimum wage.
Repeated determinations by the state of California and the National Labor Relations Board have said a business model classifying the drivers as independent contractors is illegal. In a desperate attempt to preserve the status quo, the company owners are firing, intimidating and countersuing their drivers for engaging in union activities, countersuing state agencies and filing legal appeals. The port truck drivers are on the front lines of the fight for a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work. They are no longer willing to wait for their lawless industry to change. So drivers are rising up to improve their jobs and help rebuild the ever-diminishing middle class.
The port truck drivers vow to be on strike for as long as it takes to stop the employers from breaking the law and mistreating workers. The United Farm Workers of America is proud to stand with them.
Arturo S. Rodriguez, President
United Farm Workers of America