Port truck drivers alleging wage theft end two-day picket

A two-day protest by truck drivers who haul freight in and out of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach ended Wednesday, organizers said.

More than 100 truck drivers picketed at three Harbor-area trucking companies and inside terminals at the twin seaport targeting only trucks from the three firms -- Green Fleet Systems, Pacific 9 Transportation and Total Transportation Services Inc.

The truck drivers, backed by Teamsters Local 848, have mounted a campaign to protest what they say are widespread workplace violations, including wage theft. The drivers accuse trucking companies of wrongfully classifying them as independent contractors, a designation that denies drivers workplace protections such as overtime and mandated work breaks. It also results in lower pay, the drivers said.

“The strike was highly successful, sending a strong message to the trucking companies, their shipper clients, and the terminal operators that the era of port truck driver exploitation is over,” said Fred Potter, international vice president and port division director for the Teamsters. “Drivers are fighting back and will not stop until their rights as employees are recognized and the companies stop violating U.S. labor laws.”

Alex Cherin, executive director of the Harbor Trucking Assn. and a spokesman for the trucking companies, criticized the drivers’ actions and blamed the Teamsters and the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, a worker advocacy group, for organizing the demonstrations.

“Outside interest groups like LAANE and the Teamsters are continuing to spend their members’ hard-earned money to battle an issue that a vast majority of harbor truck drivers have soundly rejected time and time again” by telling management they didn’t favor union representation, Cherin said.

“There are literally hundreds of unfilled vacancies for company drivers throughout Southern California,” Cherin said. “If a driver wants to become an employee rather than an independent contractor, he or she can do so.”

Monday’s demonstration, the largest yet by the group, escalates tensions between drivers and trucking companies. Industry experts estimate that only 10% of the region’s roughly 12,000 short-haul truckers are directly employed by companies, and truckers who are classified as independent contractors have filed lawsuits and complaints with state and federal labor agencies to change their status.

The strike is the third in the last year, and more are planned in the coming months, organizers said. Previous actions took place only at the truck company sites.