A group of truck drivers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach went on strike Monday, but port officials said the labor action had minimal impact on cargo operations.
The “unfair labor practice” strike includes drivers “misclassified as independent contractors” rather than employees by Pacific 9 Transportation and XPO Logistic, said Barb Maynard of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
“These drivers are on strike to protest unfair labor practices, including misclassification and retaliation, harassment, and intimidation for having filed claims for wage theft with the California Labor Commissioner’s Division of Labor Standards Enforcement,” Maynard said.
Maynard said workers who are “misclassified as independent contractors” are “robbed of basic workplace protections like the right to minimum wage, overtime pay, and a safe and healthful workplace.”
Shipping terminals remained open despite the strike, port officials said.
No more than 15 people picketed at the Port of Los Angeles, creating “little to no impact on port operations,” according to port spokesman Phillip Sanfield said.
There were also few traffic disruptions, with the picketing only directed at the trucks of a few of the drayage companies, Port of Long Beach spokesman Art Wong said.
Wong said about 1,000 different trucking firms serve the port’s terminals.
