One of the seven terminals at the Port of Los Angeles was shut down for an hour Wednesday, April 14, when longshore workers joined ranks with striking truck drivers and picketing Teamsters who have spent the week protesting what they say are “flagrant violations of federal labor law,” though port officials said operations were not significantly hurt.
Drivers are on strike at Universal Intermodal Services and Southern Counties Express, which are affiliates of Universal Logistics Holdings and operate out of the L.A. Port’s Yusen Terminal. The strike is part of a unionization push by the Teamsters that has been ongoing for years on behalf of independent contract trucker drivers.
ULH did not immediately respond to City News Service’s request for comment.
Longshore workers at the Yusen Terminal, in a show of solidarity with the drivers, walked out for about an hour Wednesday morning, shutting any incoming or outgoing traffic at the terminal. They joined 25 to 30 pickets outside the gate, a port spokesman said.
Operations resumed at about 11 a.m., the port said, though terminal dockworkers didn’t service ULH-affiliated trucks, which the Teamsters identified for them.
“We showed today that there is power in our union and in our solidarity as working people,” the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said in a statement, adding that union members are “enormously grateful that our brothers and sisters” from other labor groups “joined us today to support port truck drivers on strike to demand their union and their basic rights as employees.”
Truckers classified as independent contractors, rather than employees, are not eligible for minimum wage or benefits such as health insurance and holiday pay.
The Teamsters have long pressed to change how the truckers are classified, putting pressure on companies and harbor commissioners.
The pickets caused “mild to moderate” disruptions, said Port of Los Angeles spokesmen Phillip Sanfield, who noted that the terminal is served by numerous trucking companies.
“Los Angeles Port Police are making sure that pickets can safely express their First Amendment rights,” he said, “while ensuring the flow of commerce.”
City News Service contributed to this report.
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