Southern California drayage truckers have ended their latest strike, but little immediate relief will be felt in area ports, where union dockworkers will not resume “big table” contract talks until Dec. 1.
Late last week, truckers for five area carriers ended a four-day work stoppage. On Nov. 21, Pacer Cartage and Harbor Rail Transport truckers issued an unconditional return to work after QTS Inc., LACA Express, and WinWin Logistics truckers went off strike a day earlier.
The protests began Nov. 13 with Total Transportation Services Inc., Pacific 9 Transportation and Green Fleet Systems. That evening, GFS drivers agreed to extend the cooling off period negotiated by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti last July. TTSI and Pac 9 drivers resumed discussions with company management the next day.
This latest series of protests is the fourth for some Los Angeles and Long Beach drayage truckers in less than a year. The Teamsters union says the companies have misclassified the truckers as independent contractors instead of employees and have attempted to interfere with unionization efforts.
The Pacific Maritime Association has accused the International Longshore and Warehouse Union’s of using “slowdown tactics” after their contract expired July 1.
