Truckers at 2 Calif. Ports OK Cooling Off Period.

[elleng]

Source: nyt/ap

Truck drivers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach agreed Saturday to a cooling-off period following five days of striking that briefly shut the massive ports.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he requested the cooling-off period, and the truckers agreed Saturday to pull down pickets while the city's harbor commission investigates their allegations of poor working conditions and unfair labor practices.

"The city will facilitate a dialogue among the parties in the weeks ahead," he said in a statement.

The drivers agreed to resume work Monday after three trucking companies agreed to accept all drivers back to work without retaliation and without being forced to sign away all future rights in new truck leases, said Barb Maynard, a spokeswoman for a campaign to organize truckers.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/07/12/us/ap-us-port-labor-truckers.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=WireFeed&module=pocket-region&region=pocket-region&WT.nav=pocket-region

[Omaha Steve]

1. The drivers have been INTENTIONALLY misclassified as contractors

http://lbpost.com/business/trade-transportation/2000003970-port-truckers-continue-indefinite-strike-dockworkers-forced-back-to-work#.U8G6RfldUxA

Snip: “It’s a peaceful assembly and our security people are looking out to make sure everyone is aware of their safety while everyone is out there demonstrating,” Lee Peterson, Port of Long Beach spokesman said. “We understand that the picketers are allowed to demonstrate, as long as they do so peacefully.”

There are now more strikers protesting companies other than the original three, encouraging all those that activists call "misclassified" to join in the hopes of unionizing. Additionally, the companies have been accused of retaliating against their employees for the taking specific incidences to court or filing claims. These retaliations include taking away shifts, doling out unfavorable assignments and even firing.

“Enough is enough,” Nick Weiner, campaign director for Teamsters said. “We are trying to get these companies to comply with the law. But every time we try to get them to comply, they retaliate.”

According to the striking laborers, their parent companies are misclassifying the workers (often called troqueros since a large portion of them are Latino) as independent contractors instead of regular, W2 employees.


Photos by Maren Machles.

FULL story at link.

[Omaha Steve]

2. From the MSNBC LBN story Monday on the misclassification

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/exclusive-california-truck-drivers-go-strike

Snip: Over 120 drivers will be going on strike at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, two of the main supply arteries on the West Coast. Roughly 40% of all imports to the United States go through one of those two ports. The firms affected by the strike are responsible for shipping goods to major retailers such as Walmart and Target.

The National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against one of those firms, Green Fleet Systems, in late June over allegations of intimidation and wrongful termination. But even more so than those charges, the key issue at stake in this dispute is alleged misclassification. The three firms affected by the strike – Green Fleet, TTSI, and Pacific 9 Transportation – classify their drivers as independent contractors instead of employees, meaning they don’t have to pay various benefits.

“When the company misclassifies you, you’re denied Social Security, you’re denied medical, you’re denied workers comp,” said Paz. He and the other strikers argue that they should legally be classified as employees, which would entitle them to those benefits and allow them to unionize.

Misclassification is endemic to the port trucking industry, according to a joint report [PDF] from the National Employment Law Project (NELP), the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE), and the labor union coalition Change to Win. They claim that about 65% of the nation’s port truck drivers are misclassified by their employers, costing those drivers a collective $1.4 billion annually.

FULL story at link.

[freshwest]

3. Wow, who woulda thought MSNBC would tell the truth on this matter!

And what a crummy, illegal deal these workers have been working under. I hope the mayor of LA will work to get this right.