Truckers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, represented by the Teamsters union, began strike action against Universal Logistics Holdings (ULH) this week, further exacerbating traffic congestion on the nation’s major West Coast marine lanes.
Longshoremen at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach stopped service to ULH trucks on the 14th in solidarity with the company’s truckers who are on strike. Some of the company’s truck drivers were fired by the company recently for voting in favor of union organizing. The trucks, which are currently without service, are docked at a terminal at the Port of Los Angeles.
Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union have joined the strike in support of the Teamsters, a coalition of truckers from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Phillip Sanfield of the Port of Los Angeles said one of the port’s seven terminals is experiencing minimal to moderate traffic disruptions as a result of the strike, and that those striking workers are refusing to service trucks from Universal Logistics Holdings.
Sanfield could not quantify the strike’s impact on the port, but said it was minimal. As of 12:40 p.m. on the 14th, the port had about 20 to 30 picketers in the same port building who were assisting workers in defending their rights and First Amendment rights; the port was respectful of the workers’ rights while ensuring that the port remained up and running.
Global Logistics Holdings did not immediately respond for comment. Striking truckers formed a picket line outside the company’s Southern Counties Express truck yard on the morning of the 12th. The striking members demanded that the company-owned trucking company hire the laid-off truckers and provide them with compensation and that it respect the truckers’ right to form a union, negotiate in good faith a collective bargaining agreement and stop classifying drivers as independent contractors.
Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin tweeted his support for the strike on the afternoon of the 14th.
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