Special Court Says Port Haulers Not Employees
Efforts to get Port of Los Angeles owner-operators reclassified as employees hit a major snag last week when a three-judge panel ruled that the drivers are independent contractors, not employees.
The class action lawsuit was filed in July 1997 by Los Angeles attorney Fred Kumetz on behalf of port truck drivers Irwin Albillo, Luis Montoya and other Los Angeles container haulers. The vast majority of owner-operators in Southern California ports are immigrants from Mexico or Central America.
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In addition to dealing a blow to the plaintiffs, the Jan. 14 decision by the state court may also put a crimp in the plans of the Teamsters union, which has shown renewed interest lately in organizing marine port haulers on both coasts.
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The defendants were three intermodal companies doing business in the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors: Intermodal Container Service, Interstate Consolidation Inc. and Cartage Service.
