Teamsters to Organize Port Truckers
The Teamsters union showed its cards last week, leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind that it intends to organize the nation’s port owner-operators.
On Jan. 31, drayage truckers at five major East Coast harbors and in Detroit staged rallies to protest low wages, unsafe working conditions and ballooning fuel costs. The protests, which were organized with the help of the Teamsters, culminated in the delivery of a Port Trucker Bill of Rights to port authority officials. Labor organizers said to expect rallies every two weeks until their demands are met.
Union spokesman Ron Carver said the Teamsters’ involvement in port trucker demonstrations means the union has gotten past the fact-gathering stage and has committed to organizing the owner-operators. With as many as 40,000 independents hauling containers in this nation’s ports, the move represents a major organizing initiative for the union, which has been losing members steadily over the last two decades.
 | Related Stories |
|  Harbor Drivers Independent, Panel Says (Jan. 19)
(Note: To return to this story, click the "Back" button on your browser.) |
|  |
Some port haulers believe the Teamsters’ support will bolster their battle to improve pay and conditions, which began with protests by truckers in Vancouver, British Columbia, last summer and spread to ports on both coasts.
 | |
For the full story, see the Feb. 7 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
