Southern California Port Shutdown???
April 27, 2006 by Splatty
Filed under Seafreight
According to a report by CalTrade, local drayage companies in the Southern California area might stage a strike beginning May 1. Reasons for the stoppage are unclear at this time, however according to the article drivers might be striking in support of immigrant rights.
The action “is not an organized event but an accumulation of collective effort” on the part of the “troqueros” – the largely Hispanic independent truckers who dray cargo moving through both ports – who, according to a correspondent on the LAIMC website “are organizing themselves,” mostly over via two-way and CB radio.
“If you happened to tune into one of their conversations these days, the radio is filled with talk, in Spanish and English, of the “Huegla General,” or General Strike, on May 1, the correspondent said, adding that “the planned strike is part of a larger general strike called for in support of immigrant rights.”
But, the correspondent said, “the truckers are also calling for their own demands including a 25% wage increase,” and will remain on strike “until they [the troqueros] win collective bargaining rights,” adding, without elaborating, that “troqueros in Oakland and Houston are pledging solidarity.”
The work stoppage would affect both the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen, but you may want to check with your forwarder for further information.
SwizStick on Fri, 28th Apr 2006 3:11 pm
It’s going to happen. This is all part of the pro immigration lobby’s efforts to organize a nationwide
strike on May 1st. The buzz is all over the internet.
But its questionable exactly how many drivers and other workers will really go off the job on Monday.
Some believe the strike’s turnout will be less than the organizers think.