Teamsters seeking to organize port truckers
After the dismissal of four truckers, around 50 fellow employees and supporters rushed freight hauler Swift Transportation to demand the workers be rehired. The protest was orchestrated by the Teamsters union, which is trying to organize Los Angeles port employees. The union drive stems from new legislation requiring both clean, more environmentally friendly trucks, and a shift in traditional employment practices. Shipping companies used to hire drivers that owned their own rigs as independent contractors, but they are now required to employ their drivers. The Teamsters have since stepped in to defend truckers' rights to breaks, hour limitations, and other benefits ? those drivers didn't receive as independent contractors. The Teamsters have filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging the four dismissed employees were fired for union involvement.
See "Teamsters seeking to organize port truckers", Evelyn Larrubia, Los Angeles Times, March 2, 2009