Contract Port Drivers Strike Over Trucking Companies' Allegedly Illegal Business Practices

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Contract port drivers are striking against trucking companies alleging they subjected them to illegal treatment and business practices.

The port truck drivers voted in favor of the strike at a meeting Saturday.

They're protesting a practice in which employers avoid fully compensating their drivers - who work full-time - by wrongly classifying them as independent contractors.

The courts have determined these drivers should be classified as employees, according to Kerry Jacob.

Jacob added that companies were supposed to re-classify the drivers as employees but have not yet complied.

A recent victory by drivers who successfully negotiated a contract in January with Shippers Transport Express has served as a "catalyst" for other drivers to demand a similar deal, Teamsters spokeswoman Barb Maynard said.

The Teamsters are also circulating a petition, urging Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia to encourage shipping firms to stop classifying drivers as independent contractors, Maynard said.

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