Ports Ping!
No truck drivers? Oh my...
Posted on 04/29/2006 4:25:18 PM PDT by seastay
Thousands of truck drivers vital to the transit of goods from the neighboring ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles -- the busiest combined U.S. seaport -- are expected to take part in a May 1 work boycott and rallies for immigrant rights, organizers said on Thursday.
A large walkout would be disruptive to the combined ports which together are the primary U.S. trading gateway with Asia. But port officials said it was difficult to determine how many drivers would take part, and for how long.
Local organizers involved in the nationwide call to stay away from work on May 1 -- international labor day -- have called on the upward of 12,000 drivers at the two ports to stop work or attend rallies.
Some 24,000 containers filled with clothing, supplies and other goods are taken out of the ports by truck each day and unloaded at warehouses for further distribution throughout the country.
Although undocumented labor at the ports is minimal, the vast majority of truck drivers serving the complex is Latino.
"There's been a call by the community for a general strike. That means we're shutting down," Ernesto Nevarez, one of the organizers, told Reuters. "Everyone has a relative (who is Latino)," he said. "It's out of solidarity with our people."
Organizers are using Citizens' Band (CB) radios and handing out fliers at the ports and their rail complexes to spread the word among the drivers, who are not members of the Teamsters union.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union representing longshore workers at the ports is not taking a position, said spokesman Steve Stallone. "I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen," Stallone said. "(The boycott) could be a flop or it could be total chaos at the ports."
Art Wong, spokesman for the Port of Long Beach, said it was still unclear how big the work stoppage could be, but if it continued for a week, it could have "longer, dramatic economic impacts, not just here but across the country."
But, he said, "Because they're all barely getting by -- and that's one of the issues -- it's hard for them to all walk off the job for a day or a few days."
Organizer Nevarez said truck drivers will decide during their rally May 1 whether to extend the sit-out to five days to press demands for for collective bargaining rights and a 25 percent pay increase
"There's a strong push to shut down five days. It's turning into a catalyst for further action," he said.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach last faced a serious congestion problem in the summer of 2004, when a shortage of labor held up the movement of goods. Two years previously, a lockout of longshoremen resulted in losses of billions of dollars and a massive backlog of pre-holiday cargo.
Stephanie Williams of the California Trucking Association, said she doubted that independent truckers would stay away from work on a large scale, attributing the boycott calls to the work of "troublemakers". But she said she had heard that warehouse employees might walk out.
"That's just as devastating," she said.
Whether it be the truckers or the warehouse workers, who load and unload interstate trailers, a walkout could result in a backlog of trucks that would "take forever" to right, she said.
"This could have a big economic impact on not just California but on other states, because 40 percent of freight out of the ports is headed for places other than California," Williams said.
I call BS!
Fire every one of them.
Moral of the story, don't hire illegals.
I am sure they could find Americans willing to drive big rigs.
Just think how much gasoline we'll be saving!
Bush should declare May 1, 2006 as a National Holiday. That way the almost no one will be working on that day.
who says these truck drivers are all illegals? many are likely hispanic americans, and it will be interesting to see how many, not just in this case but across the board, participate in this nationwide.
It is BS. My mother works for Schneider National. She says that they won't be entering some cities but it has nothing to do with a boycott. It has to do with keeping the trucks and frieght out of harms way. nothing more.
ping, ping, ping
Well why would they walk out if they weren't illegals.
If they aren't illegals, fire them, and get more reliable workers.
No truck drivers? Oh my...
I am interested to know how many hispanic americans are sympathetic with the amnesty idea, and are willing to participate in these boycotts.
that's why I am thinking - these aren't illegals they are talking about.
All of this is absolutely sickening.
Who is organizing these boycotts ? Politicians ?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..........He said organize a bunch of truckers.................HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
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