Truthout: Port Strikes Mirror Organized Labor's Roots

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/28341-port-strikes-mirror-organized-labor-s-roots

Sunday, 04 January 2015 09:42
By Marjorie E. Wood


Police officers on site as Oakland port truckers strike in November, 2013. (Photo: Daniel Arauz / Flickr)


Port truckers in California walked off the job in November to protest their dismal working conditions. Required to lease trucks while paying insurance and maintenance costs, drivers often earn less than minimum wage.

The strike came just days after big box retailers, manufacturers, and other supply chain stakeholders sent President Barack Obama a letter warning that labor disputes could cause “a full shutdown of every West coast port.”

Spearheaded by the National Retail Federation — whose members include large corporate retailers like Wal-Mart — the letter stated that a shutdown would be “catastrophic,” costing the economy up to $2 billion a day. Over a hundred business associations who signed the letter requested “immediate action” by the federal government to prevent such losses.

Though a shutdown did not happen, tensions remain as port truckers, dockworkers, and other workers step up their demands to be treated fairly during the peak holiday season.

FULL story at link.