Just when things were starting to return to “Normal” at the Port of Los Angeles, dockworkers stopped servicing trucks owned by Universal Logistics Holdings at the Port terminal Wednesday in solidarity with truck drivers who went on strike Monday against the company.
Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union joined the action by the Teamsters, who said some drivers were fired after voting to form a union.
Phillip Sanfield of the Port of Los Angeles told City News Services that one of the port’s seven terminals had “minimal to moderate traffic disruption” by the workers who are “not servicing the trucks that are being targeted by the Teamsters.” Sanfield could not quantify the cargo impact at the port, but said it was minimal. The same terminal also had about 20-30 picketing Teamster members as of 12:40 p.m. Wednesday, Sanfield said. “We are assisting the Teamsters with their right to picket and their First Amendment rights, and we respect that, and we’re assisting them to do that while making sure to keep the port functioning,” he said.
No one is really sure how long this solidarity work stoppage will last but it’s safe to say, it won’t be for the long term.
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