A “rapid response” team has been formed to help more than 10,000 port truck drivers who could be left without work if the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach shut down as the result of a contentious labor dispute between dockworkers and port management, union officials said Wednesday.
Many drivers who move cargo in and out of the ports are classified as “independent contractors,” even though they essentially function as full-time employees, and may not know they are eligible for unemployment benefits, according to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
The response team was formed to help the drivers take advantage of benefits made possible by recent rulings by the courts, the State Labor Commissioner and the Employment Development Department that determined some drivers were misclassified as independent contractors by their employers, Teamsters officials said.
“We’re going to make sure that each and every port driver at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach knows that, if there is a shutdown, they can come here … to our union hall to get the assistance they need,” Eric Tate, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 848, said.
“Our rapid response team will help the more than 10,000 misclassified ‘independent contractor’ drivers access financial and other assistance to help them through these tough times,” he said.
The response team was formed by the Teamsters; the Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network; the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL- CIO; and community groups.
Jose Varela, a driver who said he is a misclassified as an independent contractor by trucking company QTS, said he is facing “a lot of uncertainty about what’s happening at the ports right now, so we appreciate … the help we are receiving from the Teamsters, and from the EDD in the case that the crisis is not averted.”
Rep. Janice Hahn, D-San Pedro, said the response team and possible unemployment benefits will provide a “safety net for the port truck drivers.”
“This gives you some security for your family, that’s what a union does for people,” she said. “You have earned and deserve this protection.”
— City News Service