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More than 100 port truck drivers launched a protest Monday against what they say are widespread work violations, picketing three regional trucking companies and their rigs that haul freight at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.
Picket lines went up shortly after dawn at multiple locations operated by three trucking firms in the harbor area, including Carson and Wilmington. Truck drivers, backed by Teamsters Local 848, at times blocked the driveways at the companies' truck yards, chanted slogans in Spanish and solicited honks of support from passing motorists.
The protest, which organizers said is intended to last 48 hours, also moved inside the two ports and briefly disrupted operations at one cargo terminal at the Port of Long Beach.
Justice for Port Truck Drivers, the union-backed group organizing the walkout, has accused trucking companies of wrongfully classifying truck drivers as independent contractors, a designation that denies drivers workplace protections such as overtime and mandated work breaks. It also results in lower pay, the group said.
"We're here fighting for a better future for our families," said Dennis Martinez, a truck driver who moves cargo for Total Transportation Services Inc., one of the three companies targeted by the drivers. The other two are Green Fleet Systems and Pacific 9 Transportation, both based in Carson.
Martinez, who has worked for Total Transportation Services for 21/2 years, said that he is wrongfully classified as an independent contractor and that he has filed a...