01 Truck drivers at the Port of Oakland go on strike and block the entrance to the terminal
Strike actions continue in various places. Following last week’s strike by truck drivers at the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach, truck drivers at the Port of West Oakland also went on strike this week, blocking truck traffic at the port’s three terminals.
It is reported that an estimated 400 truck drivers managed to block truck traffic at three terminals at the Port of Oakland on Monday local time to protest California’s controversial truck driver-related law “AB5”.
Protesters gathered on foot to block company trucks from entering the terminal. As of 8 a.m. local time on Monday, striking truck drivers had successfully blocked the east and west gates of Oakland’s SSA terminal. While the terminal briefly opened a back door to let company trucks in, truckers later blocked the access, forcing some company drivers to turn around and leave the port with the intention of trying to enter the terminal again on Tuesday.
On Monday afternoon local time, the Port of Oakland’s SSA, TraPac and Everport terminals announced there would be no night shifts as protesting truck drivers allowed only about two company trucks to enter the terminal gates every hour throughout the day. On a typical working day, an average of 250 trucks will pass through the terminal every hour.
Kimberly Sulsar-Campos, vice president of Oakland-based Iraheta Bros Trucking, said some truckers hope to protest again on Tuesday. While the initial protest was planned to last three days, last Friday nearly 200 port drivers decided to hold it in one day. However, he also said that there was no official announcement that the AB5 protests would continue for another two days.
As previously reported, the Port of Oakland truck drivers are on strike because a California law called AB5 is set to take effect, which seeks to limit the use of independent operators and largely reclassify drivers as employed employees. And most truck drivers in the state want to maintain their status as independent operators and don’t want to become an employee driver.
It is understood that the Port of Auckland was already experiencing congestion before the strike. The large amount of imported cargo and ship operations has caused delays in berthing of ships at the Port of Auckland, with waiting times ranging from 7 to 31 days, and the average time for delivery of import boxes to be 9 days.
02 British rail workers plan three strikes
It is reported that the British Railway, Maritime and Transport Workers Union (RMT union) announced plans to hold strikes on July 27, August 18 and August 20, which is expected to seriously disrupt the British rail network.
According to local media reports, about 40,000 RMT union members, including Network Rail signalmen and train staff, will participate in continuous strikes. The 40,000 RMT union members include around 20,000 National Rail workers and workers at 14 train operating companies.
The union’s three-day strike last month plunged the country’s rail network into the biggest transport strike in 30 years, disrupting 80% of services.
On July 18, Maersk issued a notice of the planned strike by the British Rail Union, saying that this would cause serious disruptions to the entire British rail network, and that it was working closely with rail freight operators to understand the overall impact this would have on inland operations. .
In addition, train drivers from eight British railway companies have also agreed to go on separate strikes on July 30 over pay issues.
As for the reason for the strike by the RMT union, local reports said that the union leaders rejected the “paltry” pay increase of 4% proposed by the British National Railways, an additional 2% next year and an additional pay conditional on the achievement of modernization milestones2 % proposal. They are demanding a pay rise in line with Britain’s inflation rate of nearly 10%.
Mick Lynch, director general of the RMT union, said: “National Rail’s proposals are effectively a pay cut for our members. Rail operating companies remain stubbornly stubborn and refuse to make any new proposals involving job security and pay. Strike action is the only way we can The only way for the rail industry and government to understand how long this dispute will continue until a negotiated resolution is reached.”
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