Calif. port truckers on strike

Truck drivers at the Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif. ports are on strike after a vote of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Associated Press reports. 

The labor unrest follows a prior standoff at 29 ports along the West Coast, including Los Angeles and Long Beach, that stifled the flow of cargo packages into the U.S. earlier this year. 

A spokeswoman for the union told the AP that the truck drivers are striking because they are facing “persistent wage theft” from their employer because they are classified as independent contractors instead of full-time employees. 

{mosads}The previous labor standoff at West Coast ports drew the attention of lawmakers in Washington and resulted in President Obama sending Labor Secretary Tom Perez to Los Angeles in February to mediate talks between dockworkers and port managers. 

The February stalemate resulted in port mangers closing 29 ports in Washington state, Oregon and California that normally process 340 million tons of cargo from Feb. 12-16.