LOS ANGELES — About 120 drivers in a long-running dispute with three trucking companies at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Monday began what they said would be an indefinite strike.
The impact at the sprawling port complex, the gateway for hundreds of billions of dollars of trade with Asia, was limited. But broad disruption is possible if truckers picket the dockside terminals where cranes load and unload containers.
The truckers say the companies have prevented them from unionizing and improperly classified them as contractors — rather than full-time employees — to minimize wages and benefits.
They say that their paychecks often amount to below minimum wage once the cost of renting and maintaining a truck is factored in. The truckers filed lawsuits to change their status. Companies counter that the pay is good and those picketing do not represent most drivers.
The companies, Green Fleet Systems, Total Transportation Services, and Pacific 9 Transportation, have about 400 trucks at the Port of Los Angeles — about 10 percent of those that operate on a regular day.
In addition, members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union are working without a contract. No formal contract talks are expected for the next few days.