Seattle Truckers Hope for Wage Deal

More than 200 truckers at the ports of Seattle and Tacoma have been staging a similar action for the past week, stopping work and picketing to bring attention to their call for higher wages and union representation, the union says.

The truckers, who shuttle cargo between port terminals and railheads, are protesting a pay-per-load system similar to Vancouver's that they say can leave them sitting unpaid for hours. They want higher pay and to persuade the shipping companies that contract with them to recognize a union.

About half of the 1,000 owner-operator drivers at the Port of Seattle have signed cards for Teamsters representation so far, Hickey said. Since they are considered independent contractors, however, their companies must agree to allow union representation.

Port of Seattle spokesman Imbert Matthee said the situation was different because the Port of Vancouver operates its terminals while the Port of Seattle leases its terminals to shipping companies.

"We don't have that same role that we can play as a landlord port. Each of the terminals is leased to a different terminal operator (here) and they work with the trucking companies and the Teamsters and such on the system for going in and out of the terminals," Matthee said.

He said the ports of Seattle and Tacoma were trying to facilitate discussions between the union and the trucking companies. Discussions began last week and were expected to continue this week although no meetings were scheduled, Matthee and Hickey both said.