Truckers Picket Shipping Line

SEATTLE (AP) - About 50 independent truckers picketed at the Port of Seattle Thursday - the latest action in an ongoing dispute about wages and union recognition.

"We've been turning trucks away," said Rob Hickey, organizing director for Teamsters Local 174. "Trucks are coming to the picket line and deciding to turn around."

Pickets targeted the port's Terminal 5, where American President Lines operates, because APL accounts for a significant share of port activity, Hickey said.

Port officials could not be reached for comment this morning.

The truckers struck for two weeks in August, seeking union recognition and fixed pay scales. They announced last month that they would sporadically disrupt cargo movement until they were

atisfied port officials were serious about negotiating.

The independent drivers move cargo from docks to rail cars. They get paid according to the number of shipping containers they move, rather than by the hour.

Unionized workers on Seattle's waterfront can earn as much as $100,000 a year. Independent drivers say they earn as little as $7 per hour because of delays in obtaining loads.