Originally published on iww.org

Once again a step ahead of intermodal truckers across the US, Stockton truckers, led by the majority Sikh drivers, launched a strike over the issue of fuel prices on Monday, May 5, 2008.

While many truckers participated in various protest shutdowns on either April 1st or May 1st this year, the 300-400 Stockton truckers working out of the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern-Santa Fe railyards have shut down their industry until their demands have been met.

Rather than demand the fuel surcharges paid by shippers but often pocketed by companies rather than passed along to drivers, the Stockton truckers are asking for a dramatic increase in the rates paid in order to keep up with increases costs such as fuel.

On April 26, 2004 Stockton intermodal truckers, inspired by rumors circulating of an LA port trucker shutdown, were the first to join what became a strike of west cost port truckers on April 30, and by June had spread to most southern and eastern ports as well.

The issues were largely the same then with increasing fuel
costs coupled with rates that had not increased for sometimes over a decade. The 2004 strike was settled successfully after only six business days into the strike rail yard officials announced an embargo on all container shipments to California to prevent a major rail system backlog from occurring (See The Record, May 4 and May 7, 2004).

By Reed Fujii - San Joaquin Record Staff Writer, May 06, 2008

For the second time in four years, hundreds of independent truck drivers went on strike Monday against companies that hire them to haul cargo containers out of railroad terminals near Stockton.

And again, as in 2004, the issue was the failure of freight rates to keep up with rapidly rising fuel prices.

Ajit Gill of Stockton, a truck owner-operator and a spokesman for strikers, said the truckers face fuel costs that have more than doubled since 2004, as well as higher costs for insurance, stiffer inspection fees and more. But freight rates have not kept pace.

"There is nothing raised," he said Monday by cell phone.

The drivers would prefer to keep working, if it was practical.

"Unfortunately, we have to stop," Gill said. "Nobody can afford $4.35 diesel."

The strike's immediate impact was uncertain.

Zoe Richmond, Sacramento spokeswoman for Union Pacific Railroad Co., said there was a "minor impact" on her company's giant cargo terminal near Lathrop.

Disclaimer: The action described here was not organized by the IWW.

By Francine Brevetti - staff writer, inside bayarea.com, May 6, 2008

OAKLAND — About 80 striking truckers from Middle Harbor Road at the Port of Oakland were ticketed and dispersed Tuesday after some of them committed vandalism, police said.

Some drivers had damaged a truck's window while the driver was operating the rig, Sgt. Peter Lau said.

Nevertheless, the protesting truck drivers who own and operate their own rigs vowed to continue demonstrating at the port for the rest of the week. They say motor carrier firms have been underpaying them for diesel fuel.

"No Stopping Anytime" signs are posted along Middle Harbor Road. But on Tuesday the port's main artery was lined with protesters' automobiles and some truck cabs.

"Yesterday (Monday) was peaceful," Lau said. "There were agreements among the officers here that we would let them (the strikers) use their First Amendment rights. However, the port's traffic was not going to be obstructed and people were not being hurt."

By Jim Crutchfield, IWW NYC GMB - Industrial Worker, May 2008

Members of the New York City IWW branch attended a rally on April 1 at a truck stop on the New Jersey Turnpike, where an estimated 300 drivers, mostly owner-operators, met to protest fuel price gouging and address the media. The rally was part of a nationwide work stoppage by truckers that reportedly shut down several major ports on the East and West Coasts and turned highways around Chicago into parking lots.

Drivers from as far away as Florida were present at the New Jersey gathering, along with many drivers’ family members and other supporters. Two Wobblies addressed the crowd and were warmly received. The union collected contact information from nearly 100 drivers, many of whom expressed great enthusiasm for continuing their agitation and solidifying their organization.

IWW members also helped pacify the New Jersey State Police, who had started the morning with a barrage of traffic tickets, but backed off and just watched the show after being reassured that the gathering would be peaceful and that drivers would obey parking and traffic regulations.

Industrial Worker, May 2008

On April 1, troqueros from New Jersey rallied on the New Jersey turnpike. On April 3, Houston followed. Truck drivers across the country participated in scattered actions to protest rising diesel fuel prices.

The price of diesel across the United States has risen by 21 per cent since the end of December 2007, from $3.35 to $4.05 per gallon, according to the US Energy Information Administration. A month before the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, the price of diesel was $1.71 per gallon.

Something is wrong when we have to choose between feeding our families or buying diesel, said truckers. The message was heard, but it was not loud enough, according to organizers, including members of the IWW, of a new round of protests on April 30-May 1. Truckers across the board had called for better organization and coordination In response, truckers at the three largest ports in the United States —Newark on the Atlantic, Houston on the Gulf of Mexico and Los Angeles on the Pacific— are planning to take coordinated action to shut down ports on the morning of April 30.

By Steven T. Jones and Amanda Witherell - San Francisco Bay Guardian, May 7, 2008

Workers, students, immigrants, and antiwar activists came together in historic fashion on May Day in San Francisco, but it was hard to tell from the next day's mainstream media coverage, which adopted its usual cynical view of the growing movement to end the war in Iraq.

Sure, there were articles in newspapers from the San Francisco Chronicle to the New York Times about how the International Longshore and Warehouse Union shut down all 29 West Coast ports for the day, with far more than 10,000 workers defying both their employers and the national union leadership to skip work.

But each article missed the main point: this was the first time in American history that such a massive job action was called to protest a war.

"In this country, dock workers have never stopped work to stop a war," Jack Heyman, the ILWU executive board member and Oakland Port worker who spearheaded the effort, told the Guardian.

By Yvonne Martinez‚ May 05‚ 2008 - Originally Published at beyondchron.org

Say it ain’t so. The City of Oakland issues May Day threats of suspension to union workers.

City of Oakland SEIU Local 1021 union members have filed Unfair Labor Practice Charges against the City of Oakland citing a long list of labor abuses including threatened disciplinary action against union members for their participation at a May Day rally in front of Oakland City Hall.

While ships were docked up and down the California Coast in a day-long ILWU protest against the War in Iraq, City of Oakland union members as part of a labor coalition that includes the City’s Firefighters, SEIU Local 1021, SEIU Local 1877, IBEW, and IFTE rallied to commemorate May Day and to protest labor abuses by the City of Oakland.

500 members of the four locals and their supporters rallied at City Hall in a first ever May Day Unity rally as they face simultaneous contract expiration dates this June.

City of Oakland, SEIU 1021 union members formed a lunchtime convoy of City trucks and vehicles at the May Day rally in front of City Hall, to both honor May Day as part of a day long West Coast Port shut down and to demonstrate concern about contentious City of Oakland labor contract talks.

By DAVID MACARARY - Counterpunch, May 2, 2008

On Thursday, May 1, the ILWU (International Longshore and Warehouse Union) staged a one-day (one shift, actually) walkout as a protest against the U.S. military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. The shutdown affected ports up and down the West Coast, from San Pedro, California, to Seattle, Washington.

Although the PMA (Pacific Maritime Association) had warned the ILWU leadership that an “unauthorized” strike such as this was illegal, and that any rank-and-file dockworker who participated could be punished with a fine, suspension or even termination, the one-shift shutdown went off as planned and was deemed a resounding success. Thousands of workers defied management and failed to show up for the morning shift, resulting in port traffic coming to a standstill.

Despite the threats, no one really expects the port authorities to take any disciplinary action against ILWU members. In fact, if any union member is even wrist-slapped, it will be genuine shock. There are two reasons for this.

Their union says the action is to protest the war in Iraq, but port operators and shippers say it's an attempt to influence their contract.

By Louis Sahagun and Ronald D. White, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers - May 2, 2008

Thousands of dockworkers at 29 West Coast ports took the day off Thursday, effectively shutting down operations at the busy complexes in what the union called a protest of the war in Iraq but employers worried might be a prelude to labor unrest.

The stand-down at ports including Los Angeles and Long Beach -- which combined handle 40% of the imported goods arriving in the United States each year -- idled ships and cranes, stranded thousands of big rigs and halted movement of about 10,000 containers during the eight-hour day shift.

The show of force by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which ended as workers reported for the Thursday night shift at Southern California's twin ports, came two months before its contract expires with the Pacific Maritime Assn., a group of cargo carriers, terminal operators and stevedore companies.

By JOHN HOLUSHA - New York Times, Published: May 2, 2008

Thousands of dockworkers at West Coast ports stayed off the job on Thursday in what their union said was a call for an end to the war in Iraq.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union said more than 25,000 members in 29 ports stayed off the job. The action came despite an order issued Wednesday by an arbitrator directing the union to tell its members to report for work as usual in response to a request from employers.

“Longshore workers are standing down on the job and standing up for America,” Bob McEllrath, the union’s president, said in a statement. “We’re supporting the troops and telling politicians in Washington that it’s time to end the war in Iraq.”

The scene at most West Coast ports was quiet, without any scuffles or confrontations. The cranes used to unload container ships stood idle and few trucks were lined up outside gates.

Guillermo Durell, 45, a truck driver, was at the Los Angeles-area port of Long Beach. “I got up at 6 a.m. to drop a load off,” he said. “When I got here the security guard said ‘Drop this, but that’s it. We’re all leaving.’ ”