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Truckers Protest Heavy Load

Disclaimer - The following article is reposted here because it is an issue with some relevance to the IWW.  The views of the author and the publisher do not necessarily agree with those of the IWW and vice versa.

Truckers Demanded Mandatory Fuel Surcharges in a Protest Convoy Along South Florida's Freeways:

By Jane Bussey and Larry Lebowitz - Miami Herald, August 11, 2005

Hundreds of towering truck cabs streamed down South Florida's freeways on Wednesday in a protest convoy to demand mandatory fuel surcharges, snarling traffic and irritating travelers across the Miami metropolitan region in the process.

Trucker Marvin Palacios had grievances as broad as the wide-brimmed cowboy hat that topped his 6-foot-2-inch frame.

"Oil is becoming more expensive every day and the owners of the trucking companies don't want to pass fuel surcharge to the drivers," said Palacios. "I have a family. The cost of living is going up and we aren't earning any more."

The caravan, organized by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the International Longshoremen's Association, was staged to encourage Congress to pass a mandatory fuel surcharge law that would automatically pay truckers more as diesel prices rise.

"¡No Mas! [No More]" said posters showing a gasoline nozzle stabbing drivers in the back that were held aloft by demonstrators. They were also were plastered on the cabs of several hundred semis that traveled from Hialeah Gardens to Miami City Hall for a mid-day rally.

Honking horns punctuated the air as the truck cabs—minus their trailers and container loads—straggled into Coconut Grove for several hours. Most of the drivers haul containers to and from the Port of Miami-Dade and the large majority of them are immigrants from Cuba and Central America.

Even when shippers pay a fuel surcharge, the money often is not passed along to the drivers.

"This isn't fair," Teamsters Local 769 President Mike Scott told the noontime rally. "But nothing about this business is fair when it comes to the way truck drivers are treated."

Surcharges

Trucker Pedro A. Ramos showed a Department of Energy fuel surcharges schedule showing fuel surcharges of 28 percent when the price of diesel is at $2.45, as it is today. But such surcharges are not mandatory. "Companies might pay us 5 percent instead of 28 percent," Ramos said. Other truckers might receive the full amount or no surcharge payment at all.

The protest convoy along state roads 836 and 826 and down Southwest 27th Avenue to Coconut Grove created bottlenecks on several main highways throughout South Florida.

The situation could have been a lot worse, said Rory Santana, a traffic operations manager for the Florida Department of Transportation in Miami.

Santana said the truckers would have caused much lengthier delays if they had decided to leave Hialeah Gardens around 6 a.m. or 7 a.m. instead of 10 a.m., after the morning rush hour was over.

They arrived at Miami City Hall just before the lunchtime rush. The convoy of semis then headed to their work at the port after lunchtime was over.

Huge Convoy

Ron Carver, assistant director of the Teamsters' port division, said that 639 trucks left Okeechobee Road but many of them were turned away by police before arriving in Coconut Grove.

"We delivered petitions with thousands of signatures to Commissioner Tomas Regalado who said he would deliver them to the congressional delegation for South Florida, including the two U.S. senators, and urge them to sponsor legislation that would create a mandatory fuel surcharge," Carver said.

Truck drivers for the port are identified as independent contractors because they own the truck cabs that haul the trailers. But they work for trucking companies that receive contracts from shippers for the containers they want transported.

The drivers staged a nearly two-week work stoppage in July 2004 to protest delays at the port and other problems.

While the port confrontation has ended, Wednesday's protest convoy showed that truck drivers still have complaints that they don't benefit more from the recent U.S. trade boom.