Truckers who haul freight to the Port of Vancouver have voted unanimously to support their union bargaining committee and hold a strike vote in January in efforts to win new contracts.
More than 300 truckers, members of VCTA-CAW Local 2006, attended a union meeting in Surrey on December 21 to discuss what they felt was a lack of progress in reaching a new contract.
The current collective agreements expire on December 31, 2008.
"This kind of support shows that our members understand that the only time the governments and port authorities listen is when there is a serious threat to the operations at the port," said Local 2006 president Paul Johal.
The union, which represents more than 750 truckers, wants trucking companies that do not comply with agreed upon pay rates to be banned from entering ports.
"We have met with representatives of the Ministry of Transportation and told them the system is just not working, said Paul Uppal, the local's business agent. "There needs to be more investigation and stiffer penalties to those who undercut the system."
Uppal said that of 40 companies that have been audited, 23 have not been paying the proper rates, but none have had their port licences suspended.