Vancouver truckers who own and operate their own trucks say as of today, they are on strike, and they anticipate that several unions may also join them.
"Services have been withdrawn," Manny Dosange, a member of the United Truckers Association, told Business in Vancouver.
Dosange said approximately 400 truckers had rallied at a truck pullout at Highway 91 in Delta and would soon be making their way down to Port Metro Vancouver's offices in downtown Vancouver.
"It's basically a strike setup. We'll be manning those posts 24/7," Dosange said.
The UTA has also heard that several unions may join the labour action. Unifor spokesman Ian Boyko confirmed the union would release a statement at noon today.
Members of the UTA say they often have to wait for two to three hours to drop off or pick up cargo at terminals, which cuts into their pay.
In October, the UTA staged a one-day protest and sent a letter to Port Metro Vancouver (PMV) with several demands. They asked that truckers be guaranteed a one-hour turn-around time; that they be paid an hourly rate if they had to wait for over an hour; and that the Port stop granting temporary trucking licenses.
In response, PMV said it would put a freeze on any new licenses and committed to track truck waiting times with a global positioning system.
