Drivers were exuberant about the victory. Orlando Ayala, who's been driving at the port for 10 years, said,
A voice on the job means management can no longer humiliate us or force us to suffer in poverty while they profit.Change To Win reported,
Amidst jubilant chants of “Yes We Did!” in Spanish and English, a brave group of professional truck drivers who haul brand-name fashion imports celebrated late evening news that they trounced in their closely-watched election to unite as Teamsters, despite their foreign employer’s vicious and expensive year-long campaign to intimidate workplace leaders and suppress their free choice.The Journal of Commerce reported,
Employee drivers who work for the Toll Group logistics company in Southern California won an historic election Wednesday to become one of the few harbor trucking fleets in the U.S. to become unionized.
In an election sanctioned by the National Labor Relations Board, the drivers voted 46-15 in favor of joining the Teamsters union, according to Change to Win, a coalition of labor, community and faith-based organizations supported by the Teamsters.
Toll Group, which is based in Australia, is a logistics company that handles brand-name fashion imports in Los Angeles-Long Beach. The Teamsters have been working since last summer to organize the drivers.
Drivers in Southern California said they have set the stage for other organizing efforts across the country. “Our victory means we are finally getting closer to the American dream. If we can win here, I know other port truck drivers across the U.S. can unite just like we did,” said Orlando Ayala.Si se puede!
