Teamsters strike produce co. for firing 10 workers

This just in from the Associated Press:

Teamsters pickets are marching outside the Port of Hueneme to protest the firings of 10 truck drivers by an Oxnard produce company.
There are about 20 people, including the truck drivers, carrying signs at the Ventura County deep water port 60 miles west of Los Angeles.

Teamsters Union Local 186 has told the Del Monte and Chiquita shipping companies not to use Seaboard Produce Distributors trucks.

According to the Ventura County Star,

The 10 truck drivers are attempting to regain their jobs, fair pay, lost wages, benefits and to remain unionized...

"We're trying to correct a social injustice here," said Bill Elder, secretary-treasurer/CEO of Teamsters Local 186....

The 10 men said they decided to reach out to union officials this summer because they were paid below the minimum wage.

Driver Eddie Castaneda has said an average day transporting fruits from Port Hueneme to a distribution facility would include a 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. shift where a driver can take anywhere from one to four loads. He added that drivers made $35 per load transported and some workers couldn't afford health benefits.

On deliveries from Ventura County to Los Angeles, drivers were paid $150 for one day, while a three-day transport to Reno netted a $450 payday, according to the former drivers.

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