IT’S A GONG SHOW AT B.C.’S BUSIEST PORT

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B.C.’s container truckers, a seemingly volatile bunch, are once again disrupting service at Port Metro Vancouver. Specifically, lease-operators belonging to the United Truckers Association (UTA) have been off the job since last week, protesting low wages and long wait times. That’s fine, do what you want. But where they’ve really crossed the line is in employing intimidation tactics against drivers who wish to continue working. I’ve heard they’ve been outside the gates of trucking companies who service the port, taking down the licence plate numbers of drivers who wanted to continue working. Many of these drivers succumbed to the pressure and stayed home. Worse, there have been reports of UTA drivers slashing brake lines on trucks whose drivers planned to continue working and the port says it has video evidence of drivers vandalizing trucks on port property.

If you’re looking for some empathy, this is not the way to earn it. A peaceful protest is one thing but putting lives in danger is quite another.

But having said that, it’s clear the port has to improve its processes so that truckers can get in and out of there more quickly. To its credit, the port recently agreed to adhere to a set of eight recommendations laid out by the B.C. Trucking Association, which would streamline the flow of containers through the port. You can read about them here.

But this messy situation could get messier before it gets better. The 400-member unionized Vancouver Container Truck Association voted unanimously to join its UTA brethren on the sidelines as of tomorrow. Check Trucknews.com for regular updates as the situation continues to develop.

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  • Hi-It is Important to understand these Drivers 95% of Indian heritage cut the rates 20 years ago to take control of container trucking to Seattle, forcing all other truckers to quit as economically they could not survive! They now have total control of containers to Seattle and are demanding a change in they rate structure they implemented in the first place? J.W.