Daily prounion rallies are being organized at the port’s entrance as part of the Teamsters effort to organize some 1,700 independent truckers in the area. A week into the organizing campaign, 500 drivers have signed with the union, according to the Teamsters.

“We are demonstrating here at the port to show we want the union,” González said. “Workers need some security on wages, pensions, health care.”

The Teamsters are pushing to register trucking firms and dispatch unionized owner-operators to jobs through the hiring hall they opened here September 17. Teamster organizers on the scene said the response to the hiring hall is exceeding initial expectations. So far eight companies have signed on, and they plan to send hundreds of drivers for jobs with these firms.

Teamsters organizers said the union plans to open a similar hiring hall in Charleston, South Carolina, one of the country’s largest ports, within three weeks. The organizing drive may expand to other areas.

“I am for the union because the bosses pay us less than they should,” said Jorge Sotolongo, a driver for six years. “Some of them want to sign, but they are waiting for the others. We have to be strong.”

According to Teamsters officials, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) organizes 9 of the 18 major motor carriers here, covering approximately 400 drivers. The ILA works in alliance with the Teamsters.

“The law doesn’t exist in Miami,” said Axel Veiga, one of the drivers who organized the September 26 rally. “And the politicians don’t care either. The bosses say ‘do it my way or here’s the way out.’ We need the voice of the Teamsters. This is the road of the future.”

“We are here to fight for our rights,” Angel Leiua, a trucker originally from Cuba, told the Militant September 27. Leiua has been an owner-driver since 1995. He recently signed up with the Teamsters and is out of a job. “It was very bad,” he said. “We can’t maintain our trucks because we’re not getting enough money to take care of them. An oil change costs between $150 and $300. To replace a clutch, $2,000. It costs $300 just for the rubber part of a tire, not including labor. It costs $80-$100 a month to park the truck because you can’t park it on the street. I use 150 gallons of gas a week at $2.80 a gallon. We also had to pay $175 for insurance to the company, which was stopped after our protests last year.”

In the summer of 2004, independent truckers closed the Port of Miami through a walkout that lasted two weeks until a federal judge ordered them to return on the job. In recent years, owner-operators have protested similar conditions from Florida to New Jersey and California.

Deborah Liatos and Nicole Sarmiento contributed to this article.  
 
 
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