—ON THE PICKET LINE—

Maggie Trowe, Editor

Washington state teachers protest lack of funding

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Some 4,000 teachers and supporters protested at the state Capitol here April 25. The rally, organized by the Washington Education Association, was backed by many unions.

The protest took place amid a series of statewide rolling one-day strikes involving some 3,000 teachers. More strikes are planned through mid-May.

The teachers are protesting the state senate vote to increase class sizes in grades 4 to 12, to mandate use of state test scores in teacher evaluations and to shortchange teachers’ pay and benefits, which haven’t increased in six years.

The unionists demand the legislature fund smaller class sizes in every grade level as required by state ballot initiative 1351, which was passed by a 51 percent majority last fall. Some 12,000 additional teachers would have to be hired to bring the state’s pupil-to-classroom-teacher ratio to the national average.

The Washington legislature is under state Supreme Court order to increase public school funding by 2019.

“I would like kids to get the support they need in order to be successful,” Kimberly Rodriguez, a teacher in the North Shore District, told the Militant. “For this we need more support in the classroom, more funding, more teachers’ assistants and smaller class sizes.”

“It hurts me when I see I can only do so much and kids are being left behind. We can’t let that happen.” said Maynard Garritty, a teacher in Redmond. “It is time to hold the legislators’ feet to the fire. They give huge tax breaks to corporations and undermine kids’ future.”

— Edward Foote

Port truck drivers return to work after five-day strike

LOS ANGELES — Port drivers here fighting for Teamster union representation and classification as employees, not owner-operators, ended a five-day strike May 2.

Picket lines were organized at four trucking yards — Pacific 9 Transportation, Intermodal Bridge Transport, Pacer Cartage and Harbor Rail Transport.

Mobile picket squads out of Teamsters Local 848’s hall in Long Beach went to several other sites in the port as well. To avoid having other traffic interrupted, most port terminals did not accept trucks from the four struck companies. Picketing continued at those that did until they agreed not to accept these trucks.

Members of the United Nurses Association joined the picket line April 30.

This was the sixth strike organized by port truck drivers in Los Angeles over the last 20 months. The truckers demand to be paid as employees. As “business owners” they are paid by the load with no compensation for waiting time and are responsible for costs of fuel, parking, insurance and maintenance, which sometimes results in negative “pay.”

“Bosses make the federal government think we are owner-operators, but the truck is IBT [Intermodal Bridge Transport], the insurance is IBT, the cargo and permit is theirs,” said driver José Antonio Portillo.

“The customer pays the company $45 an hour for waiting time. Of that we get $20 an hour,” added driver Jerry Johnson.

“The company receives money for diesel from the customer but only pays the driver a percentage,” said Portillo.

A solidarity picket and rally of 150 port truckers and supporters was held at an entrance to a Union Pacific rail yard here April 29. Teamsters, sanitation workers and others took part.

“I used to work at Walmart,” Venanzi Luna told the rally. “On April 13 Walmart shut the Pico Rivera store and fired 530 associates. They say it was plumbing. Our store is very active” in the fight for $15 and a union. “We know it’s retaliation. We are always going to stand strong no matter what they do. OUR Walmart workers are with you.”

—Deborah Liatos