Owner-operators who carry containers between ports have been slammed by higher fuel costs as crude oil prices have soared 119% in the past year.
Protests are planned in Jacksonville, Fla.; Savannah, Ga.; Charleston, S.C.; Baltimore; Boston; and Detroit. “Steamship lines routinely secure fuel surcharges for themselves but leave port truckers hanging out to dry,” Hoffa said in announcing the protest. “American and Canadian port truckers need a fuel surcharge to compensate for the huge increase in diesel prices over the last 12 months. And they need a system to monitor the surcharge to ensure that it is actually passed on to the drivers.
“Local port authorities would be required to establish such a system under our Bill of Rights. If ports refuse their public duty, they should lose their public subsidies,” he said.
Other issues covered by the Bill of Rights include the abolition of mandatory unpaid work and provision for health insurance and pension benefits.
