By Tom Price

Port truckers lost a round in their efforts to gain a voice on the job when California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have recognized their collective bargaining rights.

Senate Bill 848, introduced Feb. 25 by Sen. Joseph Dunn (D-Garden Grove), would have acknowledged what is obvious to everyone on the waterfront—that port truckers are workers who should be able to combine together and bargain with their employers. But in a selective interpretation of states’ rights, Schwarzenegger claimed the bill would violate federal anti-trust laws and the state didn’t need to get into a fight over it. The bill passed the Senate 24-14 and the Assembly 47-31. Schwarzenegger vetoed it Sept. 29. The bill had the backing of the Teamsters’ Union and the opposition of the Calif. Trucking Assn.

"It’s typical Schwarzenegger—if anyone in the business community objects to legislation, he’s going to veto it," said Chuck Mack, Director of the Teamsters’ Port Division. "If it has anything to do with labor and there’s an objection—it’s an automatic veto."

The steamship companies that contract with the truckers have anti-trust immunity and are allowed to fix shipping rates among themselves. These immunities allow the companies "to engage in collective activities to increase their market clout, and these activities decrease the ability of port owner-operator drivers to negotiate for higher rates," the bill reads. Anti-trust laws deny port truckers the same privileges.

The bill would cover drivers who own only one tractor and drive under agreements with maritime shippers. Sen. Dunn’s reasoning is that the truckers are kept unfairly poor and cannot maintain their rigs. Therefore the citizens suffer the pollution and pay the medical bills for underpaid workers. While the National Labor Relations Act bans unionization by "independent contractors," it does not preempt California from passing labor laws to protect its environment and its workers, according to the bill.

The bill’s supporters argued that since truckers provide their own tractors but in every other way use the employers’ facilities, they are no more independent than mechanics who bring their own tools to work.

Schwarzenegger could have looked like a fighter for the underdog if California took the lead and tried to solve the problems of port congestion and the exploitation of port truckers. But he didn’t sound like the action hero in his veto.

"The litigious firestorm this bill would assuredly ignite is counter-productive to the cooperative work that must be accomplished to capture the economic potential afforded by growth in international trade," Schwarzenegger’s veto message read.

Mack, who is also Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 70 and a Teamster International Vice President, promised more action next year.

"This veto only reinforces what we already know about this guy—he’s in the pocket of big business and he does their bidding to the detriment of workers, in this case, workers who are just absolutely exploited," Mack said. "We’ll re-introduce the bill, we’ll get it passed and, when we get a new governor, we will get it signed."