Port of Vancouver to begin licensing truckers today, but are they coming back to work?

VANCOUVER (Aug. 23, 1999) — The Vancouver Port Authority (VPA) will implement a licensing program for drayage operators today, a move to reduce congestion at the port and entice owner-operators back to work.

The announcement comes amid an unconfirmed report that as many as 10 trucking companies have reached agreements with their drivers and they will be returning to work this morning. Owner-operators at the port have stymied container movement there since July 22, when about 450 drivers refused to work. Paid by the trip, they are demanding an hourly wage. But drivers there had agreed not to work until all major companies there participate in an agreement, which would have the rate of pay set by an independent arbitrator.

Only those marine container trucking companies with a valid license issued by the VPA, and those trucks displaying a valid VPA permit will be eligible to do business on port property, said Norman Stark, VPA president and CEO.

“This interim licensing system addresses a mandatory appointment system, extended container terminal operating hours, and other new operation measures that will reduce and even eliminate congestion at container terminal gates,” Stark said. “It will also help ensure that all trucks hauling marine containers to and from the Port are properly maintained and able to comply with all safety inspections.”

As many as 10 of the trucking companies at the Port of Vancouver have agreed to pay the hourly wage demanded by drivers after a provincial arbitrator intervened, said Stan Hennessy, business agent at Teamsters Local 31 in Vancouver.