LA Port Truckers Seek to Unionize in New Gig Work Showdown (1)

Hundreds of truckers who haul goods at Southern California ports and railyards are petitioning to unionize, hoping to convince federal authorities they’re really employees and not contractors as their company claims.

In a Wednesday filing with the National Labor Relations Board, the Teamsters union requested a unionization election be held among around 250 drivers who work for the logistics company XPO Logistics Inc.

Drivers say they want to win workplace benefits, such as healthcare, that they’ve been excluded from as so-called contractors, and address long-running issues like low pay, which the union argues contributes to the worker shortages currently ...