Truckers fed up with lengthy wait times at Virginia ports have turned out to protest today.
The demonstration, dubbed by some participants as the “My Time Matters Protest”, started this morning outside the Virginia International Gateway in Portsmouth as members of the Virginia Port Authority’s board convened for their March meeting.
The port truck drivers are protesting about heavy congestion at the port resulting in extensive wait times which cut into their paychecks. Container volumes at the Port of Virginia increased by 7% last year.
The Port Authority recently rolled out an appointment system at the Norfolk International Terminals in order to deal with the long wait times. The appointment system is set to debut at the Virginia International Gateway this summer.
In video captured during the protest, you can see dozens of truck drivers chanting “Park That Truck” as they hold signs with messages like “Work For Hire, Not For Free” and “We Get No Pay 4 Sitting”.
You can see trucks lined up in protest in another video captured during the demonstration.
TWU and Norfolk Port Truckers rally to demand pay for obscene wait times at ports! Tell VIG that #ourtimematters pic.twitter.com/qjs9XK3RQw
— TWU (@transportworker) March 27, 2018
Protestors out front of VIG port. They want containers put on trucks quicker. Too slow. Time is money. Truckers say port doesn’t care. Port says they do care. @WAVY_News pic.twitter.com/tINeUrc7vo
— Andy Fox (@AndyFoxWAVY) March 27, 2018
Truckers here to state concerns to the Virginia Port Authority Board of Commissioners. Waiting to talk. @WAVY_News pic.twitter.com/6jAtF8lyW1
— Andy Fox (@AndyFoxWAVY) March 27, 2018
The protest is still ongoing.