transport

News and articles about work, policy and workers' struggles in transport and distribution around the world.

Stockton truckers call out the industry with 400 on strike

Motor carriers are underpaying truckers all over california for diesel fuel. Now they're fighting back...

Independent truckers in California's San Joaquin Valley shut down their rigs on Friday, May 2nd declaring an open-ended strike. At $4.80 a gallon, sky-rocketing diesel prices top the list of grievances. As their main demand, drivers insist on doubling the rates paid for hauling a container. The second biggest demand is a fuel surcharge of upwards of 55%.

The Ecological Challenge: Three Revolutions are Necessary

With a planetary ecological crisis on hand, it can no longer be denied that socialism will be incompatible with mass production and mass consumption. Indeed, even without returning to Malthusian catastrophe theories, we are forced to admit that the planet’s resources are not inexhaustible. These resources could provide for humanity’s needs, but only if they are used in a reasonable and rational way, i.e., in a manner directly opposed to capitalist logic, which in itself is a source of imbalance.

The Ecological Challenge: Three Revolutions are Necessary
by Alternative Libertaire

South African workers refuse to move arms bound for Zimbabwe

South African Transport Union members have announced they will not offload Chinese arms that are being shipped to crisis-torn Zimbabwe.

A boat carrying an arms shipment destined for Zimbabwe is anchored at the South African port of Durban. However the South African Transport Workers' Union has already announced that their members will not offload any of the cargo, nor will any of their truckers transport it.

Greece: General strike against pension reform

Thousands of Greek workers have joined a 24-hour strike in protest against reforms which could jeapordise pensions and jobs.

Launched by Greece's two largest unions, the strike has affected all public services, hospitals, banks, courts and airports. All flights out of Athens airport have been grounded after air traffic controllers, pilots and flight crews walked out, and ferry and metro systems across the country have been hit.

Transport strikes across Italy

Italy's biggest transport strike in 25 years forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights, idled trains, anchored ships, and stalled buses across the country on Friday.

Aero-news.net reported that Italian carrier Alitalia canceled 217 domestic and international flights before a four-hour walkout by pilots, flight crew and ground staff beginning at 11 am. Air One, Italy's number two carrier, only guaranteed nine flights there.

France: More workers join strikes

Hundreds of thousands of health workers, civil servants, printers postal workers and air traffic controllers yesterday joined transport and energy strikes over pensions and pay.

Thousands joined street protests in Paris, Rouen, Strasbourg, Marseille, Grenoble, Lyon and other cities.

The 24 hour strike left many schools closed, hospitals providing a reduced service and newsagents without newspapers.

The BBC reported that the French capital's two airports and Marseille airport in the south suffered delays and cancellations.

France: transport strikes enter second week

The transport strikes that have crippled France enter their second week today with negotiations scheduled for tomorrow.

The number of strikers seems to have stabilised at a relatively low figure of around 20% for the RATP (Paris transport) and 25% for the SNCF (rail), however this number does not reflect the effect upon services. General assemblies of rail workers cotinue to vote to continue strike action by massive majorities even thogh the number of strikers is lower.

France: Transport strikes are still going strong

The strikes, which seemed to be tailing off, appear to be affecting more services as workers renew strike action ahead of negotiations on Wednesday.

The six unions involved in the strike (CGT, FO, CFTC, Unsa, CFE-CGC and SUD after the CFDT withdrawal on Friday) called on workers' assemblies to vote to continue strike action.

France: transport strike holds as CFDT union withdraws

Although the CFDT union advised its members to vote at AGs to return to work from Friday, the strike appears to be at least holding at a similar level.

The CFDT leadership argued that as the strike was visibly weakening each day it was better to return to the negotiating table, the government demanding an end to strikes as a condition of negotiations. The number of official strikers on Friday fell to 23% on the metro and 32% on the SNCF.

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