A group of port truck drivers who haul goods to and from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles plan to launch a three-day labor strike on Monday, Oct. 1, a representative for the Teamsters said Wednesday, Sept. 26.

“We’re here to put you on notice that we’re fed up and we’re going on strike,” Preston Richie, a business representative for Teamsters Local 848 told the Port of Long Beach Harbor Commission during its meeting this week. “We’re preparing picket signs as we speak.”

The strike, Richie told the five-member commission, is meant to protest the “fraudulent” misclassification of workers as independent contractors, instead of as employees, by the trucking companies they work for.

Truckers classified as contractors are not eligible for a minimum wage, or fringe benefits such as health insurance or holiday pay.

Picketing is expected to take place at company facilities, marine terminals, rail yards, warehouses and distribution centers used by the companies XPO Logistics and NFI Industries. Richie and other union officials did not return phone calls and emails requesting comment.

Strikers usually umber around 100, a fraction of the thousands of drivers registered to haul goods.

The Long Beach Police Department said the strike would take place within the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Harbor Division. The Port of Los Angeles did not respond to request for comment.

Port of Long Beach spokesman Lee Peterson, though, said the port was aware of the upcoming strike — but expects disruptions to be minimal.

“Other than LB police officers and POLB Harbor Patrol officers assigned to ensure safety at any picketing areas in the port,” Peterson said, “no special measures are anticipated.”

Drivers have increasingly turned to short-term strikes as a negotiating tactic. There have been an estimated 15 pickets at the LA-Long Beach port complex over the past five years, according to Teamsters Local 848 Representative Reyes Magaña.

“These strikes have caused congestion, delays and negative publicity,” Magaña said. “Until the abuse of drivers ends, the Port of Long Beach will continue to face labor unrest.”

Since 2011, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement within the state Labor Commissioner’s Office has received more than 900 complaints from port drivers over misclassification. To date, the labor division has issued more than 400 decisions, awarding $46 million of back pay and penalties to drivers, according to state records.

An estimated 17,000 trucks are registered to work at the adjoining ports, according to Port of Long Beach data, with about 75 percent of those rig active on a monthly basis. In 2017, about 300,000 truck moves a month were completed at the port.