Cassens Transport drivers on strike

Transport truck drivers with Cassens Transport locations in London, Ont. and Windsor walked off the job at noon on Saturday looking for better pay.

"Everything's going up,” said driver Joe Buchner as he manned the picket line on Monday morning. “Food, fuel, everything. We're just looking to be competitive."

There are just over 100 members of Teamsters Local 938 currently on strike.

The drivers haul new cars, taking them from manufacturers to dealerships. They say they make less then most other transport truck drivers.

The Cassens workers said drivers who haul the more conventional closed-trailer units don't have the responsibilities that car haulers take on. Many transport drivers simply back into a bay and somebody else loads or unloads the trailer.

Buchner said vehicle haulers have to get up on the trailer and make sure they vehicles get off safely. That has it’s own challenges, "Different weather; heat, cold, rain, you know, snow. All year, right. We have to climb up and down the truck, load and unload the vehicles, strap everything down. It can be a pretty daunting task."

The Cassens employees said they make less than many other transport drivers and claim their compensation is about 35 per cent lower than most Cassens drivers in the U.S.

Buchner said shifts start at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Most of the time it's a conventional eight hour day, but Buchner said it sometimes balloons to 14 hours or longer, “The traffic in Toronto is pretty bad. The [U.S./Canada] bridges can get pretty backed up. Everything costs time."

Buchner said demand for transport drivers remains extremely high, and they have other options, but he said the Cassens workers simply want to get a deal done that keeps their wages competitive.

"There's always somewhere else we can go, but we don't want to do that. Everybody's comfortable. Everyone's families are local. Nobody likes to change jobs, but there are other jobs out there," he said.

Cassens Transport is based in Edwardsville, Illinois, and has been in the vehicle-hauling business for 90 years.

CTV News reached out to Cassens headquarters but were told they have no comment at this time.

For now, the vehicle haulers sit idle in the London yard on Green Valley Road.