Read our editorial on the significance of strikes here.
Over 350 concrete ready-mix truck drivers ended a two-week strike in northern California against concrete monopoly CalPortland after ratifying a one year contract extension on August 21.
CalPortland is one of the largest cement companies in the Western US and Canada, and integrates the harvest of raw materials, manufacture, and transportation of cement.
The drivers are organized in Teamsters Locals 853, 665, 315, and 150. They struck on August 6 across multiple counties and 15 cement mixing facilities. The union accused CalPortland of not negotiating in good faith since contract negotiations were set to open up across all locals on June 8.
Teamsters argue that CalPortland attempted to undermine negotiations by scheduling bargaining with each local separately, a tactic to break solidarity and weaken strikes. Only two dates a month were allotted for negotiation between August and November. The union accused the company of attempting to delay bargaining until after the summer, the busiest season in the construction industry, when many projects would already be complete, according to Teamsters press releases.
The drivers are fighting for healthcare benefits, pension protections, and a stop to “unilateral economic cuts” by the company according to Teamsters leadership. The union claims that, in the lead-up to the strike, CalPortland made unilateral changes to workers’ pay scales and would not commit to hiring Teamsters-organized drivers.
Teamster press releases about contract language are often vague, but they claim the strike increased wages and has reversed the company’s attack on the contract and working conditions with the 1 year extension, setting them up for negotiations for a new contract.
At a choke-point for construction, the strike put a stop to multiple public and private construction projects, according to a Teamsters local 665 press release, and so “alarmed elected officials called for actions to end the strike.” The Local 665 Principal Officer said the mayor of San Francisco “phoned the CEO” of the monopoly to push for a settlement and end the strike.
Teamsters Local 313 drivers in DuPont, WA, initiated a separate unfair labor practice strike against CalPortland on April 1, 2026 for bad-faith bargaining and are still on the picket line fighting for raises while the company employs scabs.
Alongside companies’ attacks on drivers’ working conditions, truck drivers are also facing ICE terror under “Operation Highway Shield” targeting foreign-born CDL drivers across multiple states.
Image: Teamsters Local 853 drivers on strike against CalPortland. Credit: @teamsters853 on Instagram.
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