U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz issued a temporary restraining order July 9 to end a two-week trucker strike that has blocked port cargo traffic at the Port of Miami, according to news accounts.

Since the strike by about 700 independent truckers began June 28, the port has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees because nine vessels were diverted to other ports, The Miami Herald reported.

Meanwhile, the restraining order said Miami-Dade County, the port and Universal Maritime Services, a private terminal operator at the port, would suffer “immediate and irreparable injury, loss or damage” unless the striking truck drivers were forced to stop the boycott that “has prevented truck operators from serving the port.”

The judge is scheduled to hear the motion for a preliminary injunction against the truck drivers July 15.

The county, port and Universal argued that, as independent contractors and nonunion members, the truck drivers were violating antitrust law by conspiring to obstruct trade. Universal Maritime Services said it has lost 95 percent of its business because no truckers would enter the port to pick up or deliver cargo and estimated its losses at $700,000.

The drivers, however, said they’d continue to strike.

They want higher wages, saying that long waits at the port made their $50-a-load payment too low. Drivers also want a solution to the issue of liability insurance, which is deducted from their paychecks. They said they are not required to pay for the insurance.