LOS ANGELES — Hundreds of independent truck drivers stopped work and took to the streets Wednesday to protest a California law that makes it more difficult for them to be considered independent contractors.
At the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, a group of about 100 truck drivers stopped work in protest as other drivers blocked highways in the area; however, port spokespeople said that the facilities remained open. Drivers in Oakland are reportedly planning their own protest for Monday.
On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court decided against hearing the California Trucking Association’s (CTA) case against the law, known as Assembly Bill 5, or AB5.
This means that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s ruling stands, thus eliminating the preliminary injunction preventing AB5 from being enforced on motor carriers.
Popularly known as the “gig worker bill,” the legislation requires companies that hire independent contractors to reclassify them as employees, with some exceptions.
This has many in the California trucking industry concerned about the future of the owner-operator.
John Wiggins, an owner-operator who regularly drives to California’s ports, told The Trucker that the new law amounts to government overreach.
“They just don’t want us little guys to make it,” he said. “That is why I am out here protesting. It’s a damn shame.”
AB5 was passed into law in 2019, but the lawsuit had prevented it from affecting the trucking industry.
“Gasoline has been poured on the fire that is our ongoing supply chain crisis,” the CTA said in a statement. “In addition to the direct impact on California’s 70,000 owner-operators who have seven days to cease long-standing independent businesses, the impact of taking tens of thousands of truck drivers off the road will have devastating repercussions on an already fragile supply chain, increasing costs and worsening runaway inflation.”
Trucking company owner Gordy Reimer told Reuters that he normally has 50 to 75 independent drivers working at Los Angeles’ ports.
All of them declined loads on Wednesday to participate in the protests on port properties and nearby roadways, said Reimer, who counted his immediate losses at around $50,000.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), which filed an amicus brief in support of the CTA’s petition, said it was disappointed in the high court’s decision.
“With AB5 now set to go into effect, thousands of owner-operators driving in California face an uncertain future,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said. “California has provided no guidance to owner-operators about how they can work as independent contractors under this new scheme, and truckers will be at the mercy of the courts to interpret how the law will be applied.
“For truckers that have invested their blood, sweat and treasure to create their own businesses, it is dismaying that lawmakers and the courts are forging ahead with this radical policy that dismisses a beneficial business model that has been in place for decades. At the same time, we know this will not be the last word on the legality of AB5 and expect to participate in future challenges to the law.”
Meanwhile, the California Attorney’s General Office heralded the decision.
“We’re pleased with the court’s decision to reject this challenge to AB 5’s application to the motor carrier industry,” a spokesperson said, according to OOIDA’s publication Land Line. “At the California Department of Justice, we’ll continue to do our part to defend laws that are designed to protect workers and ensure fair labor and business practices.”
CTA officials said they believe that AB5 violates the constitution and could force the end of the trucking industry’s owner-operator model. But the U.S. solicitor general recently advised the court to deny the CTA’s petition, saying that AB5 would not have a significant impact on prices, routes or services
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
The sooner we get driverless vehicles — so that society cannot be held to ransom by the ignorant and the selfish — the better. A pity that sensible truckers will be effected too, but that’s a price to be payed that we’ll have to deal with.
So let’s pay you 1/4 of your salary and bet you would all in favor of that! And for driverless tractors nothing takes the place of experienced human drivers,Nothing!
WTF are you talking about ???????
Trumps Supreme Court shot you guys down. Pay more attention who you vote for.
This ain’t about voting. That shitvhas always been a scam. If voting is supposed to be the end all be all why did black PEOPLE and white women just get the privilege to vote. Old WHITE MEN run America and they’re pushing this world to anarchy.
To all my professional brother and sister truck drivers.. I have been saying for atleast 5 plus years now, the Mega Carriers are at the heart of AB5 and have been pushing to get rid of O/O and small companies. In the past 7 years I’ve seen our industry go down the toilet, Mega carrier’s hire new drivers and turn them loose ” after 2 to 6 weeks training ” this is totally unacceptable! What’s happened over 7 year’s, Mega insurance claims, Mega law suits and Death and Destruction from untrained drivers. I first obtained my CDL in 1984 in California, at that time it was a mandatory 6 weeks DOT certified Truck driving school, now it’s gotten to two weeks? And on top of that, in some cases people just buying a CDL for a thousand or so dollars. 🤔 The only way to change the current culture in our industry is unfortunately to have a Nation Wide Truck Driver shut down! Yes, this is a very hard thing to do… what’s the alternative? Autonomous Trucking Industry is what it is. It’s time for all of us to wake up, pull off your blinders and put our foots down on the people who keep us down and take our foots of the pedals! If all you want to do is B–ch about how bad things are, go get a different job, if you want change in our industry ? Fight for it… Just my opinion and yes, it would be tough and scary , but think about just a 3 to 5 day complete across the board shut down, gaureete, the results would be for the betterment of the Professional Truck Driver Industry.
My husband and I supported the Canadian Trucker protest financially as well as our American trucker convoy, we rode with them for a short distance and camped at a racetrack in NC to hear the truckers and doctors speak about the unconstitutional vaccine mandate. It was a great feeling to be with them as we are all in this together as patriotic Americans. I think you will see a red wave of Patriots rising up in the months ahead as tyranny spreads thoughout the land of the free and home of the brave! We are many, they are few. To Fight for our country is all we have left. I for one know that Jesus Christ is coming again to set the record straight but in the meantime it’s time to fight for our freedom with the guns that the commies hope to confiscate very soon, they are licking their chops in anticipation of the accusation of our wealth and sovereignty! Time to get serious, like the farmers in the Netherlands. Great article, and the comment by David Ritter says it all! Just tune in and read what the WEF is saying, directly to your FACE!!! I’m going to see about getting a HAM operator license coming up soon…
When Europeans came and took this land and then kidnapped a whole nation of people to till the land for free then act like nothing happened expect a nation built on that kind of humanless treachery to fall HARD! Unfortunately for all of us this is just the beginning. And white people will go to their death beds believing they are better than everyone else or just continuing to hate overtly or covertly. Yall destroyed the world. Check your history.
What it comes down to is this………. You will own NOTHING and you will be HAPPY!! Welcome to the New World Odor (order).