Truckers protesting a new California law that toughens the definition of nonemployee drivers shut down some operations at the Port of Oakland on Tuesday, adding new disruptions to already fragile U.S. supply chains.
Ed DeNike, president of SSA Containers, which handles about 70% of the cargo entering and leaving the Port of Oakland, said truckers blocked truck gates into and out of the company’s container terminal.
Mr. DeNike said container ships couldn’t be loaded or unloaded because dockworkers with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union refused to cross the picket line. “The thing that hurts the most is we are full,” Mr. DeNike said.
The private firms that run cargo-handling facilities at the port say the protests began Monday and sharply cut back operations. By Tuesday, as the number of protesters swelled, the ability to move boxes was almost at a standstill.
Andrea Connolly, a spokeswoman for cargo-handler TraPac LLC, said protesters on Tuesday barred short-haul truckers from entering the facility and only allowed long-haul drivers in at a rate of three trucks per half-hour. Ms. Connolly said TraPac’s operations were reduced Tuesday by 95%.
The truckers are protesting a new California law, known as AB5, that sets restrictions on the use of outside contractors rather than company employees across a range of businesses. Independent owner-operators make up a large share of the trucking sector, particularly in port operations ferrying containers between docks and distribution centers.
Many truckers like the independence of being an owner-operator. They worry that under the new law they will have to either take a full-time job or spend tens of thousands of dollars in additional fees, such as insurance, to remain independent.
Oakland, like most of the nation’s ports, has struggled with congestion at sea and on land caused by record cargo volumes during the Covid-19 pandemic. On the West Coast, the port is the second busiest gateway for exports and the third busiest for imports, handling more than 600,000 loaded boxes, measured in 20-foot equivalent units, during the first four months of this year, according to research and consulting firm Beacon Economics.
The AB5 law, which pushes companies to employ drivers to give more truckers the benefits that come with full-time work, was due to go into effect in 2020. It was held up pending a legal challenge by the California Trucking Association. A June 30 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court not to review the case allowed the law to go into effect while the lawsuit continues.
A spokeswoman for the Oakland port, Marilyn Sandifur, said protesters have indicated they plan to protest through Wednesday.
Ms. Sandifur said the truckers’ concerns have been heard. “They need to take their message to Sacramento,” she said. “Ongoing protests will drive customers away from Oakland and encourage them to take their business elsewhere.”
Bill Aboudi, president of Oakland Port Services Corp., an Oakland-based trucking firm, said about 400 protesters gathered at the port Monday. Mr. Aboudi, said on Tuesday the protesters’ ranks more than doubled to about 1,000 people. He said protesters are deep-frying food and feeding people on the picket line.
“They are digging in for a whole week,” Mr. Aboudi said. “They’ve set up tents and are distributing food.”
Hedayatullah Ibrahimi, a 43-year-old owner-operator, slept in his truck at the port on Monday night in hopes of getting into the terminal at 6 a.m. Tuesday to pick up a load.
Mr. Ibrahimi said three trucks in front of him made it through the gate but the protesters stopped him and said that if he went in they would smash his windows. So he gave up and left the port.
He said the lost day’s work cost him about $800. “I’m not blaming the protesters,” he said. “They are doing a good job because I am against the law. But I have to pay my bills.“
Source: Wall Street Journal
