Post-Election Issues in Trucking and Fleet Management
A threatened protest called #StopTheTires across several social media accounts suggests that a series of trucker strikes may be planned for Nov. 26-30. Other strikes might last throughout December, some truckers say.
Of course, this strike threat is a rumor, and time will tell if truckers will participate in a nationwide lockdown. Truck drivers have tried multiple times to organize protests, particularly since spring 2019 to fight against industry over-regulation, yet all previous strike attempts were ineffective with few participants. Other concerns involve safety from COVID-19 and the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Still, concerns raised by truckers threatening to stop work in protest can be addressed by industry leaders.
Coronavirus Safety Concerns Motivating a Potential Truck Driver Strike
Some truck drivers responsible for supplying Whole Foods in New York state are threatening to strike as a result of COVID-19 concerns, saying that the company itself has relaxed its COVID-19 regulations, according to this recent article.
Others cited in the article are skeptical about the coming strike threats, saying that past strikes have been suggested because of issues surrounding NAFTA and border security.
Drivers surveyed by the Commercial Carrier Journal, though, say their primary concerns of 2020 involve day-to-day frustrations: truck parking, low pay, long working hours, and safety on and off the job, not coronavirus safety.
COVID-19’s effect on those concerns has been surprising, some drivers say. COVID has kept fuel prices low, allowing some drivers to keep more money that way. Other drivers delivering COVID-related hauls of food and disinfectants like bleach have kept busy.
Motivations behind a possible truck driver strike
In certain videos for #StopTheTires, some drivers complain that the original shutdown led to restaurants and truck stops being closed beginning in March 2020. And they also complained about the outcome of the Presidential election, which they viewed as a betrayal of blue-collar workers.
Claiming to be not motivated by politics or the Republican or Democratic parties, a Facebook group called Trucker Strike 2020 said it seeks to change the industry from becoming too much federal regulation and low payments.
Truckers are essential workers, the backbone of American industry, and they provide consumers nationwide with necessary goods to survive. As we enter the holiday season, threats of a trucking industry strike are not to be taken lightly. Yet there is no way to tell how extensive this threat might be.
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