After trucker protests caused disruptions to its operations, the Port of Oakland is fully running again.
Truckers were protesting AB5, which is a law in California that mandates companies that hire independent contractors to identify them as employees. Truckers have been upset over the law, as many of them are independent owners of their trucks and they don’t want to become employees.
The law went into effect for the trucking industry on June 30 after the Supreme Court refused to listen to truckers’ claims against it. This sparked the trucker’s protests, which began last week.
As a result of the protests, cargo was left on ships, which added to the congestion that was already forming at ports and continued to worsen the U.S. supply chain.
Over the weekend, port officials and local authorities set up designated free speech zones for truckers to safely protest while also allowing for trucks to get through so they could transport containers.
On Monday, the Port of Oakland resumed all operations as the port reached a temporary agreement with truckers to stop blockades.
The port’s Executive Director Danny Wan announced that the port was fully operating, and he urged truckers to voice their concerns with lawmakers, as opposed to taking it out on the port.
