Truck drivers strike over pay
"We're not making enough money to bring food to our tables" -- Jon Dulay, Stockton truck driver
By Mike Martinez
Staff Writer
LATHROP — Hundreds of truck drivers from throughout the area gathered at one of the busiest intersections for big rigs in San Joaquin County, among other places, and they all had the same message: "Stop working for free.''
And they said it in English, Spanish, Laotian, Chinese and Punjabi.
The drivers have been striking since Monday to protest what they claim is a wage rate below $5 an hour, brought on by a lack of pay increases over the past decade and compounded by the recent spike in fuel prices.
Jon Dulay, 53, of Stockton, who's been a truck driver since 1984, said whatever money drivers do get paid ends up paying the fuel bill and they have nothing left to take home.
He said the companies they haul for — there are about 41 in the area — are pocketing money that should be going to the drivers.
"We're not making enough money to bring food to our tables,'' Dulay said. "We need a raise.''
Albel Chahil, 48, of Tracy, has owned his big rig for the past 18 years and is striking in an effort to raise the base price independent truck owner/operators get.
"It's the same this year as it was 10 years ago and all of our expenses have tripled,'' Chahil said. "DMV has tripled. Parts have tripled. The price of gas has more than tripled, it used to be $1.25 a gallon.''
John Bernadicou is the general manager of the Pape-Kenworth dealership, which has been an unofficial headquarters for the strike crew and provided a barbecue lunch for the striking drivers. He supports their efforts and said his business is directly tied to their fortunes.
"They buy their fuel from us. They buy their parts from us. They get their trucks serviced by us,'' Bernadicou said. "What they're going after is a higher wage rate for themselves. If they are not making any money, they're not going to spend any money with us and they need to make a living, just like anybody else.''
Zoe Richmond, a spokeswoman for Union Pacific, said the strike has impacted the railroad yard in Lathrop, which is located just west of the Sharpe Army Depot. She said they are seeing a slight decrease in the truck traffic coming through, as some of the drivers who normally haul containers from the yard are now out front picketing.
"We can appreciate their concerns,'' Richmond said. "Especially with the high cost of diesel fuel, something which we're dealing with as well. It's not our fight, but it does make for an awkward situation for us.''
Julie Sauls, a spokeswoman for the California Trucking Association, said the organization — which represents about 2,500 trucking companies and industry support services — is not affiliated with the striking drivers and doesn't condone the strike action.
"Our members are dealing with the same fuel prices those folks are,'' Sauls said. "It shows people are struggling with the cost of fuel and it's not one of those expenses truckers can just set aside. No matter what, we're forced to pay for fuel and we don't see any relief in the future.''
The cost of diesel has jumped about 50 percent in the past year, she said, and drivers pay upward of $1,200 to fill up the two 150-gallon tanks a rig can carry.
Sauls said there isn't much the drivers can do to get around the gas prices, and the few things they can do — checking tire pressure, reducing speeds — are things they've been doing for years.
"When you consider people are concerned with the price of fuel, goods-movers are paying more than the average consumer,'' Saul said. "It's pretty crazy when you think about it.''
I'm going to try and get some "on the ground" reports on this. But, it looks like the truckers are still holding strong despite the police presence.
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=6127558
OAKLAND, CA (KGO) -- Police officers will be out in force at the Port of Oakland following a rowdy trucker protest Tuesday.
Diesel prices are going up faster than gas prices. The truckers said they're not getting reimbursed and it cost upwards of $600 to fill up their trucks. Diesel is going up faster than gas by 30 cents a gallon and has gone up more than $1 this year over last. Gas prices in comparison have risen 70 cents this year over last.
Protesters say the companies which hire them to do the hauling are not honoring an agreement to pay them back. Motor carriers are being fair and are paying them back. One trucker says the protesters haven't scared her away.
"I really haven't seen it where it's got real bad, where I could go ahead and tell my boss - 'I'm not coming in because I'm afraid.' But no, so far they have been calming everything down. There have been cops here, so that helps," said Dolores Rodriguez, trucker.
Rodriguez works for a carrier and she's not an independent trucker. It's the independents who are hurt most by the cost of the diesel fuel prices.
Testimony yesterday before a Congressional committee by a small trucking company representative said about 1,000 small trucking companies have gone out of business in the past year. A lot of that is due to the increase in diesel prices.