Port Of Oakland Open Again After Newsom Forces Protesters Into ‘Free Speech Zones’
Darian Douraghy
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Will American workers continue to stand up for their demands? A group of protesting truckers reportedly managed to freeze all operations of the Port of Oakland this past week to express their dismay at newly passed California labor laws. The workers finally allowed the port to open up once more on Monday, although they received zero compromises after their protest.
The port opened up once more after the Port of Oakland worked with the government to legally crack down on truckers that are hindering operations, according to Reuters. A letter sent to truckers on July 21 instructed them to only demonstrate in what they described as designated “free speech zones.” Should any of the workers not listen to the demands, they would be “cited and penalized” by police, reported The Wall Street Journal.
Truckers on the scene were protesting Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5), which reclassifies them as employees rather than independent contractors. Reporting by the Daily Caller News Foundation indicated that many truckers argue the legislation would ruin their business model.
Cargo containers are moving again at the Port of Oakland after independent truck drivers stood down from protesting. Did they get what they want? No. A compromise? No. “For one week, the police didn’t act. But today, they threatened to act,. https://t.co/pI82Uo0Tip via @AskAkiko pic.twitter.com/SZAvPBakj9
— Rachael Myrow (@rachaelmyrow) July 26, 2022
Newsom’s office gave a statement to the Daily Caller, saying that although “it has been the subject of litigation, AB 5 was enacted in 2019, so no one should be caught by surprise by the law’s requirements at this time. The industry should focus on supporting this transition just as California has and continues to do.”
The office of the California governor has made no efforts to reach out to the protestors since they began, according to Oakland-based trucker Rashpal Singh.
“I don’t think the government is going to listen … we haven’t heard anything from them,” stated Singh.
The implications of such legislation are potentially massive — a report by The Daily Caller claimed that a large portion of the 70,000 owner-operator truckers in California could leave the industry as a result of AB 5.
Big League Politics has covered other instances of regular working-class citizens standing up to their governments. A recent report featured Dutch Populist Leader Thierry Baudet claiming that the nation’s farmers are standing strong against what he described as the “Great Reset” agenda.
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