Could a Trucker Strike Work?

Perhaps you have heard in the news in the past few weeks that there were murmurs about a potential trucker strike against New York City in retribution for a ruling against the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump. Between attacks against the former president and regulations such as California’s AB-5 law providing a stranglehold on the owner-operator business model, could the trucking industry collectively deciding to withhold services be enough to issue change?

Implications

There are a lot of things to consider when it comes to the potential for a trucker’s strike.

Location

The two examples provided earlier, California and New York City, are located close to the ocean. While a dearth of truck deliveries would slow things down, the economies would still be able to slowly move along due to being connected to international goods by way of the ocean.

Collective Agreement

The trucking industry is very large. For meaningful impact to happen, enough truckers would have to agree to withhold driving through certain areas for it to work. Even just a few companies breaking the line and providing services would be catastrophic in undermining the cause.

Legal and Contractual Obligations

Strikes usually happen as a spur-of-the-moment, whereas contracts can be in place for years. Oftentimes, the contracts will have penalty clauses that would harshly impact the trucking company for reneging on the deal. If the strike were to go on long enough, however, the trucking company could opt not to renew the contract once it expires and join the lines.

Government Interference

This is a highly unlikely case for us in the United States, but the trucker convoy protests in Canada and how the Canadian government seized private bank accounts shows that sometimes strikes come with sacrifices. If push comes to shove, truckers may no longer be tempted to stand their ground.

Conclusion

A strike of large magnitude would be difficult to pull off, but if it were to happen, it would work wonders for the trucking industry in getting better demands. Take the garbage men of New York, for example, and how quickly Manhattan would pile with trash without them. Slowing the supply chain down to a trickle would send a stronger message than any court proceeding.

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