The October 1 trucker strike that spread across social media for weeks did not turn into a nationwide shutdown Thursday. Some independent drivers did park their trucks, but there were no reports of mass participation or empty shelves, and most drivers who spoke to reporters said they could not afford a day off.
The trucker strike talk started with a September 15 Instagram video telling drivers to park their rigs on October 1 until diesel prices came down. Posts claiming 50,000 truckers had signed on soon followed. Nobody ever produced evidence for that number, and the creator known as The Disrespected Trucker, who is credited with starting the movement, told Overdrive Online he did not think it would happen.
Some drivers did follow through. Dumitru Malai, an owner operator from Pennsylvania, told Overdrive he was parked all week. For him, it is less a protest than math. At about a dollar a mile in diesel, plus tolls and insurance, running his truck means working for nothing. He said he knows other drivers who are parked too. Greg Bazluki Jr., a trucker with 40 years on the road, also parked but called it a vacation instead of a strike.
Plenty of others kept rolling. FOX13 in Memphis spoke with three drivers from different states, and none knew anyone who planned to take part. James Richardson, an independent trucker from Texas, said there is no unity among drivers and that they are struggling to survive. He said he would gladly park for a week if even 10% of independent truckers joined, but he had not seen any organized effort. Marquis Lewis, an Ohio trucker, said the talk was not stopping him.
The reason a real trucker strike is so hard to pull off comes down to how the industry works. Most of the drivers angriest about fuel are owner operators, which means they own their trucks and run as small businesses instead of working as employees. Labor law lets unions of employees strike, but independent businesses that band together to stop working or set prices can be accused of breaking antitrust laws, the rules against companies teaming up to control a market. Lewie Pugh, vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said that is exactly why his group could not organize one.
The anger behind it is real, though. Diesel averaged about $6.38 a gallon as of Monday, according to the Energy Information Administration. That was down almost 15 cents from the week before but still near record highs, and far above the $3.70 drivers were paying a year ago.
Leaders are already responding to that pressure. Trump is reportedly considering a ban on U.S. diesel exports to keep more fuel at home. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp paused the state’s fuel taxes, cutting 37 cents off a gallon of diesel. Alabama, Texas and Nebraska relaxed rules on dyed diesel, the cheaper untaxed fuel normally meant for farm and off road equipment, so more haulers can use it. The U.S. Department of Transportation also gave fuel haulers a three month waiver letting them drive up to 16 hours a day to keep fuel moving.
