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Truckers’ future uncertain as LA city decides to end haul program
Los Angeles Jun 08, 2023
| Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services
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Members of the Los Angeles City Contract Truck Association, which represents more than 100 minority-owned independent truckers, protested on downtown streets Thursday to urge city officials to renew contracts for its As-Needed Haul Truck Program.
The city’s As-Needed Haul Truck Program is a program in the Bureau of Street Services, or StreetsLA, that dates back to the 1890s. According to StreetsLA, the program was introduced during a period of growth and when “additional trucking was required to assist city forces in the building, maintenance and resurfacing of the city’s roads.”
StreetsLA has since retained a list of “qualified and ready-to-work independent owner-operators” for short-term and long-term hauling projects.
Kenyatta Cole, secretary for LACCTA, told City News Service its members received letters on May 31 informing them that the city would not be able to renew those contracts, which are set to expire June 30.
“It really was a shocker. It really hurts, and it’s detrimental (to our) businesses,” Cole told City News Service. “People are scared. They’re fearful because they don’t know why something like that would happen.”
LACCTA members, like many other Angelenos, are still struggling from the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, he said. Many of them also fear falling into homelessness.
“We actually operate below costs. No one can come in and do the work that we do, and operate at the cost that we operate,” Cole said. “We are experienced, and we know what we are doing.”
Independent truckers live in Los Angeles, he added, and because the truckers know the “roles, routes and are familiar with the area,” they are able to provide “great” service. Cole expressed that many truckers invested thousands of dollars to acquire the necessary equipment to repaint and to resurface potholes and provide other services to maintain the city’s streets.
City officials cited state legislation AB 5, which was passed in 2020, changed the California Labor Code, classifying workers as employees rather than independent contractors.
“This is having wide ramifications across the state, and will cause the haul truck program to end when current contracts expire at the end of June,” Elena Stern, senior public information director for the Department of Public Works, which houses StreetsLA, said in a statement.
“We care very much about the livelihoods of our partners and have been working aggressively at the direction of the mayor to ensure that our 93 contract truckers are given the opportunity to continue employment, and that paving operations continue seamlessly,” Stern added.
Cole said the city’s attorneys are in communication with their representatives, but he believes the city has not done enough to meet with the association and find a solution. He noted each time the two groups had a meeting, Public Works would cancel or reschedule with them.
LACCTA hopes the city will renew its contracts with independent truckers, Cole added, but until then, members will continue to protest and urge city officials to protect their livelihoods.
“We love the city of Los Angeles. We love trucking. We love paving the streets. We love meeting the people out there that we come in contact with every day,” Cole said. “That’s why we’re fighting for our jobs.”
