Trucker protests over California's AB5 law shut Port of Oakland terminals

In July 2022, independent truck drivers protesting California's gig worker law, AB5, shut down truck traffic at the Port of Oakland. On Wednesday, July 20, the third day of protests, management at the Oakland International Container Terminal closed operations. The port told CNBC that its other three marine terminals were effectively shut for trucks, though some vessel work continued.

Why drivers protested

AB5 requires companies that hire independent contractors to reclassify many of them as employees. A two-year legal stay that had kept the law from applying to trucking ended when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the industry's challenge.

Most truck drivers in California are owner-operators. An estimated 70,000 who own and drive their own trucks would fall under the law. Many said they did not want to become employees in order to keep working.

The protests in Oakland were the largest against the law to that point. About 100 truckers had protested at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach the week before.

Labor and gates

The protests blocked terminal gates. Some longshoremen chose not to cross the crowds, citing safety, as their contract permits. Without enough labor, SSA Marine closed its terminal for the day. The port normally handles more than 2,100 trucks a day.

The state stood by the law. Dee Dee Myers, director of the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, told CNBC that with the federal courts rejecting the industry's appeals, it was time to comply.

Reopening

The Port of Oakland said on July 25 that its marine terminals were operating normally and had resumed operations on Saturday, July 23, after several days of disruption. Executive Director Danny Wan thanked drivers for using the designated free-speech zones and urged them to take their grievances to lawmakers rather than the port.

The port said the protests had delayed shipments of medical supplies, agricultural products, auto and technology parts, livestock and manufacturing parts.

What it meant for carriers

For drayage operators in California, AB5 forced a choice about how to structure their businesses. The governor's office told CNBC it suspected the landscape could change, with independent drivers getting their own operating authority or existing firms moving to an employee-driver model. For shippers, the port said the protests had already held up the timely flow of cargo.