What Would Life Be Like Without Trucks? We’ll Find Out When Truckers Strike April 12
By Samantha Biggers
TheOrganicPrepper.com
April 11, 2019
In January I wrote on the abundance of bare shelves in the United States and what might be causing that. During my interviews and research, I realized just how many problems there are in the nation’s shipping industry. At the root of it is government over-regulation, which is causing many people to leave the trucking profession because they can make a more steady income and be at home working even a simple fast food job. It seems that most any trucker I talked to had seen a reduction in wages and were having to work harder under trying conditions.
As a result, some truckers have decided to shut down their rigs on April 12 in protest and to raise awareness of the issues they are facing.
The upcoming truckers’ strike could have widespread effects.
A one-day strike is not going to cause disruption to a lot of people.
The concern is if the strike goes on longer. It would also be foolhardy to ignore the major issues our country’s shipping industry is experiencing. That is not going to go away without some serious work and people being able to meet each other halfway.
A strike on April 12 could turn into a bigger movement that means the next strike hits harder and causes supply issues that everyone might feel. Let’s look back on a previous shut down for a lesson on how out of hand things can get.
Here’s what happened during a trucker strike in 1973.
This is not the first time truckers have felt the need to protest.
The Independent Trucker Shutdown during the 1973 oil crisis was a large protest and should serve as a cautionary tale.
It occurred before my time, but plenty of you reading this may remember the skyrocketing oil prices of 1973. The price of oil led truckers to strike due to high fuel costs. This was a much larger and united shutdown than the one planned for April 12 has any hope of being.
On December 3, 1973, JW Edwards ran out of gas at 10:00 pm after struggling to make his run amid fuel rationing. This blocked Interstate 80. JW got on his CB radio and eventually, other truckers stopped to help him out. Within an hour the protest had grown to hundreds of semi-trucks. In just a few hours truckers across the country were blocking the nation’s roadways, essentially shutting them down and causing traffic jams 12 miles long.
The strike lasted three days but remember that this was in a day and age when 70% of the countries’ goods were hauled by independent truckers. Now there are more companies that own fleets and just hire drivers.
The Rest…HERE
