The Militant (logo)  

Vol. 72/No. 18      May 5, 2008

 
Truckers call national protest for April 28
(front page)
 
BY NED MEASEL  
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Truck drivers from 24 states are planning a rally here April 28 to protest the high cost of fuel. Truckers are being squeezed by rising diesel prices, now averaging over $4 per gallon, along with fuel taxes, insurance, and highway tariffs.

“As each day passes more and more truckers contact me,” Michael “JB” Schaffner told the Militant in a phone interview. Schaffner is a driver and one of the organizers. He expects hundreds of truckers and their supporters to rally at the Reflecting Pool on the west side of the U.S. Capitol beginning at 10:00 a.m.

Schaffner explained that, when you look at the high cost of heating oil, this is “an issue that impacts on fishermen, construction workers, the retired community, everyone.”

Truckers will be coming from as far away as Maine, Indiana, Florida, Missouri, and California. You don’t have to be a truck driver to attend, he said, everyone is encouraged to join the action.

Schaffner said he favors three immediate measures to ease the fuel crisis: the release of all oil from the national strategic reserve, that companies be required pay the driver the full amount of the fuel surcharge billed to their customers, and at least a temporary cap of $2 per gallon on the cost of all fuel: gas, diesel, and home heating oil.

A meeting to build the protest in Washington will be held at the Gables truck stop, off exit 77 of I-81 near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, April 26, at 2:00 p.m. This truck stop has become a center for truckers protesting fuel prices and place where several truckers’ meetings have been held. A convoy of about 200 trucks departed from there March 31 for a rally on the capitol steps in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Truckers will also be coming from nearby West Virginia. More than 60 rigs, including trailerless tractors, coal trucks, lumber haulers, and tow trucks converged on the state capitol in Charleston, West Virginia, April 4. At that rally, trucker Donald Cottrill said his weekly fuel bill had climbed to $2,500 from $500 nine years ago.

Schaffner said about 150 truckers will meet at the Gables truck stop April 28 at 5:00 a.m. and convoy to Washington. There will be parking at RFK Stadium.

Truckers are also planning national shutdowns for May 1 and May 5. More information is available on line at TheAmericanDriver.com.  
 
 
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