LOS ANGELES, CA – Ordering online is fast and easy, but the people who deliver the goods are facing a crisis.
- Crisis among California truck drivers
- Workforce without retirements savings
- On strike seven times for better working conditions
Juan Lara has been a truck driver for decades. He came to America from Mexico in 1974. He works for California Cartage out of the Port of Los Angeles.
Being behind the wheel of his big rig has been a rocky ride. For starters, Lara doesn’t have any retirement savings, a problem many are worried over since the industry’s workforce is aging. The average trucker is 49, according to the American Trucking Associations.
Lara has also been on strike seven times in the past three years for better working conditions.
“We know they make a lot of money and they don’t want to give nothing else,” said Lara.
Lara is part of a shrinking group. There is a huge trucker shortage nationwide. The ATA says tens of thousands of drivers are needed to make up for the gap.
Consumers could feel this problem since “68.9 percent of all freight tonnage is moved on the nation’s highways,” according to the ATA.
Many workers have complained about California Cartage, which is facing several lawsuits. At a recent Los Angeles harbor commissioners meeting, it was decided California Cartage would have 180 days to leave the port.
Even though Lara will lose his job when his company leaves, he’s okay with that. Above all he is asking for better treatment as a worker and given the driver shortage, finding another job won’t be difficult.