The trucking sector and many businesses have not reacted positively to a new bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. In the expedited trucking arena we anticipate similar fallout to that which was seen after the AB5 law was passed in California. The by-product being wholesale changes to the longstanding dependence upon owner-operators for freight shipments may be tested in the relatively near future.
If the migration towards truckers being employees as opposed to independent contractors gathers momentum it could forever change the industry in a wide number of far-reaching ways. At the heart of those is the possibility that drivers would be in a strong position to launch and organize unions and vastly alter the economics of the industry. Such changes wouldn’t happen overnight but proponents and opponents of such changes are already digging in deep to fight the battle in the halls of power.
The likely outcomes are as complex as they are inconsistent and laws that are vastly different from state-to-state mean right-to-work laws could be at risk. At present most observers feel that the bill will stall before seeing approval from the Senate and that even then the President might veto it. If California has been a test-market for the bill it’s already proving to be the source of great controversy. Whether the logistics industry faces the ruling now or later it’s likely to be a hot topic for many years to come and the repercussions would be felt nationwide.
We’ll write more about this topic and other stories that impact our industry in the weeks and months ahead. In the meantime, if you seek dependable competitively priced expedited services for your urgent freight shipping please learn more about our services here, we can’t wait to help you.