A popular Facebook post claim that a California “truck ban” and the labor law AB 5 are clogging the state’s ports is false, according to fact-checking by USA Today.
The nationwide media group found that the air pollution and labor laws cited in the Facebook post are real. But, according to industry experts, those rules aren’t contributing to supply chain delays in California.
For example, AB 5, which reclassifies many independent contractors as employees, doesn’t apply to truckers. Whether it ever does will be decided by the courts.
Related Story: Trucker Shortage? Supply-Chain Fixes? Depends on Who You Ask
“To attribute the problems of today to (these rules) is not accurate,” said Miguel Jaller Martelo, co-director of the Sustainable Freight Research Program at the University of California Davis. “I would concentrate more on low wages, and new shipping trends that resulted from shifts in demand and consumption patterns during COVID.”
In addition, a spokeswoman for the California Air Resources Board told USA Today that about 96% of trucks serving the state’s big ports already comply with the emissions rule.
You can read the complete fact check at this link.
