Alabama truck drivers impacted by ILA Strike

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) — Truck drivers in Alabama could soon be feeling the pain in the wake of the International Longshoremen’s Association Union members’ decision to go on strike.

The President and CEO of the Alabama Trucking Association, Mark Colson, said small businesses, whether they are small trucking companies or the small business owners that depend on things coming in and out of the ports, are the ones who will feel the brunt of the impact.

Joseph Rosario, who drives for a trucking line out of Kentucky, knew about the ILA strike. While Rosario’s relieved he’s an over-the-road driver, he said he feels bad for those impacted by strike.

“I feel a lot of compassion for them; if they want to stay in business, they’re going to have react quick,” he said. “The overhead doesn’t go away, you know?”

That’s exactly what Ben Smith, the President of S and M Transportation Inc. out of Saraland, is having to do right now.

“We’re trying to find every piece of freight we can find just to help our team get paychecks and keep people employed,” Smith remarked.

Smith said 60% of their workforce is tied to the Port of Mobile.

“We have a lot of drivers that are just dedicated to the port operations,” he explained. “So obviously, when it’s shut down, we lose a lot of business.”

Mark Colson, the President and CEO of the Alabama Trucking Association, shared with us what he’s hearing from his members right now.

“Small business trucking companies, ten or less trucks, are the majority of people who service the ports,” Colson said. “And right now, freight demand in the country for other types of activity that don’t involve the port are significantly low, so it’s not like they can turn and just do another job.”

Colson said it’s a troubling economy out there. He said that inflation is already high, and this will have nothing but a negative effect on inflation. He’s very concerned for small business owners, especially small business truckers.

He said the impact will be felt in Central Alabama too. He said there are a number of trucking companies that indirectly depend on port activity in Birmingham.

Colson said he would like to see the strike resolved, and that the federal government and the White House and the Department of Labor should use every tool at their disposal to bring this to a resolution quickly.

CBS 42 reached out to the Port of Birmingham. Terminal manager Joel Wilmoth said they are not impacted by the ILA strike like the Port of Mobile, as they handle raw products coming off barges, not containers.

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