On Tuesday night in Florida, hundreds of truckers gathered in a protest.
The group of truckers protested in an attempt to spread awareness about unfair labor practices within the trucking profession.
Truckers from various companies got together in hopes of creating change.
One trucker was quoted:
“The reason we here today, cause we can’t work no more. We struggle, we going to hell, we don’t have no money — not even to put our trucks in the condition that the DOT, they want it. We can’t afford it.”
Tuesday afternoon, the protestors began their cause by means of a convoy that stretched from Miami to Tallahassee.
Among the issues protested were the industries unfair regulations, lack of benefits, freight prices, e-logs, and low salaries.
One driver explained that brokers who arrange for loads to be delivered to companies don’t pay enough:
“They’re paying loads 80 cents a mile, 70 cents a mile. You know, we are not making it. We can barely support ourselves.”
Protestors carried traffic into the busy intersection of Monroe and Tennessee Streets.
There, they brought traffic to a halt for about 15 minutes. At that point, two people were arrested. Javier Figueroa was arrested for blocking an intersection and resisting arrest. Magdiel Millar was arrested for impeding Figueroa’s arrest and resisting arrest.
After these arrests, another demonstration took place west of the Palmetto Expressway. According to WSVN dozens of truckers parked along Okeechobee Road in Hialeah Gardens, shutting down the roadway.
Hundreds of people carried signs and blasted their horns.
Others sported shirts delivering their message.
This sent dozens of police officers to oversee the protest. Florida Highway Patrol and officers with the Hialeah, Hialeah Gardens and Miami-Dade Police departments worked together to maintain crowd control.
FHP closed exits on the Palmetto, which caused traffic to be backed for miles.
Police tried to move the protestors, but the crowd refused. Eventually, the group moved over to the median. Okeechobee Road remained closed that night.
As of Wednesday morning, traffic is back to normal.
The protesting truckers say that they will continue to fight until their wages are increased.