The skyrocketing cost of diesel fuel has truck drivers angry, and there is a nationwide effort that is calling on them to strike.
NECN’s Danica Pecirep has more.
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Hopping into his truck Tuesday at a rest stop on the Mass Pike, Ryan Bryden, an independent truck driver from northeastern Pennsylvania, is preparing to strike.
Ryan: “I would have been on strike today - I just ran a little bit late actually - when I’m going home right now - I’ll be on strike.”
Like many independent truck drivers across the country, Bryden will be protesting for the next few days, against the rising price of diesel fuel - by stopping their trucks completely on roads and highways, or going at very slow speeds. Bryden says he's hopeful it will bring the prices down.
Bryden: “When its $4.20 a gallon of fuel and you're getting paid $2 a mile, you just can't make no money out here - everybody's going broke - and everybody's giving tractor trailers back because they can't afford to run a truck.”
Independent truckers are being supported by the owner-operator Independent Drivers Association - an advocacy group pushing for legislation to make changes to the fuel surcharges impacting drivers. A statement from the organization in regards to the strike says...
"Lawmakers need to know whats going on in trucking, how devasting this record hike in fuel prices is for 90 percent of the nation's fleet.”
Tuesday, top executives from the five biggest U.S. oil companies were pressed to explain the recent rise.
Tom Barrett, a Massachusetts native, knows the crisis facing truckers all too well. Not only does he drive a truck - he delivers diesel fuel to pumps across the state.
Barrett: “The number one cost associated with running your business, is fuel and there’s been a big increase with no increase in revenue.”
A cost he's familiar with from filling his own tank.
“I put 150 gallons in mine yesterday it was $635 dollars - and that will last me 2 days.”
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