Truckers Head to DC to Protest Fuel Prices
Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Organizers of a trucking protest said that a
demonstration Tuesday in the nation's capital against soaring
diesel fuel prices is a battle in a fight to save their livelihoods.
"Hopefully, Congress is going to come out and not ignore us," said
Bill Dickens, Jr., an owner-operator from Baltimore said Monday.
Organizers said from 300 to as many as 500 trucks might
participate. A convoy of 60 rigs could stretch as long as a mile in
length, but police and protest organizers said attempts would be
made to avoid traffic disruptions.
Police in the District of Columbia have arranged parking for most of
the rigs as some of the truckers visit the Capitol. But many
lawmakers will not be in town. Although the Senate returns from
its Presidents Day recess on Tuesday, the House was not
returning until Feb. 29.
"We will escort the truckers to the 14th Street Bridge (crossing the
Potomac from Virginia) around 2 p.m.," said D.C. police
spokesman Sgt. Joe Gentile, expressing confidence that the
demonstration will be over before the evening rush of commuters.
The truckers are frustrated by soaring fuel prices in recent weeks
that have added to long-standing disenchantment among truckers
over low freight rates and the condition of cargo equipment
provided by freight companies.
"We're basically running for the same rates we were in the
seventies," said Dickens, adding that many drivers are parking
their rigs and refusing loads from shippers who do not pay fuel
surcharges.
State police in New Jersey and Maryland have agreed to escort
convoys through their states. "We want to ensure that traffic keeps
a safe and steady flow," said Pete Piringer, spokesman for the
Maryland State Police.
Diesel prices in the central Atlantic and New England regions have
risen 43 and 55 percent respectively in the past six weeks,
according to the American Trucking Association, the freight hauler
trade group. The high prices have forced many independent
owner-operators to park their rigs.
The trade group has taken no position on the demonstration.
"It used to cost an owner operator $220 to go a distance, now it
costs $500," said Jackquie Medaglia, whose husband is a
second-generation owner-operator.
"We watched the fuel jump three times in one day," said Chris
Van Schaick, a driver from Levittown, Pa. He said he parked his rig
after he saw one dealer boost prices by 97 cents to $1.98 per
gallon on fuel already in his storage tanks.
Despite trucker assurances that they have no interest in disrupting
Washington traffic, some motorists feared the worst.
"We could be in a situation where we're at complete gridlock," said
Mantill Williams, a spokesman for Mid-Atlantic Region of the
American Automobile Association. |
