WASHINGTON — An estimated 250 truckers in their trucks and bobtails descended on the federal seat of power last week to voice their frustration with skyrocketing diesel costs and to show solidarity over issues plaguing owner-operators.
Michael James - Transport Topics
Truckers park their rigs along the Mall in Washington, D.C., in the shadow of the Capitol.
The protest brought to Capitol Hill the kind of demonstrations that truckers have been mounting at statehouses in the Northeast and at maritime ports on both coasts over the past month.
The newly formed National Owner Operator Trucking Association organized the Feb. 22 convoy that began with about 50 trucks at Carneys Point, N.J., and picked up steam as it rolled 200 miles down Interstate 95.
Charles Hentz, who established NOOTA two weeks ago, said he got the idea for the rally after seeing the effects of a trucker protest earlier this month in Trenton, N.J.
Hentz, a resident of Cologne, N.J., and owner of several dump trucks, said his organization will attempt to recruit enough members to give owner-operators volume buying power for fuel and other items.About noon, the arriving trucks pulled alongside the Mall between the Capitol building and downtown, horns blaring as hundreds of bystanders looked on. Many trucks bore signs saying, “Will drive for food” or “Almost homeless.”
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