About two weeks ago, social media posts announcing plans for truck drivers to strike on October 1 in protest of record diesel prices began circulating online. The call spread quickly, with various posts listing different durations — one day, three days, a week — and different goals, from fuel prices to broker transparency. Social media personality and trucker Larry Cothran hit truck stops to ask drivers what they actually think.
The answer, overwhelmingly, is skepticism.
“Ain’t nobody going to stick together”
The most common theme across every conversation was doubt about unity. Driver after driver said the trucking industry simply cannot come together the way a real strike demands.
“We don’t stick together as it is,” one driver said. “It’s going to be somebody out here that’s going to run that load. And those same people organizing is probably the same people that’ll be out here running the load.”
Another with 32 years of experience laid out the math plainly. “When the last time you got a bunch of truckers just stick together? When the last time you had a big major company say we going to strike? You think Swift Knight got probably about 30,000 trucks — you think they going to stop moving freight?”
A company driver added a practical concern. “All we’re doing is signing ourselves up to lose our job and they’re going to put another ass in our seat.”
“A strike is not one or two days off”
Several drivers drew a hard line between what a real strike looks like and what they expect October 1 to be.
“If you only strike for two or three days, that’s a vacation. Ain’t nothing going to change,” one driver said flatly. “A strike — you got to stop until you get what you want. Not stop for one day and then everybody’s back.”
Another pointed to the 1982 trucker strike as a cautionary tale. “They shut down for a couple days. And it didn’t change a damn thing. Most of what it was — it was ‘we want this, we want that.’ We were union guys back then. When independents were shutting down, we kept rolling.”
One driver recalled his father driving during that same strike. “They blocked the driveways, had ball bats. They busted his head. When they struck back then, they struck for real. Ain’t nobody moving.”
“Nobody even knows what we’re striking for”
Multiple drivers expressed frustration that the goals of the proposed strike were unclear. Diesel prices, broker transparency, detention pay, better rates — different social media posts named different demands, and drivers on the ground said nobody seems to have a clear answer.
“I’ve heard it myself. But where is it coming from exactly? Don’t nobody know,” one driver said. “Some kid set home on his computer and put it online. They say 50,000 truckers going on strike. For what? I don’t know.”
A 35-year veteran said he would only get behind a strike with specific, winnable demands. “I would be behind it if we strike to get paid for every hour we’re at a shipper or receiver. If we got to hold onto a load, better rates — I would strike for that. But you got to strike until you get it.”
“If everybody came together — maybe”
Not everyone dismissed the idea entirely. Several drivers said a real, sustained, industry-wide work stoppage could force change — but were doubtful it would actually happen.
“Of course it’ll change something — if I only do it if everybody comes together,” said one owner-operator with seven years behind the wheel. “But I’ve heard about this before.”
A driver with 26 years of experience said the fuel prices were genuinely unsustainable. “Going down like almost $1,800 for me. I make like $2,000, sometimes $2,500. Right now I make almost $2,000.” He said he had heard about the strike but wasn’t sure he could afford to participate.
One driver offered a simple prescription. “Just get one of these big companies to do it for one day. I guarantee you they take notice.”
Who’s actually striking?
Based on conversations at the pump, not many. Several drivers said they planned to keep rolling on October 1. One laughed and said simply: “My wife going to let me do that?” Another said he was “just going to work to be on the safe side.”
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association told Yahoo News it had no knowledge of any organized strike.
Record diesel prices — the national average hit $6.51 per gallon — are real and the frustration behind the strike talk is genuine. Whether it translates into action on October 1 is another matter.
Interviews courtesy of Larry Cothran.
📸 Image(s) used under fair use for news reporting.
