Another Protest in America You Probably Don't Hear Much About...

 This one involves truckers in California:

LOS ANGELES, July 20 (Reuters) - Protests against a new California labor law that makes it harder for independent truckers to operate on Wednesday ground operations at the state's third-busiest seaport to a virtual halt, crimping a major artery in the U.S. supply chain.

SSA Marine, which manages the largest terminal at the Port of Oakland, in the San Francisco Bay Area, decided to close operations due to the independent trucker protest, port spokesman Robert Bernardo told Reuters.

The other marine terminals are effectively shut down for trucks, said Bernardo, adding that some vessel labor operations are under way.

SSA and Everport terminal managers sent International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) dock workers home for safety reasons, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

TraPac on its website said its terminal would be closed for the first shift because protests were interfering with the entrance gate. Representatives from the terminals did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The law, AB5, also known as the "gig worker" law, sets tougher standards for classifying workers as independent contractors.

Trucking industry legal challenges delayed enactment of the law for more than two years, but the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case on June 30, clearing the way for it to go forward.

Backers, including the Teamsters union, say it will clamp down on labor abuses in the industry and push companies to make drivers employees. Independent truckers say they prefer the freedom of contract work and worry that the law will shoulder them with hefty costs that will wipe out their income.

There's more on the AB5/gig worker law here.