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TRUCKERS' PROTESTS * USA - IMPACT
* Truckers feeling pain at pump
Austin,TX,USA -The Austin Daily Herald, by Mia Simpson -5 April 2008: -- In 1973, a nationwide trucking strike largely in protest of fuel prices culminated to a violent outburst in Ontario, Calif., that resulted in three bullet holes to Henry Griffith’s rig, the first to cross picket lines.“That strike, it got nasty, it got bloody,” said the 55-year-old, now an Austin resident... With 38 years behind the wheel, Griffith has weathered the decades, and, as fuel prices again the instigator, he feels compelled to act once more, and would, he said, if joined by a groundswell of his cohorts... Like many in the trucking industry, particularly independent contractors and owners of small fleets, his budget has been so overwhelmed by rising fuel costs, he wants to send a message — of the plight of the trucking industry and the havoc to ensue if drivers nationwide again... Across the nation this week, truckers parked or disrupted traffic in scattered locales, including Chicago and the New Jersey Turnpike, to express their distress over what they must pay to work... The costs are staggering. In a recent six-day round trip from Austin to New Jersey, Griffith spent $650 refueling in Ohio, $450 in Indiana, $100 to finish a last load to Shakopee and $690 and change on his way back to Austin. That’s $1,890 in total... “I spent $59,000 on fuel last year,” he said. “This year, I’m averaging roughly $1,900 a week.”... “There are diesel shortages around the state,” John Hausladen, president of the Minnesota Truckers Association said... Relief is unlikely as experts reportedly project fuel prices to continue to climb, and Hausladen says truckers will continue to finagle their finances for the sake of their livelihood and their freights... (Photo: Rising diesel prices are prompting trucking companies to look for ways to conserve fuel. At $3.82 a gallon, the price at the Mr. Fuel truck stop at Interstate 95's Carmel Church interchange is 20 cents below the national average) 
Labels: truckers' protest
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