By Nilesh Christopher | Los Angeles Times |
Trucking companies across California are idling their vehicles and losing money after the DMV canceled thousands of commercial driver licenses held by immigrants.
The policy has hit thousands of Indian truckers who have become the backbone of the state’s supply chain.
Small trucking operators dependent on these workers face potential collapse if they fail to find replacements.
It is supposed to be the busiest time of year for the Roadies trucking company, but dozens of its trucks sit idle — unlikely casualties of a surprise scrutiny of laborers from India.
The Bakersfield company has 200 big rigs but a dearth of drivers after authorities canceled thousands of commercial driver’s licenses in California, forcing more than 20 Roadies drivers out of the business and spooking others into quitting.
Chief Executive Avninder Singh says he has doubled pay, but still can’t recruit enough drivers. He says he is now losing more each month than he usually makes in a year.
“My trucks are sitting,” with no one to drive them, he said. “It has put my livelihood in danger.”
Outside of tech, medicine, and family businesses, truck driving is one of the largest sources of employment for the Indian diaspora in America. Indian truckers say they are being unfairly targeted after a horrific accident triggered extra scrutiny of migrant drivers and tighter regulations.
Some drivers — many of whom claim to have fled persecution in India and requested asylum in the U.S. — are sitting on expensive investments they cannot use. Joban Singh, 27, based in Bakersfield, spent $80,000 to buy a truck because even though truck driving is a tough life, it provides a steady income to support his family.
“We have invested everything in trucking, thinking it’ll be good for us,” he said. “Now if we have our licenses canceled, who will buy these trucks and trailers from us?”
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