News / California refuses to back down on AB5 law, as truckers blockade port

California’s state governor, Gavin Newsom, said he “wouldn’t bow to protesters’ demands to pause the implementation of the new state law” that makes owner operators into employees.

Oakland International Container Terminal and the Stevedoring Services of America (SSA), which operates Matson’s Oakland facility, have been closed to traffic, with ships anchoring outside waiting to berth.

Also slowing the working of vessels has been the reluctance of dockers from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) to cross picket lines, causing a shortage ...