BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Senator Adam Schiff sat down with Sikh commercial truck drivers and community leaders who say they’re at risk of losing their commercial driver’s licenses. Here’s what was said at the meeting.
The Bakersfield Trucking Association, community leaders, and commercial truck drivers gathered to share their concerns, saying potential CDL revocations could cost them their jobs and impact the local economy.
“What is happening to the trucking industry? How is this going to impact agriculture? How is it going to impact farmers, shippers, and growers?” Avie Nagra said.
Many drivers say they’ve been working legally and safely for years and now fear losing their licenses and their ability to provide for their families.
“When you are defining someone as illegal, that is where the problem comes in. If someone is given an employment authorization card or valid work permit, either you do not give that individual work authorization at all, which means they can’t work anywhere. But if you give them a work authorization, then why are you limiting them to only one type of job — commercial truck driving? Those individuals with valid work permits are still allowed to work any other job, so why are they being stopped from being truckers?” Avie said.
Avie is the owner of Roadies Inc., a local trucking company here in Bakersfield. He says many of these drivers are being discriminated against, adding that the DMV already has access to their driving records. He says if drivers are unsafe, they should be taken off the road, but instead, he believes qualified drivers are being targeted.
Other drivers at the meeting said the level of discrimination they’re experiencing now feels worse than what they faced after September 11th.
Sen. Adam Schiff says, “To hear people say that they were actually more afraid and more subject to abuse now than we were after 9/11, that’s pretty darn shocking.”
The issue comes as California has delayed the cancellation of thousands of commercial driver’s licenses — a move that has prompted the federal government to threaten withholding millions of dollars in transportation funding from the state.
“The Department of Transportation doesn’t have the authority to say, ‘Hey, if you don’t do it our way, we’re going to cut off the money.’ It’s Congress that makes the decision on how to allocate funding, so they can’t lawfully do it. But they hope that just the threat of cutting funding gets states to do what they want. In this case, they want the state of California to discriminate against and harm Sikh drivers.” Sen. Adam Schiff said.
Senator Schiff says he will try to coordinate with state leaders to address these issues and push back against federal pressure.
Local drivers say until a decision is made, they’re left in limbo — worried about their jobs and the impact this could have on Kern County’s economy.
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