A federal judge has temporarily blocked a ban on owner-operators at the Port of Los Angeles, granting an injunction sought by American Trucking Associations.
U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder’s ruling Monday essentially blocked implementation of her earlier decision that rejected ATA’s challenge to the port’s requirement that drayage operators begin hiring only truck drivers who are company employees.
ATA has appealed the owner-operator ban and sought the injunction to freeze things under the port’s clean trucks plan until a final ruling is issued. (Click here for previous story.)
ATA officials have said that the port’s ban on independent operators is a critical issue that could spread to other ports and the industry in general. ATA and others have said the Teamsters union sees the employee-only model as an opportunity to organize drivers.
The group argued that the injunction was needed because motor carriers require ample notice before making business changes caused by her ruling. Snyder agreed, saying that the interests of the trucking industry outweighed the public interest in the need for the injunction.
Snyder also suggested that ATA had raised some important legal issues in its Oct. 4 appeal of her Sept. 10 ruling that upheld the owner-operator ban. She stated that because ATA had appealed her decision “and the fact that ATA will be required to undertake preparation for the employee driver provision to take effect, the balance of equities tips in ATA’s favor.”
