Washington – Today, the American Trucking Associations announced that Congressman Kevin Kiley (R-California) has been selected as a Trucking Champion. This elite hall of fame spotlights Members of Congress who have gone above and beyond for the 8.5 million men and women employed in the trucking industry.
Congressman Kiley was chosen for this honor due to his leadership protecting independent contractors—including independent truckers—and his collaboration with Women In Motion to preserve this employment model as a critical pathway for building rewarding careers in the trucking industry. California’s trucking industry plays an outsized role in the Golden State’s economy, accounting for 1 out of every 17 jobs. In total, California’s nearly 225,000 primarily small, locally owned trucking businesses provide over 920,000 good-paying, family-supporting jobs.
“Few issues are of greater importance to the trucking industry than the rights of independent truckers,” said California Trucking Association CEO Eric Sauer. “The opportunities and flexibility of independence provide truckers in our state and hundreds of thousands more truckers across the country with the ability to run their own businesses as they see fit. That freedom has been an enormous source of empowerment, particularly for women, minorities and immigrants pursuing the American dream. In California and on the national stage, there is no greater advocate for independent truckers and the small businesses they created than Congressman Kevin Kiley.”
“Under the radical leadership of Julie Su, the Biden Administration’s Department of Labor replaced a straightforward definition for independent contractors with an opaque and deliberately confusing standard, jeopardizing the livelihoods of independent truckers nationwide who have spent years or even decades building their own small businesses,” said American Trucking Associations President & CEO Chris Spear. “Fortunately, independent truckers have a steadfast champion in their corner. We applaud Congressman Kiley for courageously standing up for these hardworking Americans. He has repeatedly and relentlessly worked to defeat this destructive and ill-advised rule. We look forward to continuing to work alongside him to protect Americans’ right to earn a living in the manner that they choose.”
More than 350,000 truckers nationwide choose to work as independent contractors because it allows them to control their own schedules, set their own routes, and run their own small businesses. Earlier this year, however, the U.S. Department of Labor implemented a disruptive rule overturning this standard that the trucking industry has relied on for the past nine decades.
The rule was crafted under the leadership of Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, who has repeatedly failed to recognize the importance of independent contractors and implemented California’s disastrous AB5 as the head of the state’s labor and workforce development agency.
Congressman Kiley has been an outspoken and effective advocate for independent contractors and has applied constant pressure on the Administration to reverse course. As part of that effort, he co-authored a resolution in March that would have overturned the Department of Labor’s rule. Additionally, At a House Committee on Education & the Workforce hearing, Congressman Kiley shared the stories of independent truckers and called on Acting Labor Secretary Su to respect their choice and protect their livelihoods.