California Truckers Affected by New Law Warn ‘Prices Are Going to Go Through the Roof’

Independent truck drivers gather to delay the entry of trucks at a container terminal at the Port of Oakland, during a protest against California's law known as AB 5, in Oakland, Calif., on July 18, 2022. Carlos Barria/Reuters

LONG BEACH, Calif.—Michael Clifford works for a trucking company in Utah but spends much of his time making deliveries in California.

As a nonresident company employee, Clifford said he isn’t happy with California’s new labor law—Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5)—that was approved and signed into law in 2019 and took effect last month after a failed legal challenge.