Sherrell Byrd
Owner-Operator of 18 years
Administrator for The Movers Syndicate
Recently, in some of the driver-only Facebook pages, there has been conversation around a new legislative bill that is aiming to nationalize the California AB5 regulation (PRO Act HR2474), causing drivers to feel that the industry would be turned upside down. Shockwaves were sent throughout the industry when the AB5 went into effect in the state of California, but once the transportation industry was given an exemption, it went by the wayside, especially when the COVID-19 virus hit.
Based on preliminary research, it seems that, based on how an individual has set up their business incorporation, they may be able to avoid owner operators or contract labor from becoming an employee of the mover. Many drivers had extremely negative views on how this would affect their day-to-day life, and talk about getting out of the business altogether. With the exception of one individual, who said that this could be a golden opportunity for those who have their ducks in a row, the rest of the drivers did not see how the current financial ceiling could exist. There was a massive increase in earning potential from when I started as a company driver to when I became an owner-operator, and it is hard to see how moving companies could have the affordability to pay a comparable hourly or annual rate.
The long-term outcome to a scenario like this would be that a lot of experienced drivers would leave the industry, which would leave a void in overall capacity. While that could be filled by new hires with less experience, losing such a large number of experienced drivers would cause the quality of service to dramatically decrease, causing an overall negative experience to the end customer. The same can be said for anyone in the contract labor market who might feel they can find less strenuous work if they too are going to see a decrease in their pay.
It has been somewhat surprising to note that drivers are the only ones talking about this right now. I have not seen anyone from the van line, agency, or the labor-areas of the industry discussing this, and it obviously affects everyone in some fashion. More information and conversation need to begin being discussed throughout the industry. There are many articles that can be found on the internet. I am nowhere near an expert on this subject, but I do know this can be a huge change coming down the pipeline for all of us to deal with. Staying ahead of issues like this, and creating an environment of learning, is what The Mover Syndicate was created for, and I would like to see more of this discussion in the future, as there are so many changes happening in our industry at this time.
*Please note this article is an overview from a phone conversation and are not direct quotes. Our goal is to provide insights and perspectives from different areas of the industry to an audience that does not always get the chance to hear from these individuals.
