HUNDREDS of United Truckers Association (UTA) members gathered on Sunday to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the end to the 2014 Port of Vancouver strike, as important negotiations with the Government of BC on drayage industry reform continue.
The UTA said that its gathering also paid heartfelt tribute to Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whose tragic murder still remains unsolved and without answers over nine months after the fateful day of June 18, 2023.
UTA spokesperson Gagan Singh said that disappointingly, however, there was the absence of all Metro Vancouver elected officials of Punjabi origin in spite of months of invitations sent by the association. The lack of engagement from these politicians who are supposed to be representing the community’s interests was a snub that UTA members are insulted by, he added.
“Yesterday’s gathering was about the local community coming together to support our trucking community and to pay tribute to Hardeep Bhai, yet we did not have any Punjabi-origin elected officials in attendance,” said Singh. “We received representatives from all levels of government, yet no politicians from our own community bothered to show up and engage with the UTA as part of our 10th anniversary celebrations.”
The UTA said its gala came at a critical time for the future of Independent Operator (IO) truckers within the drayage sector. Faced with the possibility of hundreds of job losses due to the way the licensing application process for companies is being handled by the BC Container Trucking Commissioner, the UTA is now dealing directly with the Minister of Transportation Rob Fleming and his officials on massive and necessary drayage industry reform.
The changes now being considered by the commissioner with regards to the next licensing period represent a direct threat to the entire future of IOs in Metro Vancouver drayage, said Singh.
“The UTA will not stand still and watch this commissioner destroy future opportunities for hundreds of our members and so we have bypassed his unresponsive office to work directly with the government. We are optimistic that some massive and positive progress will be announced very soon,” he added.
