Port of Oakland sues protesters, receives temporary restraining order

August 3, 2022

Mark Schremmer

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Calling it a “carefully planned and orchestrated campaign” intended to block traffic, stop people from working and prevent commerce, the Port of Oakland filed a lawsuit against those who protested in July.

Port officials filed a complaint for injunctive relief on July 25 with the Superior Court of California in Alameda County. Robert Bernardo, director of communications for the Port of Oakland, confirmed with Land Line that a temporary restraining order was granted on Tuesday, Aug. 2. In addition, a hearing on the motion for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for Aug. 29.

The protests, which ended on July 25, followed the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to not hear the California Trucking Association’s case against Assembly Bill 5, which is a state worker classification law that makes it more difficult for someone to be considered an independent contractor. The protests lasted several days, forcing the port to shut down some of its gates and terminals.

“While the First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects speech and the right to petition for a redress of grievances, the United States Supreme Court has unequivocally and repeatedly held that the First Amendment does not permit protesters to prevent persons and vehicles from traversing public rights of way in the hopes of securing a captive audience or drawing media attention to their cause,” the Port of Oakland stated in its complaint. “Indeed, the United States Supreme Court has held that the government has an affirmative responsibility to prevent protesters from blocking streets.”

Port officials sought the restraining order and injunction to prevent protesters from carrying out future “illegal activities,” such as blocking access to the port, jaywalking, stopping or delaying traffic, and trespassing.

Worker classification law

AB5 was passed in 2019, but an injunction prevented the law from being enforced on motor carriers until the Supreme Court’s recent decision.

In late July, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association wrote California Gov. Gavin Newsom, asking him to delay the law until truckers receive some clarity.

The letter provides Newsom some of OOIDA’s reasoning for opposing the law and seeks answers to several questions regarding how the law will be enforced. Until those answers come, OOIDA requested that the governor delay enforcement of AB5 in trucking.

“We are asking you to announce a delay in enforcement of AB5 in the trucking industry until the state fully considers how the law will affect small-business truckers and provides remedies to ensure independent contractors are not forced to be reclassified as employees,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer wrote.

Meanwhile, several trucking companies are getting prepared for the rollout of AB5. LL