Staff Reports
The City of Los Angeles quietly killed a 130‑year‑old program that kept streets moving and small trucker families working. Mayor Karen Bass’ administration said it had to end the As‑Needed Haul Truck Program because California’s AB 5 and legal risks made the old independent‑contractor model unsafe. The result: about 93 owner‑operator truckers — a group that is largely minority‑owned — saw a lifeline cut, even as Angelenos still drive over potholes every day.
How AB 5 and City Rules Ended the Haul Truck Program
The city says it wasn’t politics, it was law. StreetsLA and the Department of Public Works point to AB 5 and legal advice that the long‑standing owner‑operator contracts could not survive the state’s strict ABC test. As the city put it, continuing the program “is a course of action the City is not at liberty to pursue.” The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision not to review big challenges to AB 5 left the Ninth Circuit rulings standing, and bureaucrats decided the safest path was to shut the roster down rather than retool it.
Real People, Real Damage: Small Businesses and Potholes
This wasn’t just an abstract policy change. Roughly 93 contract truckers — many of them multigenerational, minority‑owned small businesses represented by the Los Angeles City Contract Truck Association (LACCTA) — protested at City Hall for a reason. Owner‑operators like Victor Vasquez Sr. warned the move would be “devastating” to family livelihoods. At the same time, the city says it has launched pothole surges and filled thousands of holes, but ending a program that supplied local hauling capacity forces StreetsLA into more patchwork fixes and fewer big repaving jobs. That’s how ideology and fear of a lawsuit end up with worse roads and fewer local jobs.
Mayor Bass Needs Practical Solutions, Not Excuses
Mayor Karen Bass can be sympathetic to rules and worker protections while still protecting small businesses and city services. The city should publish the legal memos that justified killing the program, propose alternative contracting paths, and fast‑track procurement that keeps local owner‑operators working. If AB 5 truly prevents every workable option, then city leaders should lobby Sacramento for sensible carve‑outs for long‑standing local programs — not hide behind legalese while families and city streets suffer. Los Angeles deserves officials who put results ahead of rigid dogma.
