Drivers and Driving

Local 208 was composed of about 6,000 male Latino, White, and Black drivers of “short-haul” freight who loaded, unloaded, and drove trucks in the Los Angeles area. I show how drivers describe their work and what it feels like, including their describing their ability (in that time before companies had effective surveillance equipment) to control their own time to get the work done but also to take care of personal business like going to the bank or meet with other drivers in coffee shops. Drivers had to be self-reliant, which led to a certain militancy, but the fact that they spent most of their time isolated from other drivers limited their ability for strategic discussion.