A growing number of truck drivers are voicing their concerns after nationwide calls to defund the police. Now, dozens of them say they won't deliver to cities with defunded or disbanded police departments.
Truck drivers have delivered food and essential goods in the midst of a global pandemic. Now, they worry in some cities there won't be any law enforcement to protect them. In a recent online poll, about 79 percent out of more than 12 hundred drivers said they would refuse to deliver loads to cities with disbanded or defunded police departments. Owner/operator Paul Pavilionis who delivers a lot of food items for big box stories agrees.
“Our lives can’t be replaced. The equipment can. So that’s the main concern,” Pavilionis said. “If we have nothing to protect us, I’m not going to lose my life, just trying to deliver freight so people can eat.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, truck driving is ranked among the most dangerous jobs in America.