THE ongoing trucker protests across the country could impact the biggest day of the year for many Americans – Super Bowl Sunday.
A DHS bulletin sent to local and state officials warned of “truck drivers planning to potentially block roads in major metropolitan cities in the United States in protest of, among other things, vaccine mandates for truck drivers”, according to Yahoo News.
“The convoy will potentially begin in California as early as mid-February and arrive in Washington, DC, as late as mid-March, potentially impacting the Super Bowl LVI scheduled for 13 February and the State of the Union Address scheduled for 1 March,” the bulletin said.
It comes as shock videos from near the Canadian border show trucks backed up for miles.
The footage was taken after the so-called “freedom convoy” halted on Monday, according to Click On Detroit.
Read our trucker protest live blog for the latest news and updates…
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‘Another wrench in the industry’
The protest has reportedly led to some shipping delays as trucks have to travel to other locations to cross the border.
A delay of even five hours, for instance, can cause production disruptions because factories are running low on part supplies with a supply chain that is already dealing with problems, the Associated Press noted, citing Jeff Schuster, president of the LMC Automotive consulting firm in Troy, Michigan.
“Everything is so ‘just-in-time’ these days,” he said.
“We’re still dealing with parts shortages in general and supply chain issues. This is just another wrench in the industry that we’re dealing with right now.”
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Union doesn’t support protests
François Laporte, the president of Teamsters Canada, a trade union that represents over 55,000 drivers that include 15,000 long-haul truckers, said the protests do not represent the industry, according to the Associated Press.
The outlet noted that 90 percent of drivers are vaccinated.
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What are the protestors calling for?
Protesters that are part of the “Freedom Convoy” have said they will not leave until all vaccine mandates and Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, according to the Associated Press.
The daily protests put on by the “Freedom Truck Convoy” are centered in Ottawa, Canada.
Some organizers have also been calling for weeks for the removal of Justin Trudeau’s government.
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Trucks backed up for miles
Demonstrators from the Canadian “Freedom Convoy” at the border are backed up for miles.
Aerial video from the border of Michigan and Canada shows trucks backed up while they wait to cross the Blue Water Bridge, Click on Detroit reported.
