About 10 truckers gathered in Napa, CA, May 19 along California Highway 29 to protest diesel costs and the practices of Bay Area trucking contractors, the Napa Valley Register reported.

Their signs asking people to honk and stating "Stop sucking our blood" earned a steady stream of blasts from the air horns of trucks heading over the Butler Bridge, the paper reported.

Truckers working for R&L Brosamer Inc. were coming and going from the site, hauling dirt from the Trancas Street and Highway 29 interchange in Napa, where the final phase of construction is under way.

Protesters said they were owner-operators, part of a group of independent truck drivers around the Bay Area who are facing reduced margins as diesel fuel prices have climbed well above the $2-per-gallon mark. Trucker-demonstrators have appeared at sites around the Bay Area since last week, hoping to gain the support of the public and other drivers.

Johnny Singh, one of the organizers of the protests, said drivers wanted improved contracts that pay a surcharge for fuel and better hourly rates for owner-operators. He also said drivers are seeking $65 an hour for idle time on the job – for which he said they are paid nothing now – as well as other increases in compensation.