If you think the American economy is struggling and controversial, just wait until you hear what’s happening in Italy. From Sicily to Rome, Italian transportation professionals are protesting proposed fuel price hikes and job competition—and finding trucks make excellent road blockades in the process. 

With Italy’s economy flailing and unemployment skyrocketing, Prime Minister Mario Monti is proposing strict economic restrictions and austerity measures to turn the country around. But, his proposal would increase fuel prices and job competition for protected professions like trucking—and truckers want nothing to do with these changes. 

To show their disapproval, truckers across the country are gathering on highways, blocking access to roads and refusing to deliver goods. And the results have been alarming and immediate: 

• Newspapers reported on January 25 that Rome was missing as much as 80 percent of its fresh fruit and vegetable distribution, and 90 percent of fresh fish. 
• Fiat SpA, which owns Chrysler, has shut down production at four plants because the blockades have prevented delivery of necessary parts. 
• An Italian trucker died after a German trucker not participating in the protests accidentally ran him over.

Although the measures may ultimately be in the country’s best interest, the truckers’ frustration is understandable. The proposal comes on top of tax increases in December that pushed up the diesel price by 11.2 cents per liter: the equivalent of 44.3 cents per gallon. At this point, additional price hikes are a tough pill to swallow. 

No one knows how long Italians will find trucks blocking their highways or whether the government will bow to their protests. But in the meantime, the situation is a good reminder that things are better here than we may realize—and when truckers unite, everyone takes notice.