Truck drivers, longshoremen and mariners will have to pay up to $159 for a high-tech identity card that will grant them access to U.S. ports, the Ventura County Star reports.
Groups representing truckers and longshoremen said the fee is too high and will force some workers , especially truck drivers , to quit their jobs.
Some workers will have to buy the cards as soon as March. But a time has not been specified for port operators and ship owners to buy the equipment that reads the cards, according to a rule announced Wednesday by the Homeland Security Department.
