Ports Plan Includes More Than 'Clean Trucks'

Decreasing trade volumes have put the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in a state of "free fall," says a Jan. 31 letter to the editor of the Long Beach Press-Telegram entitled "Invest in Local Ports." (letter located at bottom of page)

"Exports are rapidly disappearing. Hundreds of container ships sit idle in foreign ports," explain the current presidents of the local International Longshoreman and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association

They attribute this decrease to the fact that "state governments have neglected to develop new infrastructure which would help make us more competitive on the global front."

While the authors are correct in their diagnosis of the problem--operations at the Ports must be updated to increase efficiency and limit effects on the environment--they ignore the great costs associated with aspects of the Clean Truck Plan that do nothing to help the environment.

Despite the "bleak outlook" at the ports, legislators have pushed for the addition of labor regulations to the Clean Trucks Plan that incorporate unnecessary costs and do not address environmental goals. Masking a labor agenda with the title, 'Clean Trucks Plan', causes all opponents of the program to appear unsupportive of environmental initiatives.

In aligning with the great measures the trucking industry is taking to reduce emissions of pollutants as well as carbon, ATA firmly supports the requirement for newer, cleaner trucks at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Our criticism of the program is aimed only at unnecessary regulations that have nothing to do with clean air.