Blog Post from American Trucking Associations

Environment Wins At LA/LB Ports Without Concession Agreements

October 2, 2009

At the one-year anniversary of the Clean Trucks Program at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, more than 5,000 trucks meeting 2007 federal emissions standards are hauling more than half of the cargo containers coming in and out of the ports, reported the Daily Breeze. These improvements in air quality come without draconian concession agreements that a federal judge enjoined the ports from enforcing with the Clean Trucks programs.

A coalition of union officials, their political allies, and environmental groups pushed for concession requirements, most notably one that banned independent owner operators from the Port of Los Angeles, arguing they were necessary for the success of the program. On March 26, 2009, the NRDC inaccurately wrote the following about ATA's litigation against the concession requirements, "So if ATA knocks out the concession agreements, container fees stop flowing to trucking companies and the truck fleet will stay dirty. It's just too expensive for the truck drivers to buy new, $150,000 trucks on their own."

The quicker-than-expected improvements shows how wrong the NRDC was as they defended rules that would have illegally restricted commerce at the Ports. Instead of improving air quality, the Teamster-endorsed employee mandate concession at the Port of Los Angeles aimed to destroy thousands of small, independent owner-operator trucking businesses at the Port. Forcing port drivers to give up their businesses and work for large companies would make it easier for the union to organize the drivers.

Unable to deny the first-year success of the program, the NRDC has changed its message to a "worry about the long-term success of the program" if the employee mandate is not implemented. "If the ports' hands are tied and they are not allowed to use the critical tools outlined in the concession agreements, we worry about the long-term success of the program," said Melissa Lin Perrella, an NRDC attorney.

The NRDC seems to be worried more about the long-term success of the Teamsters union.

The Port of Long Beach did not adopt the employee mandate and Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster drew criticism from environmentalists and labor leaders for his decision, writes the Daily Breeze. Instead, the mayor should be praised for protecting drivers' rights to own their own business.

"I still don't understand what driver status has to do with clean air, and I maintain that this is the right model. It's not our job to do some social experiment. When you depart from just cleaning up the air, then you are subject to delays and problems with the program," said Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster in the Daily Breeze article.

Despite the federal judge's decision to enjoin the concession agreements from the Clean Trucks Program, the Teamsters and their allies continue to pursue the employee mandate at Ports across the nation, and are now lobbying Congress to change the federal law that protects commerce from a hodgepodge of local regulations that stifle business and increase costs for consumers.

For further information, reference the following press release, or visit http://www.truckline.com/truckingmatters