The single largest source of air pollution in Southern California are the Ports of LA and Long Beach. Environmentalists, environmental justice advocates, and Teamsters are working together to replace offending diesel drayage trucks.
Emissions from diesel trucks are one of the main reasons why the ports are such pollution-generators. Many of the trucks are old and driven by independent contractors, making their replacement both necessary and difficult for the drivers.
"Working with environmentalists, the union helped persuade the Port of Los Angeles to adopt a far-reaching plan that bars old trucks from hauling cargo from the port and puts the burden of buying new vehicles on the trucking companies, not the drivers.
Environmental groups are happy to have the Teamsters' political muscle behind efforts to clean up the ports, while the union likes having environmentalists backing its goal: requiring port trucking companies to employ their drivers directly, rather than as independent contractors because employees, unlike contractors, can join unions."
Thanks to Mathews Hollinshead
Read the full story: Clearing the Air at American Ports
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