More than 100 people are expected at a 4:30 p.m. rally today outside Long Beach City Hall, 333 W. Ocean Blvd., to protest the recent decision by Long Beach port authorities to settle a lawsuit with the trucking industry over conditions of their clean-truck program.
The group plans to deliver a letter (Letter_to_POLB_Commission_re_ATA_Settlement.pdf) to city councilmembers, who were not involved or apparently informed in advance of the settlement (though Mayor Bob Foster was).
The deal has been widely criticized as a "sellout" to the powerful trucking industry, though port authorities defend it by saying it saves L.B. taxpayers potentially millions in legal fees without compromising the clean-air goals of the program, which bans pre-2007 model year rigs by Jan. 1, 2012. This contention has been hotly debated by many former allies in the fight to clean up harbor industry blamed for thousands of premature deaths via cancer, heart disease and lung ailments annually in communities surrounding the ports.
The Natural Resources Defense Council, which had joined L.A. and Long Beach in their lawsuit, blasted the Long Beach settlement, which was reached during a closed-door hearing Oct. 26.
"The Port of Long Beach violated the public trust and sold out the citizens of Long Beach by approving a worthless settlement agreement with the American Trucking Association in their lawsuit against the Los Angeles ports' clean trucks programs," said David Pettit, a senior attorney with the NRDC.
Long Beach's deal leaves Los Angeles alone against the trucking industry in a lawsuit scheduled to begin in federal court this December. The main split between the port comes from the fact that Los Angeles wants trucking companies doing business on its waterfront to own and maintain the thousands of rigs they dispatch in and around the port daily. The Long Beach allows contract drivers to continue operating.
Opponents of the Long Beach plan note that contract drivers, who are paid by the load and responsible for their own fuel, insurance, lease payments, vehicle maintenance and general upkeep, are hardly in a position to support the expensive new rigs required under the clean-truck plan. A basic 2007 model truck can cost up to $100,000, while cleaner alt-fuel vehicles can fetch $200,000 or more. Meanwhile, studies show drivers earn about $10-$12 per hour after expenses.
This reality has forced Long Beach to offer deep subsidies to ensure drivers are able to purchase or lease new rigs - a business model opponents claim will ensure taxpayers and port authorities will be subsidizing drivers for years to come.
Paul Eakins reports on Long Beach City Hall, and local and regional
politics. A newcomer to the Press-
Kris Hanson reports on the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles,
covering environmental issues, economic triumphs and
pitfalls and trade trends of America’s largest port.
He also writes a weekly column “On The Waterfront”,
appearing Tuesdays, and also produces an occassional video
and column titled “On The Job,” which follows the hard-working
men and women who keep Southern California’s economy humming.
Karen Robes Meeks came to work for the Press-
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