From guest blogger Tom Politeo

I represent the Sierra Club and its Harbor Vision Task Force, which is working to transform our decaying urban core into livable, sustainable cities.

Yesterday's Los Angeles Times front page exposé and KNBC Ch 4 report on the underground port economy underscore the need for the LA and Long Beach Ports to reverse the backwards business model that currently traps some 16,800 individual, impoverished port drivers in a minute-to-minute struggle to survive on the job.

Times’ readers were introduced to one of those truckers by reporter Louis Sahagun. Miguel runs his rig on bald tires, evades inspections, and still takes home less than $9 an hour.

This broken system doesn't just put public safety at risk – toxins spewed by old and worn-out diesel trucks are harmful to drivers, make children sick and kill people each and every week.

Super-rich corporations like Target and Home Depot are lobbying hard through industry associations to perpetuate a scheme in which underpaid workers must buy and maintain the trucks that haul their cheap goods from our shores to their stores. This exclusive circle of international shippers will squeeze out every last cent on the backs of the drivers, taxpayers, and what amounts to all of Southern California.

Even if green trucks suddenly rained from the sky, how could Miguel and his co-workers possibly afford to keep them in commission under the status quo? New parts, labor and a legitimate technician for a $140,000 (or more) clean-technology truck run far higher than monthly rent, groceries or the shoddy repairs “fix-it” men charge for old diesel rigs.

We need a concession model to moderate the trucking industry’s problems. That model must include an immediate employee workforce to make clean air and good jobs the cost of doing business in our backyard.

A strong Clean Trucks Program will reduce emissions by 80 percent within five years, a key requirement for the Ports to expand. A solid policy solution is already on the table – LA and Long Beach Harbor Commissioners need only true political will to get the job done.