Worker Profile: Francisco Martinez

I’ve worked at the ports for about 10 years and I’ve never seen things this bad for truck drivers. Right now the companies are passing the cost of cleaning the air on to workers by forcing us to lease the new trucks. Most of us have to work over 16 hours a day just to pay off the company’s truck.

Although I work around the clock, I still can’t afford to pay my bills because most of what I make goes to the truck’s fuel, insurance, parking costs and anything else the company wants me to pay for.

I support the clean air efforts but I can’t understand how or why the cost of it has fallen on my co-workers and me.  A few weeks ago I received a $200 check after working a full 40-hour week. I’ve fallen three months behind on rent and I am consistently running late on the bills.

I have a 14-year-old son who doesn’t live with me but depends on the money I send him. When I end up with so little money that all I can send him is $50, it just breaks my heart.  I also have another son who does live with me; he is a 26-years-old with physical limitations and therefore completely dependent on me. Again, I just don’t know what to do anymore.

Things have gotten so bad that I’ve had to go and get food from my church’s food bank – all because the companies have forced the new trucks on us.

I am part of the Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports because I believe that the responsibility of the new clean trucks has to be on the companies that pollute.