The Oakland-based Coalition for Clean & Safe Port is an alliance of port truck drivers, environmentalists, environmental justice advocates, labor, public health, faith and community organizations that promotes sustainable economic development at the Port of Oakland. The broken Oakland Port trucking system contributes to a public health crisis and forces truck drivers to toil in sweatshop working conditions. The solution is for the industry to take responsibility for a clean truck fleet and its workers.
Environmental-labor alliance to fight poverty, pollution at American ports gets national attention with New York Times story
From New York to Los Angeles, mayors, port authorities recognize need to properly classify drivers as employees and place burden of truck maintenance on companies. The New York Times highlights the unprecedented blue-green alliance of labor, port drivers and environmentalists that’s appealing to Members of Congress to protect an innovative green-growth model to clean the air and good jobs at U.S. seaports. (Click here to read more.)
Click here to read Clearing the Air at American Ports by Steven Greenhouse.
9th Circuit Ruling on LA Clean Truck Program Upholds Lower Court Decision; A Victory in the Continued Fight to Protect the Largest U.S. Port's Green-Growth Model
- Jaime Ortiz
Sadly, our brother, Jaime Ortiz, was taken from us February 10, 2010, after a tragic automobile accident. Born on December 5, 1977, Jaime leaves his parents, Alejandro and Leticia, a sister, Christina and brother, Sergio and a large family of Oakland port truck drivers, union brothers and sisters and community activists in deep sorrow over his untimely and heartbreaking passing.
Brother Ortiz worked tirelessly to improve the lives of port truck drivers and all working people. His compassion, commitment and humility were reflected in the countless acts of kindness he performed everyday.
His parents, Alejandro and Leticia, work at H.J. Heinz and are active members of Teamsters Local 601 in Stockton, California for over 30 years.
We ask that donations be made to Brother Ortiz’ family in their time of need. Please send a contribution to:
Jaime Ortiz Memorial Fund: United Labor Bank, 100 Hegenberger Road, Suite 110, Oakland, CA, 94621. Attn: Ricka Lucia.
Labor and environmental organizations say that President Obama’s intention to step up enforcement against worker misclassification in the 2011 budget, and CA Attorney-General Jerry Brown’s recent legal judgments against five local port trucking firms that disguised employees as independent contractors underscore the need for sweeping reform to end systematic abuses at America’s ports. (Click here to read more.)
Few Oakland Port Drivers Eligible for Funding to Upgrade Trucks to Meet Environmental Regulations.
According to the Oakland Tribune:
"About 1,300 drivers who haul cargo for the Port were denied grant funding for filters and trucks last year when a $22 million fund ran out. Drivers who could not afford to pay for their own equipment were facing unemployment until the state Air Resources Board announced over the New Year's holiday that it had found $11 million to help the rejected grantees buy new trucks or filters.
"According to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which is administering the grants for the filter retrofit programs, 742 truckers qualified for $5,000 filter grants and 44 truckers qualified for $50,000 new truck grants, said Lisa Fasano, the district spokeswoman.
"More than 500 truckers who were eligible for the new grant funds never reapplied, but no one knows why..."
Environmental, Labor and Church Groups Thank Seattle City Council Members, Letter to Congress Urges Closing Loophole to Protect Public Health and Safety
Seattle, WA - Environmental, labor and church groups are thanking Seattle City Council Members Richard Conlin, Sally Clark, Jean Godden, Nick Licata, Tom Rasmussen, and Mike O'Brien for sending a letter to Congress urging a federal fix to the trucking problems facing the Port of Seattle. (Click here to read more)
A Growing List of Big-City Mayors Calling on Congress Grows Bigger!
The Mayor of Seattle Michael McGinn is the latest to join other port-city mayors around the country, including Mayors Ron Dellums (Oakland), Antonio Villaraigosa (LA), Cory Booker (Newark), Michael Bloomberg (New York), and Stacy Ritter (Broward County, Florida) in supporting changes to outdated federal law so it is clear that ports have the authority to set environmental, labor, and security standards for the port trucking industry.
Unfortunately, the Port of Seattle's CEO has been lobbying to undermine this much-needed legal reform, despite the fact that his Port's Board of Commissioners have not directed him to do so. In fact, the Commission has not taken a position on the issue, calling into question who really directs the port: staff or commissioners? Unfortunately, this question seems to pop up at every port around the country. However, the Port of Oakland is firmly on record supporting our legislative efforts to ensure that 21st century programs like the EPA-award winning LA Clean Truck Program can be replicated at ports nationwide.
We must not let the industry polluters and lobbyists for the American Trucking Association thwart our efforts protect the environment and public health, reduce security risks and create good middle-class American jobs!
Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports Making Headlines!
The Contra Costa Times finds 'striking health inequities" for residents living near the Port of Oakland. According to the article, "In some hardscrabble East Bay neighborhoods, people die of heart disease and cancer at three times the rates found just a few miles away in more well-to-do communities." According to the article by Sandy Kleffman and Suzanne Bohan entitled In East Bay, where pollution goes, health problems follow "examining asthma rates reveals a stunning pattern. By far, the most hospitalizations occur in low-income communities near the Port of Oakland..." Read the full article and watch compelling video including profiles of East Bay residents.
A new study entitled Global Goods Movement and the Local Burden of Childhood Asthma in Southern California published in the American Journal of Public Health finds that children closest to harbor trade roadways suffer more respiratory problems.
More of the Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports in the news!
National Public Radio, All Things Considered
Activists Union Fight for Cleaner Trucks in Newark
New York Times
Cleaner-Trucks Mandate Will Create Hardships at Port of Oakland
San Francisco Bay Guardian
Cleaner air for Oakland -- but no one wants to pay for it
E Magazine
When Blue Meets Green How the Labor and Enviornmental Movements are Making Peace
California Members of Congress Call for Federal Law Revision to Empower Ports to Enact Environmentally and Economically Sustainable Clean Truck Programs (Click here to read more.)
Bay Area Air Quality Management District is the First Air Regulator in the Country to Call on Congress to Update Federal Law to Clean-up Port Air Polution
The Air District joins Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Broward County Mayor Stacy Ritter, the Port of Oakland, the Port of Los Angeles, the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey and many other elected leaders in a growing national effort urging Members of Congress to modernize federal law to ensure that local government entities, such as ports, have the power to set environmental, labor and community standards for the port trucking industry. (Click here to read more.)
- Ramon Colon, port truck driver and 33 year Newark resident, at press conference with Mayor Bloomberg, Mayor Booker and Teamsters President James Hoffa
NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg & Newark Mayor Cory Booker Urge Congress to Update Old Law to Allow Ports Nationwide to Enact Clean Trucks Programs
East Coast Mayors Join California Counterparts, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums & LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Elected Leaders in Growing Movement to Protect Successful LA Green-Growth Plan (To read more, click here.)
Click here to view video of the press conference.
Oakland Port Commission Vote Urges Congress to Ensure Ports Have Real Power to Clean Up Diesel Truck Pollution; Improve Security, Safety
Commission Resolution Sends Strong Message: Federal Law Must Be Updated So Trucking Industry Cannot Tie Up Life-saving Environmental Policies in Court (Click here to read more.)
Race to the Bottom
* Recently screened at the Oakland International Film Festival
* Winner, San Francisco VideoFest Four Star Video Prize for Best San Francisco Filmmaker.
A new documentry film, looks at the lives and livelihoods of Oakland Port truck drivers from the inside of their truck cabs as they struggle to make a living to the halls of government as they fight to improve their jobs and protect the environment. To book a screening of the 20-minute film, contact [email protected] To view a short film trailer, click here.
Port of Oakland Economic Study Makes Strong Case for Employee-based Trucking System to Solve Chronic Diesel Truck Pollution Problems
Comprehensive Truck Management Program: Economic Impact Analysis, a study prepared by the independent consulting firm Beacon Economics, LLC, that was commissioned by the Port of Oakland strongly favors an employee driver-based Port trucking system to address critical inefficiences, improve port security and meet upcoming air qualiity regulations. Click here for the Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports statement on the study.
Free Asthma Screening & Education Fair Sponsored by the Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports Held at the Port
In February, 2009, occupational health doctors and nurses associated with UCSF along with health professionals from the Alameda Public Health Department, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Worksafe administered free asthma screenings and provided referrals for local health care for residents, workers and Port truck drivers. "The persistent and increasing demand for basic asthma health care underscores the need for system reform at the Port," said Dr. Anthony Iton, Director and Health Officer, Alameda County Public Health Department. "By bringing the Free Asthma Screening and Health Education Fair to the front door of the Port, we send a strong message that officials must act immediatedly to reduce toxic truck pollution because the East Bay community cannot afford more delays that put residents' and workers' health at risk." (For more photos click here.)
Broken Port Trucking System Drains More Than $153 a Year From the Economy
The Pacific Institute and East Bay Alliance for a Sustainabilty Economy Taking a Toll: The high cost of health, environmental, and worker impacts of the Oakland Port trucking study reveals alarmingly high cost due to Oakland port truck diesel pollution.
Thousands demonstrate enthusiastic support for clean air and good jobs at the Port of Oakland
On July 22, 2008, community members and truck drivers were joined by Port Commissioners Margaret Gordon and Victor Uno, Attorney General Jerry Brown, State Treasurer Bill Lockyer, Assemblymembers Loni Hancock and Sandré Swanson, Mayor Ron Dellums, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Teamster General President James P. Hoffa, California Labor Federation Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski, Alameda Labor Council Secretary-Treasurer Sharon Cornu and many others in a massive march through downtown Oakland to the Port. Click here to watch KTVU/Channel 2 News Coverage.
Sign the Petition
Join the movement - sign the petition urging the Port of Oakland to adopt a clean, safe ports plan! Learn more
Watch the video
Watch the inspiring video, "Victory in L.A. for Clean and Safe Ports".