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The plan is aimed at reducing air pollution at the port by 75% over the next five years

LOS ANGELES – 03/21/08 – The Los Angeles Harbor Commission has voted unanimously to mandate that more than 17,000 independent truck drivers moving cargo in and out of the Port of Los Angeles will have to operate as employees of licensed motor carriers by 2012.

The decision came after three hours of heated debate and fulfills a portion of the employee-mandate provision of the so-called Clean Trucks Program, which aims at reducing the diesel emissions of trucks serving the port by as much as 75% within the next five years.

Every day, about 70,000 truck “moves” are registered at the adjacent ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach – the busiest container ports in the US.

More than 85 % of the trucks operating at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are owned by independent drivers, who currently earn about $11 to $12 per hour after expenses.

The Commission decision – which will have to receive final approval from the Los Angeles City Council – also requires motor carriers to purchase and maintain tractors that meet 2007 federal emissions standards by the same deadline.

The Clean Trucks Program also calls for the Port of Los Angeles to provide grants covering up to 80% of the cost of newer, cleaner-burning trucks, while the cost of retrofitting trucks to meet the 2007 federal emissions standards will be fully funded by the port.

Additionally, port officials plan to launch a "Scrap Truck Buyback Program" that offers $5,000 to drivers willing to turn-in diesel trucks built before 1989.

The employee mandate is supported by a coalition of environmentalists and labor unions, but it met strong opposition from a number of motor carriers and organizations including the Intermodal Motor Carriers Conference (IMCC), an affiliate of the American Trucking Association.

They say the new employee mandate will violate federal free trade laws by banning independent owner-operator truck drivers from the port, while motor carriers have warned that increased labor costs may be handed down to consumers.

The Los Angeles plan will "undermine ... a workable clean-truck program,” said Curtis Whalen of the IMCC, who added, "The next venue for the proposal will be in the court."

In an editorial in yesterday’s Los Angeles Times, the paper said the trucking plan is "an untested attempt at regulating the business that might run afoul of interstate commerce laws. By passing it, harbor commissioners will all but assure a legal battle that may go on for years."

It's still unclear the Los Angeles plan will impact the neighboring Port of Long Beach, which earlier this month adopted a plan that allows independent truckers to continue hauling cargo and out of the port, although with tough emission standards for their trucks.

Long Beach Mayor Robert Foster commented on the Los Angeles decision, agreeing with those who said it could lead to a prolonged fight in the courts.

That, he said, would undercut the basic purpose of the Clean Trucks Program, which is to clean the port region’s polluted air. 

"Many independent drivers don't want to become trucking company employees," said Foster.  "I think our plan is better. It doesn't place in jeopardy the clean-air program itself."

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