Why Clean Air and Worker Justice Are in Peril at America's Ports

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http://www.alternet.org/labor/why-clean-air-and-worker-justice-are-peril-americas-ports


Los Angeles has long had the worst air quality in the nation, and one major cause of that in recent decades has been the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. When the latest battle to improve the air at the ports reached the Supreme Court in mid-April, the Obama administration showed up with an amicus brief... on the side of dirty air.

Here's how: The Obama administration backed a strict interpretation of federal law, preventing the Port of Los Angeles from enforcing rules on trucking companies as part of its “Clean Trucks Program.”

It's the very same Clean Trucks Program that candidate Obama praised in a letter to three California mayors of port cities when he was running for president in November 2007.

"I write to express my support for the efforts you are making to ensure that our ports are environmentally sound, secure, and supporting middle-class living standards for those working there," his letter to the mayors of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland began. "In particular, the Clean Trucks Program recognizes trade, labor, and the environment are not separate, but linked issues. The program sets tough standards to clean up truck diesel emissions and provides generous subsidies for vehicle purchase and retrofit. And it also recognizes that responsibility for investing in higher standards is best borne by firms rather than the individual truck drivers fighting to make a living with little leverage to negotiate for better pay."