Port of Long Beach to use non-union truckers for “clean air”

Patrick Burnson, Executive Editor -- Logistics Management, 2/20/2008

Long Beach, Calif.—Free market advocates won a significant victory at the Port of Long Beach yesterday as port commissioners opted for a “non-union” solution for cleaning the air. Unfortunately, it may have also fueled a contentious trucking issue with its neighbor, the Port of Los Angeles.

Organized labor was also in an uproar over the plan to continue using “owner-operators” for drayage, but a Port of Long Beach spokesman told LM that there would be no shortage of qualified drivers complying with the new standards.

Under the Long Beach plan, trucking companies will be permitted to use both employee drivers, and independent contractors or a combination of the two, as long as their vehicles meet “clean air” requirements. The Port of Los Angeles is mandating that all truckers be employees – a position favored by both the Teamsters and environmental action groups like The Sierra Club.

Shippers at the Agricultural Transportation Coalition in Washington, DC, said that this is a “transparent ruse,” designed to restructure trucker’s salary base and raise transport costs.

The commission’s unanimous vote against including the employment status of drivers in the clean air plan was partly driven by concern that a law suit might slow down efforts to reduce diesel emissions.  Legal experts have expressed concern over whether the Port of Los Angeles has the legal authority to enforce its current “employee-only” plan.

“Our commission came up with several creative ideas to reward truckers complying with new standards,” said Port of Long Beach spokesman, Art Wong. He noted that to further its “clean air” mission, officials also voted to approve a multi-faceted financing program designed to help independent owner-operators and trucking companies purchase new trucks with cleaner-burning engines.

The financial program also calls for a procurement plan to help negotiate a volume discount for new truck buyers and sets criteria for full and partial exemptions from the $35-per-container clean truck fee, now due to take effect on October 1.