Port Truckers Fight Back in Court
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are expanding the reach of their Clean Trucks Program, but that isn’t stopping the American Trucking Associations from challenging certain aspects of it in court.
In the most recent chapter in a two-year-long court battle over port truck drivers, the ATA filed its opening briefs with the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for a hearing that should happen later this year in San Francisco.
The ATA, the umbrella group for state trucking associations, is challenging the Port of Los Angeles’ requirement that only company-employed drivers, rather than independent operators, can pick up cargo on the docks. The Port of Long Beach ultimately decided not to require that company-employed truck drivers be the only cargo haulers.
In its Dec. 29 filing, the ATA noted that federal stipulations that deregulated the trucking industry overshadow local and state provisions and the port cannot mandate that all truck drivers calling at the docks be employed by companies. Part of the concern is that company-employed drivers could then be organized by the Teamsters into a union.
In previous court hearings, the Port of Los Angeles argued it was exempt from the federal regulations because it is part of the international port industry and is attempting to protect its commercial interests by cleaning up the air, which will then pave the way for more expansion as new projects will be allowed to come online.
The ATA’s lawsuit was first heard in U.S. District Court in 2008. It has been a back-and-forth legal affair ever since U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder initially ruled that the Port of Los Angeles could uphold its employee trucker mandate. Currently, that mandate is on hold while the two sides hash it out in appeals court.
The Port of Los Angeles and its co-defender, the Natural Resources Defense Council, are expected to submit their briefs to the federal appeals court by the end of January.
Meanwhile, both the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are expanding the reach of the Clean Trucks Program, which was initiated in 2008.
In December, the harbor commissioners adopted an addendum that requires smaller trucks to comply with the Clean Trucks Program. Normally, cargo is hauled by larger “Class 8” trucks. Now, “Class 7” trucks are expected to be included in the Clean Trucks Program.
Also, the ports will start penalizing trucking companies that switch their cargo from clean trucks to dirty trucks outside the port terminals.—Deborah Belgum
