California Apparel News

In the latest round in a 3-year-old legal battle, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously sided with the trucking industry and said the Port of Los Angeles does not have the right to require truck drivers picking up cargo on the docks to be employed by a company. The Sept. 26 decision was lauded by the American Trucking Associations, which filed a lawsuit in 2008 challenging the port’s trucking rules prohibiting freelance truckers, known as owner-operators, from collecting cargo containers at the port.

The trucking association maintained the driver requirement violated a federal law prohibiting states and municipalities from regulating interstate trucking. The Port of Los Angeles is owned by the city of Los Angeles. While the appeals court disagreed with the port’s requirement that only employee truckers could call at the port, it did uphold other trucking rules imposed by the port governing street parking outside the port, financial capability, maintenance of trucks and placard requirements. During litigation, the employee truck driver requirement was on hold.

“We are evaluating the rest of the court’s ruling,” said Robert Digges, chief counsel for the trucking group. “While the court upheld our argument on the central issue, we will be deciding whether a further appeal is warranted. We firmly believe the other challenged provisions of the concession agreement should have been preempted as explained in a strong dissent by the panel’s chief judge.”

Geraldine Knatz, the Port of Los Angeles’ executive director, said the port was pleased “that almost all aspects of our concession program have again been upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. The measures upheld in this ruling allow for significant accountability from the trucking companies that call at the Port of Los Angeles. We look forward to assuring safer, cleaner and more secure drayage for the long term.”

Port executives were undecided about whether they would appeal the federal court’s ruling to the U.S Supreme Court, said Port of Los Angeles spokesman Phillip Sanfield. The appeal decision will be taken up by the Port of Los Angeles’ Board of Harbor Commissioners.When the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles launched their Clean Trucks Program on Oct. 1, 2008, they both mandated that independent truck drivers, who used to collect nearly 90 percent of the ports’ cargo, would no longer be allowed to access the docks. Only truckers employed by trucking companies would have the right to haul cargo from the ports.Many believed this would make it easier for the Teamsters to organize truckers employed by trucking companies.The Portof Long Beach ended up rescinding its owner-operator ban in 2009, allowing independent truckers to collect cargo if they operate trucks with diesel emissions that meet the stringent requirements of the Clean Trucks Program.

The Clean Trucks Program was launched to reduce diesel emissions around the ports. Without a reduction in diesel emissions, the two ports, which make up the largest port complex in the United States, could not launch new projects to expand their terminals.“This plan was never about clean air. It was about promoting special interests of a few well-connected labor groups,” said American Trucking Associations President and Chief Executive Bill Graves. “Successful clean trucks plans in Long Beach, Seattle and the ports of New York and New Jersey have shown you can improve air quality without forcing owner-operators out of your port.”