Every day 16,000 port truck drivers haul containers to and from the busiest twin ports in the country to move the goods that Americans buy at Wal-Mart, Target and other big retailers. These workers keep our world's economy moving, yet they struggle to put food on the table, despite working as many as 14-15 hours a day.

The industry has cheated drivers out of basic rights, including access to health care and retirement benefits, as well as the right to even be called an employee. Now, the drivers are asking for your help in sending a message of support to the mayors of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The exploitation experienced by Los Angeles area port drivers stems from a loophole in the law that misclassifies them as "independent contractors." Independent they are not. They may own their trucks, but most of these drivers are hired by -- and are at the mercy of -- a trucking company owners who refuse to take any responsibility as employers. These companies don't even pay workers' compensation or Social Security!

Expenses fall on the drivers, not the companies that hire them. After paying for gas, insurance and truck maintenance, many become minimum wage workers. The majority cannot afford to repair their old, diesel trucks -- the source of major pollution in the harbor region. Scroll down to tell the mayors that you support better standards and conditions for these drivers.

The San Pedro Bay Ports drivers want to change this, and they are asking for your help. They are speaking out to make the trucking industry take responsibility for cleaner, greener trucks so their families can breathe clean air.

Working in coalition with the Teamsters, community groups, and environmental organizations, drivers hope to put an end to the misclassification that has denied them the rights of employees, so they can earn a salary that supports a family, have safe working conditions, benefits for their families and the freedom to form a union.

How can you help these truck drivers get the respect and dignity they deserve? Send an email that says you support the Clean Trucks Program, an important step toward fixing the broken port trucking system.

Recently, environmentalists, community members, and nearly a third of the port-driver workforce presented Los Angeles and Long Beach officials more than 11,500 signed petitions. See exciting highlights of what happens when we raise our voices together.

You can add your voice to the growing movement to lift standards in this industry by sending this email to the mayors of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Send the message that port truckers deserve a fair shot at the American Dream.

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I am writing to urge the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to pass a strong Clean Trucks Program that will create good jobs and will ditch the dirty diesel trucks clogging our roads.

Wherever I go, I feel like I'm constantly surrounded by these rickety old trucks, which belch fumes that our kids choke on.

I hear that the drivers in the trucks are supposedly independent, but I wonder how independent they are if they cannot afford to buy a new truck. I think we can do better.

From what I have read, the Clean Trucks Program will finally make the trucking companies responsible for their trucks and their drivers. Making the drivers employees will give them basic rights that most of us take for granted, like being able to get unemployment insurance if we lose our jobs or worker's compensation if we get injured.

Because more imports come through our ports than anywhere else in the country, we can set an example for the rest of the ports to follow.

For this reason, I urge you to expedite a program that requires trucking companies to immediately employ their drivers so they have the basic rights of other workers.

Trucking companies will then be responsible for the equipment and we can require them to own clean trucks.

Please stand up for our communities by passing a strong Clean Trucks Program.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
August 08, 2007