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REPORT says * USA - To cut smog, change truckers’ status,
The study, “Taking the Low Road: How independent contracting at the Port of Oakland endangers public health, truck drivers and economic growth”
Oakland,CAL,USA -People's Weekly World Newspaper, by Marilyn Bechtel -Oct. 6, 2007: -- The Port of Oakland, the country’s fourth largest port, drives much of the San Francisco Bay Area’s economy, and the port’s container trade is expected to double in the next 20 years. But a newly released report warns that this projected growth is threatened by the diesel pollution from trucks moving the containers, which causes soaring lung disease rates for nearby residents and port workers. At the same time, truck drivers endure dismal economic and working conditions. The study, “Taking the Low Road: How independent contracting at the Port of Oakland endangers public health, truck drivers and economic growth,” shines a spotlight on the way corporate giants like Wal-Mart, Target and Home Depot are forcing low-paid “independent contractor” drivers to bear the costs of truck maintenance... The EBASE study looked at four possible paths to cut diesel truck pollution: While the first three would provide some short-term improvements, the researchers said, all would leave in place the drivers’ “independent contractor” status, leaving them both responsible for truck maintenance and economically unable to fulfill that obligation. They concluded that only the concession system, which the port now uses in every other industry to establish oversight, would allow it to set standards for any trucking company wanting to do business there, including employee status for drivers, clean trucks, off-street parking, and more access to trucking jobs for residents of areas affected by port operations... (Chronicle photo, 2006, by Kurt Rogers - The Port of Oakland could see closer ties and more business with the Port of Shanghai)
Labels: air pollution
posted by Unknown @ 9:08 AM
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