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CLEAN PORTS * USA - An overhaul of New York’s port rules would bring vital jobs to the state
New York,NY,USA -The New York Daily News, by Jerrold Nadler& Andrea Batista Schlesinger -January 22, 2009: -- With President Obama's administration urging Congress to pass an economic stimulus quickly, local leaders should waste no time pointing to a smart, stable source of middle-class jobs: port trucking in New York's regional economy. If we reverse years of dangerous deregulation, thousands of new low-paying jobs could quickly become sustainable middle-class jobs... According to a new study by the Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations... That deregulation enabled bosses to dispatch cargo through so-called independent contractors. Treating these drivers as small businessmen rather than employees has prohibited the drivers from joining unions - and essentially enabled the companies to cheat on payroll taxes... A majority of these port truckers are recent immigrants with no negotiating power or workplace rights. Their lives are dictated by ocean shipping lines and trucking companies trying to get maximum productivity at minimal expense. These drivers have to pay for their own truck maintenance, fuel, road taxes, tire insurance and tolls. They are covered neither by workers' compensation nor by any labor legislation that protects fair wages, hours, occupational safety or health... They're not the only victims of the system. The Rutgers study reveals how the structure of the trucking industry passes off huge labor and environmental costs to the rest of us. Ordinary citizens are paying for the environmental effects of diesel emissions, for the health care of drivers and their families who can't afford insurance and for the congestion on freight routes that often run through residential neighborhoods... Port truck drivers operating with such low profit margins are most likely to use the least expensive trucks available, older and far more polluting than newer, cleaner trucks. The cheapest trucks emit the most dangerous fumes in neighborhoods closest to the ports, making the air increasingly toxic and causing severe spikes in asthma rates... The Port Authority, along with Gov. Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg, should push for new regulations that would require the trucking industry to absorb the total labor and environmental costs of doing business in our region... (Video from YouTube, by travelfilmarchive -May 28, 2008: "Influence of Geography & History on Port of New York 1949" - An educational film about the Port of New York and how it was formed Footage from this subject is available for licensing from www.globalimageworks.com)
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