News flash: Port air officially gets greener

This from City Hall reporter Phil Willon:

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa this afternoon signed into law plan to remove exhaust-spewing diesel trucks from carrying cargo from the Port of Los Angeles, part of a larger $1.6 billion clean-air initiative that will remove more than 17,000 older diesel trucks.

“This is the most aggressive effort to clean up the air at a port anywhere in the world,’’ said Villaraigosa said at a City Hall news conference. “Today, Angelenos can rest assured their children will breath easier, and so will their grandchildren.’’

The law requires independent truck drivers servicing the port to become employees of trucking companies, and bans independent contractors. Both Villaraigosa and port authorities argue that independent, low-income drivers will not be able to afford the new $100,000 trucks that meet the port's strict low-emissions requirements.

That requirement was backed by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which believes the provision will make it easier to organize truckers. But it’s opposed by the American Trucking Assn., which has vowed to file a lawsuit to block that part of the plan.

“This isn’t about clean air,’’ Curtis Whalen of the trucking association said of the pending legal action. “It’s about control of a deregulated industry and  LA’s a pro-Teamster point of view.’’

--Bill Nottingham

Photo: Rick Loomis /  Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Cali]

This is a drastic effort to clean the air. But what the heck at least we get cleaner air. Moreover, it will be easier to track down erring drivers because the law requires them to be employees of the company.

[legal pincher]

Initially, the new truck law may affect truck drivers and the operators but ultimately, this law will create a greater impact on the environment that is truly beneficial to the greater number of people.

[lalawblogger]

This new truck law may result in some drastic changes in the way truck companies hire drivers. But in the long run, the environment will benefit from it and this may help reduce the effect of global warming caused by gas emissions of vehicles such as trucks.

[Warner Todd Huston]

We are witnessing the death of the privately owned business in California. When the government can at the stroke of a pen ELIMINATE privately held businesses... well, the people are fast becoming vassals to a tyrannical government as well as becoming minions to union thugs.

[don]

“This isn’t about clean air,’’ Curtis Whalen of the trucking association said of the pending legal action. “It’s about control of a deregulated industry and LA’s a pro-Teamster point of view.’’

Deregulation is exactly the problem and regulation is the solution.Polluting,unsafe vehicles need to be regulated into oblivion,thank you very much Mr
Whalen.And if that means some people will lose their jobs so be it.

Deregulation caused the current mortgage crisis,,oil crisis,banking crisis,financial system crisis.Lets not also forget the enron crisis,the dot com crisis,the s+l crisis.
Every one of these crises was caused by lack of regulation for the sake of freemarket nonsense.And in every case it enriched a few scammers and bankrupted innocent taxpayers.
Deregulation has screwed over the taxpayer and citizenry time and time again.
Good riddance to deregulation,welcome regulation.Any day!