On Tues., Feb. 10, the King County Labor Council will ask the Seattle Port Commission to treat Port workers, including truck drivers, as employees rather than contract workers. This would entitle the truckers to benefits such as health insurance and a living wage. The proposal is also calling for a reduction in the Ports carbon emissions of "as much as 70 percent for docked ships and 30 percent for equipment on shore that hauls cargo" by next year, according to the Washington State Labor Council's website.
The Labor Council's proposal, in some ways, echoes what the Port of Seattle has already adopted through the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy in 2007. This plan, which was adopted by port authorities of Seattle, Tacoma, and Vancouver, calls for systematic emissions reductions in port related emissions through 2015. Goals for reductions in emissions by docked ships and on-shore equipment are set within the NPCAS. It calls for a roughly 80 percent decrease in emissions by oceangoing vessels and up to a 20 percent emissions reduction for on-shore equipment, but these goals are not guaranteed, and the mechanisms that the Port of Seattle will use to achieve them are unclear.
The NPCAS also commits the ports to focusing on environmentally friendly and sustainable growth: "All future port growth should be defined in terms of 'green' growth, emphasizing reduced emissions and long-term sustainability," says the plan.
The Labor Council's proposition would be more aggressive with these goals, its backers say, by allocating more funding for the transition as well as focusing on employment and working conditions.
While the environmental goals are clear in the NPCAS, it is much less specific on what funding and assistance will be available for improved technologies. The NPCAS states that the port will work "to develop meaningful financial and other incentives such as grants, low interest loans, fee-based responses, or recognition programs." These are "still in the draft phase," according to Charla Skaggs, the Port's media relations officer.
Many of the environmental protections imposed by the NPCAS will depend on the Port of Seattle for financial assistance. The port, however, has responded to the recession by cutting $9 million from its 2009 operating budget.
As the port tightens its belt, truck drivers are worried about having to bear the cost of stricter environmental regulations. By 2010 the NPCAS will require all trucks seeking access to the port to meet the emissions standards of trucks made in 1994 or later. The cost of a 1994 truck is currently estimated at $10,000, and truckers' position as contract workers without benefits or job security makes the investment dangerous even for those who could afford it.
"Everybody wants to drive new trucks," says Olufemi Dosunmu, a truck driver serving the Port of Seattle, "but if I buy a new truck now, tomorrow they could say [that I] don't have a job anymore. I would be stuck with that truck, my life would be ruined."
Dosunmu is paid roughly $50 per container that he moves, and must compete for this work with other drivers as overall shipping decreases. The volume of cargo handled by the Port of Seattle decreased by 18 percent from 2005 to 2008 and is expected to decline further in 2009.
The Seattle Port Commission met with truck drivers on Jan. 14 to address their concerns about emissions regulations. The commission is considering a plan to allow Cascade Sierra Solutions to retrofit trucks donated by California's Air Resource Board and lease them to drivers in Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, and Portland for $250 to $350 per month. The Washington State Department of Ecology and the port have allocated $700,000 collectively for this effort.