Take Action: Help Ms. Foundation Grantee LAANE Clean Ports Nationwide

Did you know that ninety-five percent of our nation’s 110,000 port trucks -- the vehicles that ferry goods and containers out of our nation's ports -- fail to meet current EPA emission standards?

Or that the pollution from those trucks subjects nearly 87 million Americans who live and work in port regions to the preventable, costly and even fatal health consequences of diesel soot, which include asthma, cancer and heart disease?

Unless you happen to live near a port or drive a long-haul truck, there's little chance you're aware of just how seriously this absence of regulation in the port trucking industry is impacting seaport communities -- not to mention the drivers responsible for hauling goods from Point A to Point B. Lax oversight has allowed some 5,500 port trucking companies nationwide to skirt tax laws and push all the costs of doing business onto their drivers by misclassifying them as independent contractors. As result, after-taxes, the average driver takes home just $10-11 an hour, making it impossible for them to afford to drive anything but the oldest, most decrepit vehicles -- those that emit levels of pollution our federal government has already deemed unacceptable.

While federal regulators have largely turned a blind eye to this issue, community groups -- along with a growing number of local and national politicians [pdf] -- are standing up for the health and clean air rights of portside communities and drivers nationwide. Among them is Ms. Foundation grantee LAANE, which played a pivotal role in the passage of one of the country’s most sweeping anti-pollution and anti-poverty measures: a Clean Trucks Program for the ports in the Los Angeles region that aimed to dramatically improve air quality and raise the standard of living for as many as 16,000 truck drivers.

The LA Clean Trucks Program was developed to replace old, pollution emitting trucking fleets with new, environmentally friendly trucks -- while forcing the trucking industry, not individual workers, to bear the cost burden of that replacement process. When the measure was initially approved in 2008, 6,600 clean diesel and alternative fuel vehicles were put into service in the LA area -- thanks in part to more than $600 million in private investment from trucking companies. Officials reported a nearly 80 percent drop in emissions as a result.

But not everyone was thrilled with the program: citing the measure's alleged violation of a federal law that protects the interests and independence of tucking companies, the American Trucking Associations challenged the program in district court and won a temporary injunction in late 2008. Since then, many haulers have seen their pay drop below minimum-wage standards, as companies have penalized them directly for the costs of the upgrades of their trucks.

Late last week, however, a victory for the health and well-being of port communities and drivers was won when a federal court judge ruled that "the Port of Los Angeles can regulate trucks that haul goods in and out of its property to reduce air pollution around the country's busiest port complex." This, in turn, means that the full Clean Trucks Program can be implemented at the port -- a huge win for LAANE and other groups that have been working so desperately hard to protect and improve the quality of life for the people of the ports.

A lengthy appeals process is all but certain, but for now, at least, LAANE and its constituents have cause to celebrate -- as do those of us who believe that communities and workers of all economic stripes deserve access to the same clean air so many of us take for granted.

If you believe that local communities deserve more power to enforce labor and environmental programs like the Los Angeles Clean Truck Program, support the recently introduced Clean Ports Act of 2010. Send a message to your elected officials by signing this petition now!

Sara K. Gould on ARRA Anniversary: Child Care, Green Jobs, Grassroots Advocacy Are Key

Today, on the first anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Sara K. Gould, Ms. Foundation President & CEO, shares her thoughts on the National Council for Research on Women's Real Deal blog about ARRA's impact to date and what else is needed to ensure real and lasting security for women, families and communities. She begins:

ARRA has provided a crucial injection of support to states during the worst of our nation’s current economic crisis. Take child care, for example: several states have used the funding to prevent budget cuts; some have reduced waiting lists for subsidized child care; and others have worked to improve the quality of child-care delivery.

That said, a lack of transparency and accountability has prevented grassroots organizations from accessing ARRA funding and assessing the extent to which it has alleviated economic insecurity in their communities. States have had considerable leeway in choosing which funds to accept and which reforms to implement; as a result, billions of dollars have yet to reach those most in need, especially low-income people, people of color and women.

Moving forward, we can do better. In addition to improving transparency and accountability, there should be a greater role for grassroots organizations who know best how to stabilize local communities. We should also bolster support for grassroots policy advocacy. It’s not enough to keep existing programs afloat; we need to continue to transform policies to make them work better for more people, well into the future. Read More

Sara's post is part of the Real Deal blog's Forum on Economic Recovery Act.

Update (22 February 2010)
The Ms. Foundation announces an open call for proposals for Economic Justice and ARRA Implementation.

Ms. Foundation Grantees Promote Women's Access to Green Jobs

Earlier this year, the Ms. Foundation issued grants to national organizations and coalitions with the potential to take advantage of progressive openings created by the new presidential administration. By supporting strategies that connect grassroots solutions to national advocacy, the Ms. Foundation is working to ensure that the communities with the greatest need benefit from policy change in areas that are likely to re-shape the social and economic infrastructure of our nation: health care reform, green jobs, workers’ rights, child care and immigration.

Two Ms. Foundation grantees, Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) and Green For All, have been focusing in particular on ensuring equitable access to green jobs for women, low-income people and people of color. Green jobs, like those in construction and other building trades, are more likely to offer a living wage and, because this is a new and rapidly expanding field, long-term economic security.

Last week, with funding from the Ms. Foundation, WOW held the first national institute for organizations from across the country seeking to train women in green jobs. This week, we share a video from Green For All which highlights how stimulus funds are already being put to use to train women in weatherization:

Tahlia is a single mother of a 3-year-old son in Brooklyn, NY. "Construction is something that I wanted to do for a long time," she said. "I had no way of knowing how to get into this field because I always heard it was a man's world."

Now, thanks to the Recovery Act, Tahlia has a job weatherizing homes in New York.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5U6ZO-3XGw

Learn more from Green For All's Green Economy Roadmap.