Drivers, neighbors push clean ports, decent jobs

“We’re here to stop the exploitation of the truckers and the community. The safety of the public requires safe, environmentally sound trucks,” Chuck Mack, director of the Teamsters Union’s Port Division, told some 200 drivers and their supporters at a June 27 noontime rally at Middle Harbor Park, an island of green nestled amid the cranes, stacked containers and constant clatter of the port.

Mack was referring to the “sweatshop on wheels” experienced by drivers who are paid by the load, forced to endure long waits and often end up with as little as $8 an hour. Meanwhile, nearby residents suffer from exhaust fumes and are largely left out of jobs and other economic benefits from the port.

“This is about wages, benefits and workers’ rights,” Mack said. “If we don’t succeed in this change, we won’t be able to clean up the environment.”

Before the rally, drivers told their stories. “We’re paid by the trip, whatever the boss gives us after taking out his share,” said Jaime Magana, a driver at the port for the last two years. “We’re not paid for waiting, here or in San Francisco,” he added, as other drivers nodded their agreement. “We might get $130 for a whole day’s work, and out of that we must pay for everything for our trucks — fuel, maintenance, whatever.”

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