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By Christian L. Guzman, Community Reporter
[See CicLAvia, p. 6]
ILWU supports Alex’s Lemonade Stand with 5k run p. 3
By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
On July 20, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach released the draft of their new Clean Air Action Plan, opening a two-month comment period. The first public comment was a resounding rejection from the Teamsters, because the plan would tacitly allow the continued exploitation of individual truckers, misclassified as independent owner-operators. These truckers were saddled with the lion’s share of the costs of the Clean Trucks Program in the initial plan — hundreds of millions of dollars a year. “Your clean air program is going to make it worse, because the actual people who paid for the last clean trucks program — and it wasn’t designed
to be that way — was the drivers, the people [who] can’t afford it,” Teamsters International Vice President Fred Potter told POLA commissioners at their meeting the next day. “They made all the truck payments and most of them — virtually almost every one of them — while they paid for those trucks. They’ll never own them.” While the initial program at least tried to protect truckers, the new plan represents a giant step back by not even trying. The ports’ press release said the plan “incorporates feedback from nearly two years of extensive dialogue with industry, environmental groups, regulatory agencies and neighboring communities” via “more than 50 stakeholder
meetings” since a discussion document was released this past November. Conspicuously missing are mentions of truckers and their representatives. “We were not asked to participate in these stakeholder meetings,” Potter said. “Yet, we’ve had 15 strikes, represented drivers, helped drivers with hundreds — almost a thousand — DSLE claims [California labor law violations], and class action lawsuits... every one of which they’ve won, because these drivers are misclassified.” Teamsters spokesperson Barbara Maynard recalled an incident just before the most recent strike. “The mayors of Los Angeles and Long Beach
August 3 - 16, 2017
Cowboy versus Samurai offers a lite fare at the theater p. 15
Teamsters Charge CAAP Blows Smoke
Pow! Wow! Long Beach packs a punch on the mural scene p. 11
The Bike Palace proprietor, Tony Jabuka shares his excitement for CicLAvia, which coming to the Los Angeles Harbor. Photo by Raphael Richardson
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
t is no easy task bicycling between San Pedro and Wilmington. Although the two communities are connected by a bike path along the side of John S. Gibson Boulevard, cyclists contend with ever-present broken glass, traffic and diesel exhaust. The worst part is the unsettling feeling of fully loaded cargo trucks roaring past at high speeds. It’s a far cry from the pleasant promise described in waterfront development plans over a decade ago. CicLAvia will liberate riders from these hazards — for one day, at least — with its San Pedro Meets Wilmington route Sunday, Aug. 13. CicLAvia is both the name of the event and the nonprofit organization that manages it. “Many people don’t remember how fun it is to ride a bike,” said Tony Jabuka, owner of The Bike Palace in San Pedro; Jabuka has served bicyclists in San Pedro for more than 35 years. “That’s why CicLAvia is great. It’s a day of fun on your bike.” During CicLAvia events, cyclists, skaters and walkers can make full use of certain streets; the route is closed to motorized vehicle traffic. “I love the vibes of CicLAvia,” said Ednita Kelly, a San Pedro librarian and operator of the Book Bike. “You get to meet new people
[See Blowing Smoke, p. 4]
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