Legal Victory in Ports Case: Groundbreaking Labor-Environmental Coalition Celebrates Court Ruling

LOS ANGELES, CA – After more than two years of litigation over the Port of Los Angeles’s award-winning Clean Trucks Program, a U.S. Court yesterday ruled for the first time on the merits of the case, handing a massive victory to LAANE’s ports project! The ruling is a complete vindication for the approach of the Port of Los Angeles, the leadership of Mayor Villaraigosa, and all of the members of the LAANE-led Coalition for Clean and Safe Ports, especially the legal team at the Natural Resources Defense Council.


Today is a day for celebration: for the long-suffering port drivers who will now gain essential rights too-long denied; for the communities around the Ports who will see the early benefits of the Clean Truck Program made sustainable for the long-term; and for the Coalition for Clean and Safe Ports – along with each and every member organization – which has engaged in an incredible struggle for over four years to get this policy implemented.


The lifting of the temporary injunction means that the full Clean Truck Program can be implemented at long last. In many ways, this means that our work is really only beginning: while the ruling is powerful and exhaustive in its factual and legal findings, the legal maneuvering will continue on appeal—likely for years. In the meantime, we must work with the Port to ensure that the Program is implemented well. We must work with other Coalitions around the country to enact similar truck programs. We must continue our efforts in Washington, D.C. to pass the Clean Ports Act of 2010. We will continue to reach out to all of you for help in these areas.


You can see press accounts of the ruling from the Associated Press, the Daily Breeze, the Los Angeles Times, and KPCC. Of course, we always love visitors to the Coalition’s web sit.