Fact Sheet

Oakland Port

·        The Port of Oakland’s maritime operations generate $1.7 billion in economic activity. (Port of Oakland Maritime Operations Summary, Port of Oakland, March 2006)

·        According to Port officials an estimated 1,500 drivers service the Port daily and a substantial group of drivers call on the Port less frequently.  The East Bay Alliance for Sustainable Economy estimates that 2,000 drivers provide trucking services at the Port.  (Taking the Low Road How Independent Contracting at the Port of Oakalnd Endangers PUblic Health, Truck Drivers, & Economic Growth, East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, 2007)

Public Health

·        Residents living in the shadow of the Port of Oakland can expect to die, on average, more than a decade before residents of the Oakland Hills.  (Taking the Low Road How Independent Contracting at the Port of Oakland Endangers Public Health, Truck Drivers, & Economic Growth, East Bay Alliance for Sustainable Economy forward by Anthony Iton, MD., JD., MPH, Director & Health Officer, Alameda County Public Health Department)

·        Diesel pollution is five times higher in West Oakland than other parts of Alameda County.  (Harboring Pollution: Strategies to Clean Up U.S. Ports, Natural Resources Defense Council, 2005)

·        One in five West Oakland children has asthma.  (The American Lung Association)

·        The estimated annual health costs of air pollution from freight transport in California is $19.5 billion per year – more than half is caused by trucks.  (Quantification of Health Impacts & Economic Valuation of Air Pollution from Ports and Goods Movement in California, California Air Resources Board)

·        The West Oakland area has the highest asthma hospitalization rates in California.  (The American Lung Association)

·        Port trucks traveling through West Oakland produce the same amount of toxic soot in one day as 127,677 cars.  (Clearing the Air: Reducing Diesel Pollution in West Oakland, a West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project Report by the Pacific Institute, 2003)

Sweatshop Working Conditions

·     Sixty percent of Oakland Port truck drivers who were surveyed make less than the amount needed to support a family of four in the Bay Area above the proverty threshold which is $12.02 an hour.  25% o fthe drivers make less than $7.64 an hour.  (Taking the Low Road How Independent Contracting at the Port of Oakalnd Endangers PUblic Health, Truck Drivers, & Economic Growth, East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, 2007)

·        An estimatd 66% of Port drivers do not have health insurance, and almost zero receive benefits on the job forcing many to rely on publicly-funded health care.  (Taking the Low Road How Independent Contracting at the Port of Oakland Endangers Public Health, Truck Drivers & Economic Growth, East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, 2007)

·        The amount of cancer-causing diesel particulate matter found inside truck cabs is up to 2,000 times greater than the level typically accepted by state and federal environmental protection agencies. (Natural Resources Defense Council Issue Paper Driving on Fumes: Truck Drivers Face Elevated Health Risks from Diesel Pollution, December, 2007)