Faith leaders representing a broad spectrum of religious traditions took their ministries to the Port to listen to truck drivers' concerns about the harsh circumstances they face on the job and to offer their support for the drivers' struggle to improve their working conditions. On May 15, spiritual leaders who are members of the East Bay Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, a partner in the Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports, met at a taco truck outside the Port terminals for an opening prayer. The 17 clergy members and religious lay people divided into teams of two each joined by Teamsters organizers and EBASE staff and fanned out across the Port walking from truck to truck visiting drivers as they waited in line for cargo loads. They listened to the drivers' stories and offered prayers from their different religions.
The drivers spoke of how difficult it is to raise a family on poverty-level wages without medical insurance. After paying expenses, many drivers make as little as $8 an hour. Several drivers expressed fears about the negative health risks associated with breathing diesel pollution day in and day out.
Salvador Ayala, who has been driving at the Port for the past three years, faces $29,000 in medical bills after his wife's recent operation to remove gall stones. This is on top of the $10,000 he spent last year to overhaul his truck engine.
"It made a deep and lasting impression on me when I heard, directly from the drivers on the job about the struggles they face and the stress they experience trying to make a living on such low wages," said Reverend Kurt Kuhwald, Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists. "They're really not asking for much. They just want decent wages, to be compensated for the costs of doing business and to be treated fairly."
Father Robert McChesney, S.J., is the Associate Pastor at Saint Patrick's Catholic Church. The Port of Oakland falls within the St. Patrick's parish boundaries. St. Martin de Porres Middle School is located on the church grounds. Fr. McChesney became concerned about the health of his parishioners and the Port truck drivers when he accompanied 38 sixth- and seventh-graders on a bus tour of the Port last March. During the Port tour, the students learned that the Port is a big source of diesel air pollution which is associated with high incidences of asthma and cancer. A show of hands indicated that many of the children have a relative who suffers from asthma or cancer, and some of the students have asthma themselves. (Read The San Francisco Chronicle coverage of the bus tour.)
Fr. McChesney participated in the blessing of the truck fleet because he wanted the truck drivers to know that the Church is with them in their struggles. "The truckers told me that through their jobs they seek lives of dignity for themselves and the families they support. I responded that God accompanies them in their labors, and that their work unites them with the ongoing work of the Creator," said Fr. McChesney. "A lot of the drivers told me they feel badly because they work up to 14 hours a day and are unable to spend as much time at church as they would like. So felt it was important to bring the church to them in their workplace."
Many drivers asked Fr. McChensey to bless them and their trucks with holy water. Several Protestant ministers offered "laying on the hands" as they prayed for the drivers' health and safety. The clergy members gave the drivers prayer cards with green ribbons to symbolize a clean and safe working environment and community. Many drivers wore the gifts around their necks. Others hung them from their rearview mirrors as a reminder of the spiritual support they received.
"It made me feel good to see that the spiritual people are on our side," said Cliff Coleman, a 62 year old Port driver. "I think it was great they came to the Port."
After visiting with hundreds of Port drivers, the clergy members committed to continue to assist the drivers in their efforts to win a sustainable Clean Trucks Program at the Port of Oakland.
