(The TTD issued the following news release on April 29.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday’s explosion of a propane tank inside a shipping container at the Port of Los Angeles should serve as a “wake up call” for the Bush Administration and the port industry to finally address myriad port security threats that have gone unchecked since the September 11 terrorist attacks on our nation, said Edward Wytkind, president of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department.
The explosion – deemed an accident by law enforcement authorities – occurred inside a container that was brought into the busy port without any support documentation regarding its contents. Never inspected, the container was reportedly destined to ship adjacent to a hazardous materials container on board a Pacific-bound ship. Workers involved reported that the container was merely labeled “FAK” which refers to “freight of all kind.”
“We have been pushing our elected leaders to address – through serious policy measures and adequate federal funding – the security vulnerabilities found in America’s ports,” Wytkind said. “Based on yesterday’s episode, more government inaction could obviously have disastrous consequences.”
In the wake of a major port security law enacted in 2002, federal funding for these efforts has been inadequate, Wytkind said. While the Coast Guard estimates $1.1 billion in annual port security needs, President Bush’s Fiscal Year 2005 budget proposes only $46 million. In 2002, President Bush vetoed, as part of a larger spending measure, $39 million for container security. Published reports say that 30 percent of the Bush Administration’s port security grants have gone to big oil and chemical companies while ports and their workers are left without the security protections they need.
“It is a miracle there were no serious injuries yesterday,” Wytkind added. “We should not wait for a catastrophe before we finally start keeping a closer eye on what gets sent through our ports.”
TTD represents 35 member unions in the aviation, rail, transit, trucking, highway, longshore, maritime and related industries. For more information, visit www.ttd.org