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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Damian Contreras, Business Agent of Teamsters Local 804, on Air Quality and Last Mile Deliveries
2:10:22
ยท
4 min
Damian Contreras, representing Teamsters Local 804, supports the proposed bill to improve air quality and safety in relation to last mile deliveries. He emphasizes the need for stronger enforcement mechanisms and worker protections in the legislation.
- Contreras argues that companies like Amazon won't voluntarily comply with the law and calls for ways for workers to report violations without fear of retaliation.
- He highlights that warehouse workers are most affected by poor air quality and unsafe conditions, urging for workplace issues to be addressed alongside environmental concerns.
- Contreras recommends amendments or a sister bill to include enforcement mechanisms for workers, reasonable work rates, anti-retaliation protections, and measures to prevent worker abuse.
Damian Contreras
2:10:22
Good afternoon.
2:10:24
My name is Damian Contreras and I'm a business agent for Teamsters Local eight zero four.
2:10:30
I have seen many of you at our UPS Rally's as well as the recent Rally's at the Amazon facilities in Queens.
2:10:37
It's good to be around friends.
2:10:39
Me and my members appreciate you.
2:10:42
We support this bill.
2:10:43
People deserve to have safe streets and an environment free of poison and pollution.
2:10:49
I am speaking to remind our friends in the city council of two things.
2:10:53
First, that the that these employers will not do the right thing willingly and that these employers are harming their workers even more severely than they are harming the public.
2:11:06
You've seen how Amazon, in particular, are liars, cheaters, and lawbreakers when it comes to the last mile delivery stations.
2:11:13
Please do not be naive enough to believe that they are going to follow this bill just because it becomes law.
2:11:20
Do we truly expect them to accurately report how much they are poisoning us?
2:11:25
Do we expect members of the public to stand outside of these facilities and count the number of trucks going in and out?
2:11:32
Do we think government agencies are spending resources on this?
2:11:37
The reality is that public frontline defense is and will always be working people.
2:11:43
Who better to hold employees accountable than their workers?
2:11:47
This bill needs an avenue for workers and worker committees to ensure their employers are following the law.
2:11:55
When these companies poison the air, it is the drivers and warehouse workers who breathe in the poison in at the source.
2:12:03
When they jam up traffic or force work speed ups, it's their workers who feel the squeeze and see the mess firsthand.
2:12:12
All the things this law wants to fix, workers experience up close and they are in the best position to report these conditions.
2:12:20
But we also know that these employers retaliate against those that challenge them.
2:12:25
Right now, Amazon is firing workers asserting their right to organize.
2:12:33
In Queens, they turned a hose on workers in freezing temperatures at a peaceful rally.
2:12:38
Make no mistake, when these workers report violations of the law at issue, Amazon will retaliate against them too.
2:12:46
We need anti retaliation measures if we want this law to do what it is supposed to do.
2:12:52
Lastly, we need to recognize that the harm being done to those living near these warehouses is felt far more acutely by the people inside these facilities.
2:13:04
When we talk about the exhaust being released into the air, we cannot forget about the trucks idling enclosed in the building.
2:13:11
We cannot forget about the unsafe and unsanitary conditions, injury, hazards such as belts moving too fast, lack of egress, lack of temperature controls, lack of safety equipment, dangerous production standards and other abuses and hazards.
2:13:28
We cannot ignore the direct harm being caused just because we're making an indirect rule.
2:13:35
Big companies like nothing better than when land use and environmental issues are separated from workplace issues.
2:13:42
But nowhere is it more clear that these issues are tied together than when it comes to logistics.
2:13:49
Work speed ups and dangerous quotas lead directly to traffic slowdown, increased vehicle emissions and workers having to drive hurt or impaired.
2:14:00
And poor workplace conditions result in higher work turnover.
2:14:03
The companies burn through the local labor market, requiring them to recruit from farther and farther away, adding commute times and vehicle miles from thousands of workers into our system.
2:14:15
The place of environmental issues are directly connected.
2:14:19
Whether it is through amendments or through a sister bill for this to work, we respectfully ask that there be enforcement mechanisms for workers and worker committees, reasonable work rates, anti retaliation protections, measures to prevent harm and abuse of these workers, and enforcement mechanisms with teeth.
2:14:39
Thank you.