If you care about working family issues, you should be outraged at the way the Port of Seattle and many elected officials are turning a blind eye to the unsafe and inhumane working conditions for short-haul truck drivers who transport loads from Seattle's waterfront to nearby rail terminals.

These drivers, most of whom are African immigrants, perform essential work that helps drive our regional economy, yet they are treated like second-class citizens.

They earn poverty wages, most do not have health insurance; they operate unsafe equipment, and as detailed in a recent article in the Seattle Times, they are not even able to use bathrooms at the Port's terminal office building. Instead, they are forced to use port-a-potties near the terminal exit.

Jon Talton of the Seattle Times has written an excellent piece exposing the appalling conditions for workers at one of the most prosperous Ports in the country.