LOS ANGELES – Councilmember Tim McOsker introduced a motion today to reaffirm the City’s authority over policymaking at the Port of Los Angeles and to ensure that public investment supports workers and community benefit, not automation or job loss.
The motion calls for a clear framework that prohibits the use of public funds for automation and prevents any cap on cargo at the Port. It reinforces the City’s commitment to protecting good union jobs while continuing to advance clean air and sustainability goals.
“For generations, the Port of Los Angeles has been a source of good-paying, family-sustaining union jobs and a leader domestically in environmental progress,” said Councilmember McOsker. “We can continue to lead on clean air and environmental progress without sacrificing the workers who make this Port run. Public dollars should never be used to replace people with machines, and cargo caps that threaten jobs and our competitiveness have no place in our clean energy transition.”
This motion comes on the heels of Governor Gavin Newsom’s veto of Senate Bill 34 (Richardson), which, at a state-level, aimed to implement similar protections at the San Pedro Bay Port Complex for the environment, workers at the Port, and the local economy.
The San Pedro Bay Port Complex, which includes the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, is the largest maritime gateway in the Western Hemisphere and supports millions of jobs. The Ports have also led the way in environmental innovation, achieving dramatic emissions reductions through the San Pedro Bay Clean Air Action Plan. Since 2005, the Ports have reduced diesel particulate matter by 92 percent, nitrogen oxides by 72 percent, sulfur oxides by 98 percent, and greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent.
McOsker’s motion directs the Chief Legislative Analyst and the Port of Los Angeles to develop a framework that keeps decision-making local and protects the City’s role as tidelands trustee. The framework would ensure that the Port cannot use public investment for automated or remotely controlled equipment that displaces workers and that no cargo throughput or operational caps are imposed that would jeopardize jobs or drive business away from Los Angeles.
The motion was referred to the Trade, Travel and Tourism Committee.