It’s been no secret that change is coming to the waterfront.
Automation and zero-emissions equipment are already changing the way some longshore jobs are done. And in coming years, new technologies are expected to transform some parts of how cargo is loaded and unloaded.
In response to those anticipated changes anticipated, officials from the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union joined together on Friday, May 31, to open a new Maintenance and Repair Training Center at the Port of Los Angeles.
The opening of a new training center at the Port of Los Angeles to provide longshore workers with the skills needed to expand into cargo-handling maintenance and repair took place Friday May 31, 2024. The new $16.4 million facility is located on a four-acre parcel adjacent to Pier 400 in San Pedro. The 20,000 square foot training center includes classroom space and on-the-job training areas which include heavy equipment such as forklifts, column lifts, welding stations, a jib crane, and truck chassis. Alberto Carvalho, Superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District gives remarks during the event. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The opening of a new training center at the Port of Los Angeles to provide longshore workers with the skills needed to expand into cargo-handling maintenance and repair took place Friday May 31, 2024. The new $16.4 million facility is located on a four-acre parcel adjacent to Pier 400 in San Pedro. The 20,000 square foot training center includes classroom space and on-the-job training areas which include heavy equipment such as forklifts, column lifts, welding stations, a jib crane, and truck chassis. Alberto Carvalho, Superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District gives remarks during the event. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The opening of a new training center at the Port of Los Angeles to provide longshore workers with the skills needed to expand into cargo-handling maintenance and repair took place Friday May 31, 2024. The new $16.4 million facility is located on a four-acre parcel adjacent to Pier 400 in San Pedro. The 20,000 square foot training center includes classroom space and on-the-job training areas which include heavy equipment such as forklifts, column lifts, welding stations, a jib crane, and truck chassis. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The opening of a new training center at the Port of Los Angeles to provide longshore workers with the skills needed to expand into cargo-handling maintenance and repair took place Friday May 31, 2024. The new $16.4 million facility is located on a four-acre parcel adjacent to Pier 400 in San Pedro. The 20,000 square foot training center includes classroom space and on-the-job training areas which include heavy equipment such as forklifts, column lifts, welding stations, a jib crane, and truck chassis. Los Angeles City Council member Tim McOsker gives remarks during the event. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The opening of a new training center at the Port of Los Angeles to provide longshore workers with the skills needed to expand into cargo-handling maintenance and repair took place Friday May 31, 2024. The new $16.4 million facility is located on a four-acre parcel adjacent to Pier 400 in San Pedro. The 20,000 square foot training center includes classroom space and on-the-job training areas which include heavy equipment such as forklifts, column lifts, welding stations, a jib crane, and truck chassis. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The opening of a new training center at the Port of Los Angeles to provide longshore workers with the skills needed to expand into cargo-handling maintenance and repair took place Friday May 31, 2024. The new $16.4 million facility is located on a four-acre parcel adjacent to Pier 400 in San Pedro. The 20,000 square foot training center includes classroom space and on-the-job training areas which include heavy equipment such as forklifts, column lifts, welding stations, a jib crane, and truck chassis. Gene Seroka, Executive Director, Port of Los Angeles gives remarks doing the event. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The opening of a new training center at the Port of Los Angeles to provide longshore workers with the skills needed to expand into cargo-handling maintenance and repair took place Friday May 31, 2024. The new $16.4 million facility is located on a four-acre parcel adjacent to Pier 400 in San Pedro. The 20,000 square foot training center includes classroom space and on-the-job training areas which include heavy equipment such as forklifts, column lifts, welding stations, a jib crane, and truck chassis. Willie Adams, President, International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) gives remarks during the event. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The opening of a new training center at the Port of Los Angeles to provide longshore workers with the skills needed to expand into cargo-handling maintenance and repair took place Friday May 31, 2024. The new $16.4 million facility is located on a four-acre parcel adjacent to Pier 400 in San Pedro. The 20,000 square foot training center includes classroom space and on-the-job training areas which include heavy equipment such as forklifts, column lifts, welding stations, a jib crane, and truck chassis. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The opening of a new training center at the Port of Los Angeles to provide longshore workers with the skills needed to expand into cargo-handling maintenance and repair took place Friday May 31, 2024. The new $16.4 million facility is located on a four-acre parcel adjacent to Pier 400 in San Pedro. The 20,000 square foot training center includes classroom space and on-the-job training areas which include heavy equipment such as forklifts, column lifts, welding stations, a jib crane, and truck chassis. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The exterior of the new 20,000 square-foot PMA-ILWU Training Facility. (Photo Courtesy of PMA)
An interior shot of the PMA-ILWU Training Facility near Pier 400 in the Port of Los Angeles. Hands-on instruction will cover a diverse array of equipment, including chassis, forklifts, top handlers, crane spreaders, training simulators, programmable logic controllers, and other future container handling equipment. (Photo courtesy of PMA)
An exterior shot of the new ILWU training facility at the Port of Los Angeles, set up for both classroom and lab activities. Classes are expected to begin this summer. (Photo courtesy PMA)
The opening of a new training center at the Port of Los Angeles to provide longshore workers with the skills needed to expand into cargo-handling maintenance and repair took place Friday May 31, 2024. The new $16.4 million facility is located on a four-acre parcel adjacent to Pier 400 in San Pedro. The 20,000 square foot training center includes classroom space and on-the-job training areas which include heavy equipment such as forklifts, column lifts, welding stations, a jib crane, and truck chassis. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The opening of a new training center at the Port of Los Angeles to provide longshore workers with the skills needed to expand into cargo-handling maintenance and repair took place Friday May 31, 2024. The new $16.4 million facility is located on a four-acre parcel adjacent to Pier 400 in San Pedro. The 20,000 square foot training center includes classroom space and on-the-job training areas which include heavy equipment such as forklifts, column lifts, welding stations, a jib crane, and truck chassis. Gary Herrera, President, ILWU Local 13 gives remarks during the event. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The $16.4 million, 20,000 square-foot facility, located on a 4-acre parcel adjacent to Pier 400, comes out of an agreement struck between the employers and workers to establish a way to help dockworkers learn new and relevant industry skills, including maintaining and repairing emerging technologies.
It’s a temporary spot while construction of a more permanent facility is underway on the Wilmington side of the twin port complex. The PMA and ILWU provide the workforce for both the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
The first training classes are expected to begin this summer.
The new center, PMA Chief Operating Officer Chad Lindsay said in written remarks, will give workers “the skills needed to expand into a cargo-handling maintenance and repair role that we expect will expand significantly as the terminals continue to modernize.”
Included in the facility are classroom spaces and on-the-job training areas for heavy equipment such as forklifts, column lifts, welding stations and truck chassis.
The facility’s origins began in 2019. Following a period that saw terminals in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach follow a path toward more automation — a process expected to result in job losses on the docks — the PMA and ILWU agreed to set up a Worker Training Program that would enable ILWU members to keep pace with industry modernization.
Specifically, specialized and technical training would be geared toward maintaining and repairing reduced-emission terminal equipment and technology.
ILWU members will be paid to go through the “reskill” and “upskill” programs at the center.
The offerings include:
Mechanic Reskill Program: Training will enable longshore workers to become well-founded chassis mechanics capable of working in a marine terminal environment; it also will provide exposure to other mechanic roles workers could potentially pursue in a future program. It will be a full-time, paid training program lasting 20 weeks, five days a week. Mechanic Upskill Program: This will enable current ILWU mechanics and graduates of the reskill program to continue technical education in maintaining and repairing current and future container handling equipment. The ILWU and PMA will partner with learning experts and marine terminal operators to analyze the needs of the industry to identify the necessary training for future opportunities.
The first “reskill” training program includes the fundamentals of electricity, taught in partnership with instructors from Los Angeles Unified School District’s Adult Education team, who will adapt the current curriculum for this specific purpose. The Mechanic Upskill Training Program will be a part-time paid training program, two days a week, to enable mechanics to continue working for their employers.
“The men and women of the ILWU look forward to receiving training in a state-of-the-art facility such as this,” said ILWU Local 13 President Gary Herrera, “in order to be prepared for not only the jobs of today, but also those of the future.”
The Port of Los Angeles took the lead role in identifying the 4-acre property for the center that comes with a 10-year lease.
APM Terminals, which operates Pier 400 and is part of A.P. Moller-Maersk, a global shipping and logistics company headquartered in Copenhagen, donated equipment for the training center, including two utility tractor rigs, a forklift, and truck chassis.
PMA also pitched in, purchasing a significant amount of equipment, including welding stations, a 16-foot jib crane with a 5-ton capacity, Stertil-Kone Mobile Column Lifts for handling large vehicles, a Wiggins EV Heavy Forklift with 36,000 pounds of lifting capacity, a dedicated electric vehicle charger, and an air compressor with a 240-gallon tank.
The parking area features solar reflective asphalt coating and two EV charger stalls.
Sean Marron, vice president of Labor relations for PMA, also attended the event to speak of the center’s importance.
“As the needs of terminal operations advance, having a training center provides great opportunities for longshore workers to develop critical new skills,” Marron said. “By using a dedicated facility for both classroom and on-the-job training, we avoid the scheduling and related challenges of conducting this kind of training on active terminals.”
