Union Officer Appointed to Harbor Panel

Kenneth Evans Lord has been appointed to the Los Angeles Harbor Commission by Mayor Tom Bradley.

Lord, 54, is secretary-treasurer of the 3,500-member Oil Chemical and Atomic Workers International Local 1-128. He will replace Michael Schwab, who resigned from the five-member panel in January at the mayor’s request.

Lord has lived in San Pedro for more than 45 years, according to a Harbor Department spokesman. Before becoming a union official, he worked for Texaco Inc. in Wilmington as a lab technician.

Lord’s appointment to the commission, which sets policy for the Port of Los Angeles, is subject to City Council approval. His name was submitted to the mayor for consideration by Bill Robertson, who heads the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. Robertson had also submitted Schwab’s name to the mayor.

Labor groups have lobbied to have a representative on the commission. Until Schwab’s appointment last year, the board had not had a labor member since 1981.

Schwab resigned after federal authorities said they were investigating allegations that he misappropriated funds at Pile Drivers Local 2375, where he served as business manager until the local’s members voted to remove him. The union’s own investigation concluded that Schwab and another local official had violated union rules in handling a $9,000 grievance settlement paid to the local in 1985.

Schwab has denied any wrongdoing.