Harbor Commissioner, Labor Leader Kenneth Lord, 54, Dies

Kenneth E. Lord, a labor leader and newest member of the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners, died Tuesday morning at Pacific Hospital in Long Beach. He was 54.

Lord was secretary-treasurer of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Local 1-128, headquartered in Long Beach. He was appointed to the five-member Harbor Commission, which oversees the operations of the port, in March and took his post in April.

His death leaves a vacancy that will likely be filled by someone who, like Lord, represents labor interests. Lord replaced Michael Schwab, a Wilmington union leader who resigned.

Lord’s term would have expired June 30, 1988. By law, Mayor Tom Bradley has 45 days to nominate a replacement. The nomination requires City Council approval.

Bill Robertson, who heads the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, remembered Lord as “a person of high integrity, articulate and enlightened. . . . He’s always demonstrated a lot of compassion.”

Robertson said Lord took special pride in working on union projects to help the hungry and the homeless.

A Pacific Hospital spokeswoman said the cause of death had not been determined. Lord’s secretary, Carol Shiley, said Lord complained of chest pains during a union executive board meeting Monday morning. She said paramedics took him to Pacific Hospital, where doctors tried to dissolve a clot in his bloodstream. Shiley said the union was notified that Lord had died Tuesday at 6:30 a.m.

‘In a State of Shock’

“It all happened within 24 hours,” Shiley said. “We’re pretty much in a state of shock.”

Lord, who had lived in San Pedro for 46 years, was born in Salt Lake City. He was employed by Texaco in Wilmington for nearly 30 years before assuming management of the 3,000-member union local.

He is survived by his mother, Ardella A. Lord; a son, Anthony R. Lord, and a daughter, Deborah R. Lord. A Harbor Department spokeswoman said funeral arrangements are incomplete.