Council Blocks Hiring of New Port Pilots
As the strike by Los Angeles’ port pilots stretched into its 11th week, the City Council on Tuesday moved to block the Harbor Department from hiring any new port pilots until the job action ends.
Councilman Rudy Svorinich Jr., whose district includes San Pedro, where the port is located, said the department had good intentions when it advertised to fill two vacancies earlier this year. But unions in the harbor area would not look kindly on interviewing pilot applicants, he said.
Los Angeles is the only major port in the nation where pilots are city employees rather than private contractors. The primary issue in the labor dispute is salary, with the union seeking a hike of more than $50,000 a year to $$164,000. The city has offered $133,000.
Elizabeth Garfield, the union’s attorney, said the council action “sets the stage very well for getting this thing resolved.”
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