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Los Angeles was a town hostile to organized labor, but labor forces in the harbor had the backing of national longshore unions, including the radical-leaning International Workers of the World, the so-called “Wobblies,” and the city resisted their strength with formidable anti-union organizing laws.

Then, in 1934, a nearly three-month strike by port workers up and down the West Coast ended in the creation of the longshore and warehouse workers’ union, which represents harbor workers to this day.

There is no question air quality officials are up against formidable adversaries, including the Pacific Merchant Shipping Assn., the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and other labor and business interests that have been working together to kill the clean-air rules on the nation’s busiest port complex.

Beyond the environmental benefits, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union emphasized that the grant funding will be spent on human-operated equipment that won’t automate operations and eliminate jobs.

Currently, the only trucks that are required to do safety inspections before departing a terminal are those that have bargaining agreements with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, he said.