Harbor Commissioner
Port of Long Beach, California
Rich Dines, a longshoreman at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, brings 15 years of experience on the waterfront to his position as a member of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, the five-member governing body for the Port of Long Beach, California. He was appointed to a six-year term in July 2011 by Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster and unanimously confirmed by the City Council.
Under the Long Beach City Charter, the Board of Harbor Commissioners is responsible for setting policy for the Port and managing the Harbor Department. Commissioners can serve a maximum of two, six-year terms.
Mr. Dines began working as a longshoreman in 1997 and became a member of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) in 2000. In 2007 he was elected President of the ILWU Southern California District Council, which coordinates regional political and legislative activity for the ILWU. He served several terms as a member of the Executive Board and Political Action Committee for ILWU Local 13 and represented the union at a variety of gatherings and conferences, including the 2009 World Shipping Summit in Qingdao, China.
Throughout his career as a longshoreman, Mr. Dines has been a passionate and vocal advocate for increasing infrastructure development at the ports to boost local jobs. He has also been a strong supporter of clean-air programs to improve the quality of life for the community and port workers. In Long Beach alone, nearly 30,000 jobs are tied to the Port industry.
Mr. Dines has provided strong leadership in efforts to increase collaboration among business groups, labor organizations and government agencies to advance Port development projects, such as the Middle Harbor Redevelopment and the replacement of the aging Gerald Desmond Bridge.
Active in the community, Mr. Dines sits on the Policy and Steering Committee for the California State University, Long Beach Center for International Trade and Transportation (CITT). He has served on the Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network board of directors and the Advisory Board of the International Trade Academy (ITA) at Banning High School in Wilmington, California.
An avid scuba diver and former diving instructor, Mr. Dines has been a licensed Southern California real estate agent since 2003.
Mr. Dines is a longtime Long Beach resident. He and his wife, Yolita, currently live in the city’s Third District.
Marking 100 years of service to the community in 2011, the Port of Long Beach enters its second century as one of the world's premier seaports, a primary gateway for trans-pacific trade and a trail-blazer in innovative goods movement, safety and environmental stewardship. The Port is served by 140 shipping lines with connections to 27 seaports around the world. Customer and community service is at the core of the Port’s operations. Environmental agencies have acknowledged the Port for its landmark green initiatives, and industry leaders named the Port of Long Beach the World’s Greenest Port in 2011 and Best Seaport in North America in 14 of the past 16 years. A major economic engine for the region, the Port handles trade valued at more than $140 billion each year and supports hundreds of thousands of Southern California jobs.
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