[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 5 (Thursday, January 10, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E33]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO DAVID ARIAN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALAN S. LOWENTHAL

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 10, 2019

  Mr. LOWENTHAL. Madam Speaker, on January 2, 2019, David Arian, a 
widely-respected community, labor, and city government leader, passed 
away at the age of 72.
  I'm proud and honored to join so many others in celebrating his life. 
We all know about Dave the union leader--a man carrying on in the 
footsteps of Harry Bridges. We also know Dave the port commissioner--a 
man who fought for workers as he was laying out a vision for the future 
of our ports.
  I would like to add Dave the thinker and mentor--who challenged not 
only me, but many of us, to rethink our positions, learn to defend 
them, and never give in when we know we are right.
  Dave's life, like the man himself, was built on determination and 
conviction.
  Born December 4, 1946, Dave was 18 years old when he took a job at 
the Wilmington waterfront in 1965. He often joked that at just 130 
pounds, union supervisors weren't sure he'd be able to do the 
physically demanding work of a longshoreman. But like many aspects of 
his life, Dave proved his skeptics wrong. That first day unloading 
bananas into boxcars was just the first of many that he would spend 
working, organizing and leading union workers and causes important to 
the workers and the San Pedro Bay community.
  A proud and fiercely loyal member of the International Longshoreman 
and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 13, Dave would eventually hold many 
leadership positions over the years, including three terms as local 
president. In 1991, at the age of 44, he was elected international 
president of the ILWU. After his service at the top of the union, Dave 
returned to the docks at the Port of Los Angeles, eventually retiring 
in 2009. Within a year, he was appointed to the Los Angeles Harbor 
Commission by then-Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa and reappointed by 
Mayor Garcetti in 2013.
  During his tenure on the Board, the Port of Los Angeles broke all-
time cargo volume records while reducing air emissions, two goals on 
which Dave was particularly focused.
  Concern and support for the community, local workers, and residents 
were woven into everything Dave did. A tireless community activist from 
the start, Dave and his family helped found the San Pedro Community 
Action Center in 1966. Over the years, he was also an active supporter 
of many local service organizations, including the Toberman 
Neighborhood Center, Harbor Interfaith Services and the San Pedro Boys 
& Girls Club, the latter where he played as a youth.
  Dave founded the Harry Bridges Institute, an organization dedicated 
to educating younger workers about the labor movement's rich history 
and community organizing. He had served as the organization's president 
since its founding in 1993. Dave also captured the spirit of the 
Institute in his book ``The Right to Get in the Fight,'' which focused 
on the ILWU and its philosophies and culture that have kept it alive 
and relevant over the decades.
  His involvement in non-labor-related port policy issues began even 
before his appointment to the Harbor Commission. In 2006, Dave was 
named to the joint Port of Los Angeles-Port of Long Beach advisory 
board for the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan, which set the 
stage for the ports to make unprecedented strides in improving air 
quality in the San Pedro Bay. Dave also served on the governing board 
of the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF) Joint Power 
Authority.
  A long-time resident of the Harbor area, Dave grew up on 8th Street 
in San Pedro, and attended Cabrillo Elementary, Dana Junior High 
School, and San Pedro High School. He is survived by his two children 
and five grandchildren: son Sean and son-in-law Council member Mike 
Bonin; daughter Justine and son-in-law Ethan Edwards; and grandchildren 
Jadyn Rose, Destan, Jacob, Aneka and Keira.
  I, like so many others whose lives he touched throughout his amazing 
life, will miss Dave dearly.

                          ____________________