Transcript- Episode 154: Future-Proofing Global Trade: The Next Era of Ports with Mario Cordero, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Long Beach

Mario Cordero [00:00:00]:
When we started this program at Jordan High School, the ACE program, a few years back, there were two brothers, twin brothers whose parents, immigrants from Mexico, attending Jordan High School. And because of the ACE program, they really got into the field of engineering. So we kind of ignited a field that they weren't really familiar with. Those two kids today are about to graduate in the engineering school of Cal State Long Beach.

Christina Barsi [00:00:29]:
The workforce landscape is rapidly changing, and educators and their institutions need to keep up. Preparing students before they enter the workforce to make our communities and businesses stronger is at the core of getting an education. But we need to understand how to change and adjust so that we can begin to project where things are headed before we even get there. So how do we begin to predict the future?

Salvatrice Cummo [00:00:54]:
Hi, I'm Salvatrice Cumo, vice President of Economic and Workforce Development at Pasadena City College and host of this podcast.

Christina Barsi [00:01:03]:
And I'm Christina Barci, producer and co host of this podcast.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:06]:
And we are starting the conversation about the future of work. We'll explore topics like how education can partner with industry, how to be more equitable, and how to attain one of our highest goals, more internships and PCC Students in the workforce. We at Pasadena City College want to lead the charge in closing the gap between what our students are learning and what the demands of the workforce will be once they enter. This is a conversation that impacts all of us. You, the employers, the policymakers, the educational institutions, and the community as a whole. We believe change happens when we work together, and it all starts with having a conversation. I'm Christina Barci. And I'm Salvatrice Cumo. And this is the Future of Work. Hi.

Christina Barsi [00:01:54]:
 

Salvatrice Cummo [00:01:54]:
Welcome back to the Future of Work podcast. I am your host, Dr. Salvatriz Kumo. Today I'm joined by Mario Cordero, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Long Beach. Mario has spent his career at the intersection of law, policy, and global trade. He previously served as Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission under President Obama and now leads one of the biggest seaports in the United States. Under his guidance, the Port of Long beach has become a leader in both international commerce and environmental innovation. In our conversation today, we'll talk about how ports are shaping the future of global trade, how policy and infrastructure decisions ripple through local communities, and why sustainability has become just as important as cargo volume.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:45]:
Mario, it's a pleasure to have you with us today. How are you?

Mario Cordero [00:02:48]:
Oh, good, thank you. Saratres. Is that how you pronounce your name?

Salvatrice Cummo [00:02:52]:
Salvatore? Yeah. You did it.

Mario Cordero [00:02:53]:
Well, all right, so thank you for this kind of invitation. So excited to be here with you and again to tell our story and work with the academia in terms of what that future is for the next generation.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:03:05]:
You bet. You bet. Thank you. I wanted, you know, typically I start my podcast and thinking about what led you to this work. And the maritime industry is not where you started, from what I understand, but it was where you were led to. So can we talk about that journey? How did you. What led you to this industry?

Mario Cordero [00:03:24]:
Well, I think I'd have to say faith and destiny. And the reason I give that answer is because I've been very blessed in my life to have these tremendous opportunities that have been before me, given the fact that, you know, my parents are immigrants from Mexico. Neither one of them had a college education and my dad was a laborer, my mother was a housewife. So I was born in Los Angeles to the son of Mexicano immigrants. So they had one ask of their three children that they had, I'm the oldest, that we should all go to college. And hence those were the marching orders. And again from there, I think that I decided to go into the profession of law. Initially, I chose engineering because my father wanted me to be in a profession and the only professionals he ever ran into at the aircraft company he worked at were engineers.

Mario Cordero [00:04:16]:
So he wanted to make sure that we worked with our brain and not with our hands. And he would say that in Spanish. But the reason he would say that because he worked hard. And of course, you know, he was a laborer, simple laborer, and he just wanted to make sure his children moved up and terms of opportunities that were presented by this country. So my profession that I chose as I commenced to be a freshman at Cal State Long beach, was to move forward with the quest to be a lawyer, of which I am still a licensed attorney. But in 2003, the mayor of Long beach, the then mayor, Beverly O', Neill, appointed me to the Harvard Commission of the Port of Long Beach. And I served there eight years and I became really interested in the subject matter of port authorities, maritime, international trade. I continued to practice law.

Mario Cordero [00:05:04]:
Commission is not a full time job, so you continue with your full time job. And that's how I entered into this sector. And then thereafter, eight years later, after being appointed by Beverly Mu, I get this call from the White House unsolicited. That's why I said faith and destiny led me here, asking me, President Obama, if I was interested in being considered to be appointed to the Federal Maritime Commission. So am I going to say no? And then the rest is history.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:05:33]:
That's right. That's. How do you say no to an opportunity like that? Right, Right. But it speaks to the value of your work and the ethics of the work and the drive and the passion and fulfilling your parents vision for you. I too am a daughter, daughter of two immigrant parents. It was the same thing we came here. We came here for a purpose and a reason. It was to provide better life and leverage the opportunities that are available at our fingertips here in this country.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:06:01]:
That story resonates with me and so many and so many in our community. So thank you. I really thank you for sharing that with me. It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. I also want to think about speaking of life and where we are right now with tariffs and policy and all of the noise around that, you know, those things, to us as someone who is, or many who are not in that industry feel like those are very abstract things. They don't impact us in any capacity. Or maybe we feel like we don't have control over those things yet. They do.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:06:38]:
They do have impact on our daily lives. And so I'm curious about how those shifts are showing up at the port of Long Beach.

Mario Cordero [00:06:47]:
Great question. So the issue of tariff policy is certainly not new in our history with regard to the application of tariffs. If you look back into the whole issue of the historical implementation of tariffs, even in the prior century, the movement to apply tariff policy was twofold. One, to protect domestic manufacturing and, and two, to address trade imbalances. So history tells you that terror policy to try to address those two issues have not been all that successful. Now we're talking about a globalized world of international trade that has existed for quite a number of years. What's interesting about today is there's a third reason to move forward with tariff implementation. As we see the administration presenting this third factor, which is as a negotiation to.

Mario Cordero [00:07:44]:
Hence, that's what has created some uncertainty ever since the declaration of the move to move forward with tariff implementation back in April, termed Liberation Day. And since that time it has had an impact and it has created uncertainty certainly in the maritime trade industry and in the business sector for that matter. And as far as the average American, the consumer, I think you'll start seeing that a more visible impact in terms of price increases. So again, I'm certainly not there in Washington to determine the good or the bad about this particular issue. I mean, there's some legitimate concerns that the administration has about the role of the United States in terms of manufacturing, in terms of dependency on one region with regard to manufacturing. And of course protecting American jobs. But clearly it has created uncertainty and we're still in that period. So hopefully at some point the business community will have some comfort that there's more certainty in the application and in the movement of these tariffs.

Mario Cordero [00:08:58]:
So we've seen that we went from 145% tax on China back in late April, and now it's substantially diminished with some preliminary agreements. And of course, now we're looking to November in terms of what that final trade agreement between the USA and China, the two leading trade partners in the world, what those final numbers are. So I think at the end of the day, yes, they've had impacts tariffs, but I think the concern that everybody has is the uncertainty of what those final numbers are, whether it's Asia, whether it's the eu, whether it's even Canada, Mexico. I think again, we'll see how this plays out next year.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:09:37]:
Yes, we may have to revisit this conversation next year to see where we're at and what impacts those are going to have on our daily lives and communicate that in a way that really resonates with our community. Speaking of policy, this year marks, from what I understand, the 20th anniversary of the green Port policy, and I believe it was formed back in 2005. Is that correct?

Mario Cordero [00:10:00]:
That's correct.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:10:01]:
Excellent. And then I've read the progress on this policy. What is one thing that you are most proud of as it relates to that policy? And kind of where do you see this going towards in the future as it relates to any breakthroughs or measurable impacts for the future?

Mario Cordero [00:10:18]:
So let's go back to the year 2003 when the then mayor of Long beach appointed me to the Harbor Commission. And her directive to me was she wanted someone on that Harbor Commission that had some sensitivity to the concerns of the neighborhoods and communities, more specifically with regard to the environmental impacts that communities suffered from port operations. Water quality, air quality. So that was my role in fulfilling that direction. In 2004, I presented a concept that we needed to be a green port. Now, Salvatore, back then, that most definitely was not popular in this industry.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:11:01]:
No, it wasn't. Not at all.

Mario Cordero [00:11:04]:
So the reason I say the concept was presented in 2004, it took some time to get enough support and a consensus by my colleagues on the commission to move forward to declare to the world that the port, Long beach, we are going to be a green port. It was formalized in January of 2005 by the act of the then Harbor Commission, declare that policy. In answer to your question, and I think this is Very important for students in academia. Everyone wants to make a difference, and hopefully a difference for the positive. So for those who want to make a difference in whatever career choice you make, what was more satisfying personally to me, that I acted on the directive of the mayor, which I agreed with, by the way, and that policy that was presented to this Harvard Commission in 2004, and finally I had enough support to move forward with it, most definitely made a difference in the port maritime industry. So I'm most proud of the fact that I could say that I made a difference that led actually to the call from the White House. Five years later. I didn't seek a position in the Obama administration.

Mario Cordero [00:12:21]:
I was happy practicing law here in Long Beach. My family's here. I'm on the Harbor Commission. Why would I want to go to Washington, D.C. and for less money, by the way. And the reason, I'm told, once I get there, when I present the question to the White House counsel over breakfast at the West Wing, I said, how did my name even come up in this conversation? And the answer was that the President wanted to appoint people with subject matter expertise. And I think President Obama was very good at doing that. But second, he wanted people, at least for this Federal Maritime Commission that had some sensitivity to some of the environmental sustainable issues that needed to be talked about.

Mario Cordero [00:13:05]:
And hence, in a meeting, my name came up, or better said, the Port of Long beach came up and they referenced there was this guy out there named Cordero who moved forward a green port policy. And the President said, contact that guy. So I think the green port policy, how that personally was an attribute to myself, although I don't like to talk about myself, but I'm answering your questions. To be candid. How much could a son of immigrants ever ask, one, to be a presidential appointee and two, that have a difference in this port sector, that today Port of Long beach is seen as a leader in environmental sustainability. And that I attribute to my colleagues, the commissioners and the present commissioners and the staff at the Port of Long beach, who, you know, been very blessed to have a tremendous staff at the Port of Long beach over the many years even preceding me, who acted on the directive of a policy declared by the Harvard Commission back in 2005.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:14:05]:
That's beautiful. And to me, when I hear you share that, it is the legacy, the legacy that you've created and you continue to build upon.

Mario Cordero [00:14:15]:
I didn't go to Washington thinking that I'm going to do this so I could come back and be the CEO of the Port of Long Beach. That was the furthest thing from my mind, you know, and that led to this job, that experience. And it led to the fact that I believe I'm the first Mexican American ever to be hired to be a CEO or executive director of a major port. And of course certainly the first in California given the population or percentile that we have in the demographics of the Southwest, which is a tremendous honor, that I certainly can't complain about my life or my career. Which goes back to my answer that I gave you. How did this happen? It was faith and destiny. So God's been very good to me.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:15:04]:
I love that story. It's about alignment too. It's about natural calling and natural alignment as well. It's the opportunities were presented to you, you were open to it, you were willing to put in the work, the expertise. And it was recognized, noticed and celebrated. And thinking about that moment and what you created, that has had a legacy. You're creating legacy there at the Port of Long beach and transformational movement at the Port of Long Beach. What would you say or what are you seeing kind of as the next breakthrough as it relates to reducing environmental impacts?

Mario Cordero [00:15:44]:
If I could answer a twofold response to that?

Salvatrice Cummo [00:15:48]:
Sure.

Mario Cordero [00:15:48]:
I think the next breakthrough for the Port of Long beach is when we are. When we accomplish our goal of zero emission operations. Right now our goal is to have zero emission cargo handling equipment at the Port of Long beach. Currently San Matrice. Of our six container terminals at the Port of Long beach and we're part of the largest container complex in the country. 20% of our cargo hanging equipment at our terminals are already zero emission. So that's not a great percentage. However, it's more than any other port in the country.

Mario Cordero [00:16:19]:
So our quest is zero. We're committed and we'll continue. Which includes zero emission trucks by year 2035. The second part of my response is what's the next step after that? How do we make a difference in the quest of renewable energy? And here we presented the concept of peer wind. That is a concept where the Port of Long beach stages and integrates the largest turbines, wind turbines in the world, and barge them up the California coast to central Northern California so that we could accomplish the vision of our mayor, excuse me, of our governor and our mayor, by the way, but our Governor Newsom, who has a vision of having 25 gigawatts of wind energy by 2045, I think certainly with the demand of energy that we're going to experience as a community not just in California, but in the USA in The global community for that matter. We absolutely need various sources of energy to accommodate the demand of our growing population. And last, the technology that's coming, data centers, AI. So I think that's going to be something for the Port of Long beach that certainly fits our value proposition in terms of not only do we pride ourselves in our commercial growth, we moved a record amount of containers in 2024, 9.6 million.

Mario Cordero [00:17:45]:
But we pride ourselves on how we do that and how we make a difference as a port to better our communities and our neighborhoods. And last, to address the security issue of making sure that we have the reliance on energy from various sources and in this case, moving the needle on renewable energy.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:18:05]:
What was impressive to me when we were just doing our research and reading up about all the things Port of Long beach, what was impressive and I don't know that our community outside of Long beach really knows this. But while emissions, from what I understand and correct me if I'm wrong, while emissions are being reduced, cargo is going up. One would think if cargo goes up, then emissions go up, but that's not the case. We're still seeing cargo increase, but the emissions are going down. And it's amazing, it's amazing how that's happening. It speaks to the commitment of the Port of Long Beach. And when I read that and when I heard that, I thought that is something to celebrate. That is something to voice and to and to build on that narrative.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:18:50]:
Am I right or is there a disconnect between the reduction of emissions and increase of cargo?

Mario Cordero [00:18:58]:
You're absolutely right. Let me give you the metrics or the empirical evidence to support that. So, you know, in 2005 we committed that we would be a port that would prioritize reducing harmful emissions from port operations. So right now we're celebrating 20 years of leading green and what we've done at that point. And I will say the Port of Lumber hasn't done this alone. We've worked with our regulatory agencies, the industry stakeholders, the carriers, the truckers, our tenants and our community, our elective officials. You know, I mentioned I was appointed by Beverly o', Neill, but I since that time we've had Mayor Bob Foster, Mayor Robert Garcia and currently Mayor Rex Richardson. And I can represent to you every one of those mayors prioritize this subject matter.

Mario Cordero [00:19:53]:
So it's been an effort by many. So the result has been that I can represent to you. Based on our latest air quality inventory report that's done by a third party vendors, not our staff, we have reduced diesel suit by 92%. Now, anybody who's driven the Long Beach 710 freeway, if you go back to 2005, San Ba trees, we literally had dilapidated trucks with black smoke coming out of the tailpipes because these were secondhand trucks that were primarily owned by immigrants who bought the cheapest truck out there, used to move containerized cargo within the region. Very polluting trucks. The vessels back then that came into the port and at birth had black smoke coming out of the smokestack. So over the years, whether it's the International Maritime Organization or the California regulatory agencies like carb, aqmd, we've all worked together to address this pressing issue about the air pollution and the harm that it's caused to our neighborhoods and communities. And the result for the Pearl of Long beach, we've reduced again, diesel suit by 92%, NOx by 71% and sulfur oxides by 98%.

Mario Cordero [00:21:12]:
So the three numbers that I want everybody to write down and remember is 92, 71, 98. There is no other gateway in the country, if not the world that's had that metric or those metrics of success. And that's why today our next step is not only just to continue to reduce emissions, but is to eliminate harmful emissions, I.e. have zero emission operations, which admittedly is challenging, but we're going to do it. We will do it.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:21:43]:
The metrics are showing that already. The metrics are leading in that direction. You'll do it? Absolutely. Do it. I want to talk a little bit about infrastructure investments and infrastructure projects like the, and correct me if I'm saying this wrong, it's called the peer B on dock rail expansion. So first tell us a little bit about what that is for our audience who doesn't know what that is. And then where are you seeing kind of like the biggest opportunities from investments, infrastructure investments like these, both for the port and for the region.

Mario Cordero [00:22:18]:
So let's talk about the PEER B Rail Enhancement facility. So as I mentioned, we are part of a container gateway, the largest in the country. We move 40% of the nation's imports and sometimes that dips into the 35, 38. But at its height, it's around 40% of the nation's imports. So when the containers arrive, they move out of the port in one or two ways, by truck or by rail. We talked about the green port policy and the issue of polluting trucks, which led to us addressing that issue. But there was also an issue of congestion of container trucks on our freeways here in Southern California, or as we like to say, our corridors. So for the Port of Long beach, we're going to expand in the next 10 years, 3.2 billion, not million billion, to address primarily the rail infrastructure.

Mario Cordero [00:23:14]:
This is related to our environmental sustainability commitment, but also from an operational point to get the container with speed to market. You know, further the velocity and efficiency of rail movement here at the Port of Long Beach. So with that, currently we move containers out of the Port of Long beach by rail in around the 27th percentile. With the completion of this project, we will be able to move containers out of the Port of Long beach at the very least at the percentile of 38%. Now, if the stars all align, I think we could eventually get to moving containers at the 50 percentile. And the reason I say that because parallel to this project is the BNSF project in Barstow. So that project is 130 miles away from the greater LA region here. And the investment by BNSF railroad will result in the largest intermodal facility in the country.

Mario Cordero [00:24:11]:
Now, if you align that with our project at the Port of Long beach, when we're done with our project, it will be the largest inner harbor rail facility of any port in the country. So put those two together. And that's why it's exciting as we move to the next decade, the efficiency with less environmental impacts. Because for every train that leaves the Port of Long beach, we eliminate 750 trucks from the freeway. Wow.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:24:40]:
Say that again. So for every train, for every train.

Mario Cordero [00:24:43]:
That departs from the Pearl Long beach, it eliminates 750 trucks from the freeway because the truck only moves one container. So again, nowadays are getting to be 10,000ft. And in the future they're approximating 16,000ft. So our on dock rail facility, which only has 11 tracks today, will expand the 48 when this project's done.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:25:10]:
Wow. And when is the project?

Mario Cordero [00:25:13]:
2032.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:25:14]:
2032.

Mario Cordero [00:25:15]:
We're on track and on schedule.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:25:17]:
Fantastic. I'll tell you what, there's so much to celebrate, Mario. There's so. There's so much, you know, and it's a testament to leadership, It's a testament to the team. It's a testament to the commitment of the region, of the city, of the state. I mean, it's just, it's impressive. And every time I read and listen about what's happening at the Port of Long Beach, I'm always in awe. So thank you for being here because I think more need to understand about not only the current state of the Port of Long beach, the direction, but also really highlighting where we've been since 2005 till now.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:25:58]:
So that's why I'm just thinking about, even for the future, right? Like we've had so much, we've talked about what led us here to the Port of Long beach, having tremendous success in infrastructure, in their commitment to zero emission and all the things we just talked about. But you have a vision that I want everyone to know about, and your vision is to have 24, seven operations, is that correct?

Mario Cordero [00:26:21]:
I'm glad you asked that question, because.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:26:23]:
What'S the next vision? Let's talk about that. Let's talk about that and, and why. And what are you seeing as potential things that might get in the way of that?

Mario Cordero [00:26:31]:
So, number one, why we're the largest container complex in the country. Does it make sense that our cranes aren't working on Sundays or after 8 o' clock in the evening?

Salvatrice Cummo [00:26:42]:
That's fair.

Mario Cordero [00:26:44]:
So together with our neighbor, the Port of Los Angeles, we moved in 20, 24, 20 million containers. We reference them as TEUs. There is no other port in the country that even moves half that amount. The tragic pandemic that we experienced a few years back, as tragic as that was not only in terms of the health of many of our people in the country and people who lost loved ones, it did provide attention to the supply chain in both Sacramento and Washington. We got to a point that we had 109 vessels essentially park up and down the coast here in Southern California, waiting to get into either the Port of Long beach or Los Angeles. That really ignited a thought in my mind that we cannot work standard operation hours and expect to move this kind of cargo. Now I'm putting it pretty simplified because there were other factors as to why that happened, obviously. But the lessons learned was look where the containers come from.

Mario Cordero [00:27:46]:
Not in the West Coast, Asia primarily. Overwhelmingly from Asia. In Asia, the ports of origin, many of the ports are 24,7 around the clock. So when I took this job in 2017, in my first speech as the CEO of Port of Long beach to the stakeholders, I said we needed to have an Amazon state of mind. We needed to have a Tesla state of mind. Now I'm going back to 2017.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:28:11]:
Yes.

Mario Cordero [00:28:13]:
But the reason I said that is because, number one, Amazon changed everything. Amazon is 24. 7. Amazon savageries just finished building the largest fulfillment center in the United States, just a few miles from Long beach in Ontario. It's a fulfillment center of 4.7 million square feet. And for those of us who order online or through E commerce, the expectation now is that you want that package on your porch the next day. So where do those packages come from? The ports. Because mainly at this point they're all imported goods for the most part.

Mario Cordero [00:28:49]:
And I wasn't promoting a company, Amazon, I was just saying the reality is Amazon did change the supply chain by their mindset on how they move and deliver the product to the consumer around the clock. Tesla. And again, I'm going back to 2017, really moved the needle on sustainability and electric cars. And that's why I said that for us in the public sector, like the port of Long beach, we needed to understand as a major port in the country, if not the world, you know, what's the next needle that we move. That's where I came up with the 24 7. And when we had the COVID crisis, I was among the various blessings I've had is to be in a meeting with the President of the United States for a second time. I did meet President Obama, but in this crisis, I was at the White House when this crisis occurred on how we cured this problem. And when President Biden asked me what do we need to do? I said, well, one thing we need to do is focus on 247 operations.

Mario Cordero [00:29:53]:
So that's the reason why now what, what are the challenges? At the end of the day is cost. And by the way, at the port of Long Beach, I can represent to you we've had two terminals who at different times have had a demonstration pilot project of 247 moving cargo early in the early morning hours. That's been a success. Just to have that pilot project that opens the door to have a framework of 247 that as we move to the next decade, we continue to work on that framework. But it has to be throughout the supply chain. It cannot be just the port, the terminals, it has to be the warehouses and the supply chain so that again, it all runs like a smooth machine. I do believe that despite the challenges of cost, and by that I mean paying for night labor, that's more expensive. But to all those who doubt this vision, what's the cost of doing nothing? We know the answer to that question.

Mario Cordero [00:30:50]:
When you have 109 vessels up and down the coast, park business doesn't get their goods, consumer doesn't get their goods, and it impacts the economy. So the cost of doing nothing would be in the billions to the US Economy if we don't address what's coming in the future in terms of cargo volume.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:31:07]:
Well said. Sometimes we as people in this workforce development, sometimes we tend to think a Little linear when it comes to costs related to any kind of shift to operational changes. But the bigger picture is what does it do? And you said it so well, what does it do to the economy, if I may add.

Mario Cordero [00:31:26]:
I'm sorry to interrupt.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:31:27]:
No, no, no.

Mario Cordero [00:31:28]:
But if I may add, a very important factor that we should all in California keep in mind and the students who will come into the workforce in the future, that we should all keep in mind we live in the state of California with the fourth largest economy in the world, not the fourth largest state in the United States, in the world. So not only here in California are we blessed to be in a country that my parents loved. They were able to raise three kids and present these opportunities that were, again, for me, destiny and faith. But students had realized they live in the fourth largest economy, the great state of California. Despite some of our challenges, we're our leaders. We are leaders in the tech industry, but we're not the fourth largest economy just because of Silicon Valley. International trade has contributed to that standing. So we need to continue to lead, to protect our competitiveness.

Mario Cordero [00:32:23]:
And never stay, as my staff here at the port of Long beach is aware, never stay status quo.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:32:29]:
Never. That is the ultimate conclusion to any, to any organization, any business is when we get a little too comfortable, we remain status quo. We just stabilize instead of growing. And sometimes there's fear attached to that. Of course, there's uncertainties and, you know, but we have to evolve with the state of the demand. And to protect. Your point, to protect our position as the fourth largest economy in the world, our students are very, very lucky to be in the state of California. Granted, we already know, we know there's challenges.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:33:06]:
There's challenges everywhere, no doubt about it. And we're not dismissing that. I want to talk about that a little bit. I want to talk about. I want to talk a little bit about the workforce, the future workforce. So we're, you know, we shared about the past, we shared about the current, we shared about the vision of where we're going to move forward. Where the Port of Long beach would like to move forward with your vision with 247 operations. But let's talk about how we're going to move forward and your vision for workforce needs in this space.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:33:35]:
What are you seeing as the growing technical skill or non technical skill in this arena? And then we'll talk a little bit about how you feel educators like ours, institution like ours, and others should be preparing our students for that future workforce.

Mario Cordero [00:33:50]:
Great question. So let me say, first of all that I have said in some of my public speaking engagements that the amount of containers that we move at the Pearl Long beach is not the most important metric for us. Now, of course, when I said that, it raised some eyebrows because how could the CEO of the second largest port in the country, soon to be number one in years to come. Why would you say that? That's 76% of your revenue. But I clarified it in the proper context because as important is what we do to give back what we do in terms of our environmental sustainability. And we exemplified that when we acted on the Green fork policy in 2005 and what we do to give back to our communities, our non profits and our relationship with academia. So the workforce of the future, we have an obligation to prepare the next generation in working with our partners. In the case of Long Beach, Long Beach Unified School District, Long Beach City College, Long Beach State, my alumni, we have an obligation to make sure that we do what we can to prepare the next generation for the workforce.

Mario Cordero [00:34:56]:
When I took this job in 2017, I read a study issued in 2016 by McKinsey. That study really opened up my eyes on what was coming, which I knew, but it really opened up my mind, oh my God, what are we going to do?

Salvatrice Cummo [00:35:12]:
Kind of validated your thoughts, didn't it?

Mario Cordero [00:35:14]:
Exactly. Provided validations, well put symmetries. It said that one in three jobs by year 2030, one in three jobs as we know it will be eliminated as we move forward with technology. That's alarming. And for someone that may have not taken that serious back then, or for those who perhaps doubted that, look where we're at today. Which now goes to the question of fears. AI has instilled fear in many working people. What we need to do is embrace AI and see how we use it to our advantage and how we use this technology and mitigate the job consequences from AI.

Mario Cordero [00:35:56]:
And hence we're having a retreat next month here with my staff on discussing this subject because it is intimidating. When you first mention AI, people thought, oh my God, we're going to start replacing workforce people here. No, we're not. But it's important to understand what's coming and how do we adjust it to benefit your respective organization and how we prepare now in academia for students to now be well versed in AI technology. Let me last say this. We all have the human element in us. We get in our comfort zone. And let me just say this, as a practicing and attorney, back in the day, I had to learn how to do email and work with the Internet.

Mario Cordero [00:36:41]:
And computing. And I said to myself, oh, my God, why is this is too complicated for me, right? You know, as they say in Espanol, you know, I'm getting vehicle here. You know, I just in my comfort zone. But on a more serious note, you know, now email is like a thing of the past. It's part of the course. And I see AI much the same that, you know, for those of us who have a fear or are frustrated with technology that we have to learn, you either in or out. So we cannot have people have fear of this. And by the way, as I mentioned before, the AI technology and the required data centers.

Mario Cordero [00:37:18]:
For anybody who questions our quest for renewable energy, it's a security issue. And I think that's one of the reasons that we are so much onto both workforce development with our partnerships with Long Beach High schools and community college in the state. And we want to continue to make sure we prepare the next generation for the jobs that are going to be key. You know, my dad wanted me to be an engineer, and that was my quest as I went through high school. And that was part of a class that we were introduced to, the first computer in the district, and it was the size of a big printing machine today. But then the summer after I graduated from high school, my passion really wasn't engineering. For some reason, the light bulb went on and I decided I wanted to be a lawyer. So I can make.

Mario Cordero [00:38:10]:
I can make a difference in people's lives. And that's why my strongest advice to students, because you have many students who really don't know what they want to do in life. That's why you're on campus or in academia. You'll find your passion, and when that hits, go with it.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:38:25]:
That's right. That's right. Are you seeing that there are opportunities, I mean, thinking about academia, the private public partnerships, Public public partnerships or partnerships in general, are you seeing that there is an opportunity for us greater than what we're seeing or what we're doing now? I asked that question because in our work, right, as practitioners, in the space of economic and workforce development, our focus is always on partnerships for a number of reasons. The biggest reason and what we're doing here today is really talking about where we are and where we need to be and how do we get there? How do we prepare the next generation of workforce? Is there an opportunity that you think that we're not paying attention to as academia and or as the industry that with a little effort would yield significant impacts to the future of workforce?

Mario Cordero [00:39:17]:
I think it's fair to say that right now, the opportunities are there. I think people see what those opportunities are. I think the question is, how do we expand on those opportunities? So, for example, workforce development is a subject matter that surfaced here at the Pearl Long Beach a few years back. And how do we do this? You know, people have to understand for the Portland Long beach, we're a port authority. You know, our business is to move containers, move commercial cargo. Back in the day, that's all port authorities did. But for us at the Port of Long beach and the leadership we've had in the city of Long beach for many years, you know, we really broke the mark in terms of there's other responsibilities that we have as an economic engine for not only the city of Long beach, but for the region. And hence came workforce development.

Mario Cordero [00:40:04]:
So what are the opportunities that we may not know? I'll give you an example. We moved forward with the Long Beach Unified School District to present a logistics curriculum at Pauly High School some years back because you wanted to make sure that students were aware that you have one of the largest ports in the country here in the city. And many people didn't realize that. What are those jobs that are as a result of this port operation? We just released an economic impact report which shows that at the state level, the jobs that derived from the Port of Long beach operations directly or indirectly are approximately 1.1 million throughout the state. The supply chain, if you look at the national number, that's 2.7 million. So we started with that, introducing students to logistic jobs or related jobs. Then we move forward to the next step. As a student in high school that I wanted to be an engineer at the time, I thought we also need to prepare students for that next level of jobs.

Mario Cordero [00:41:02]:
That is going to require a profession here, in this case, engineering, given the technology that was coming. So I wanted to focus on doing a partnership with Stems, which now is known as ACE Academy, with Jordan High School. And if you want to talk about stories of students from immigrant parents, when we started this program at Jordan High School, the ACE program, a few years back, there were two brothers, twin brothers whose parents, immigrants from Mexico, attending Jordan High School. And because of the ACE program, they really got into the field of engineering. We ignited a field that they weren't really familiar with. Their parents are both working in the service industry. Those two kids today are about to graduate in the engineering school of Cal State Long Beach.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:41:51]:
Fantastic.

Mario Cordero [00:41:52]:
I mean, what a story that is.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:41:54]:
Oh, beautiful story.

Mario Cordero [00:41:55]:
Now, the next point is we move with a Partnership with Long Beach City College. Internships is always something that's a lot of us are on board with. Whether you're in the private sector or public sector, you're promoting internships, apprenticeships. But what we didn't do previously, so to speak, is is worked with the community college to provide part of a curriculum, in this particular case, people to be introduced to the field of electricians. We have a shortage of a skill set in this country of electricians and other very important skill sets. But what was important is the collaborative effort with the private sector. So as a result of that, Harbor Freight became a partner in this endeavor. And these students not only moved forward to attend classes in electronics, but they got paid to do it.

Mario Cordero [00:42:47]:
And the reason they got paid to do it because of our partnership with not only Long Beach Community College, but Harbor Freight. So think about the partnerships that we need with the private sector so that these students today, which have financial challenges, it's unbelievable to me. I mean, how do you own a car and pay gas, pay rent and go to school at the same time? For those students who do not come from a strong economic base of a family in terms of earnings, it's very difficult. So to pay these students to get educated in a skill set, whether it's welding, whether it's electronics, whether it's plumbing, goes a long way in making sure that we do provide that workforce of the future.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:43:30]:
Thank you. Thank you for saying that. This has been a delightful, delightful conversation. And I always ask this question at the tail end of, of the set is if you had to ask our audience for one takeaway, what would be that you would like, that you would hope that our audience carries forward in this conversation.

Mario Cordero [00:43:53]:
Okay, so I'm going to give you two things.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:43:57]:
Okay, very good.

Mario Cordero [00:43:58]:
One of the loves that I did for many years when I was practicing law is I taught political science at Long Beach City College part time. I did that for 17 years. And the reason I did that was I wanted to make sure that I did my part in being a mentor to students and offering them hope to achieve the career that they wanted. The career, the most gratifying thing that or one of the many that occurred. When I was teaching. I used to ask kids, what do you want to do in life? And primarily overwhelming majority didn't know. And that's why you're in school, right? To find out. And then what was real hurtful to hear is students who wanted to do something but didn't believe in themselves, didn't have the confidence that they could do it when I heard that from students, that's what really attracted me to be part of academia.

Mario Cordero [00:44:48]:
And incidentally, if you had asked me years ago, where would I think I'd be right now? I always wanted to teach full time at a college. I never imagined I would be CEO of a Port Authority. That's why I'm so blessed. But that was my goal. That after I retired from practicing law and my kids were on their way in their careers and my wife and I could enjoy the time to ourselves. My plans were to have a full time job in academia to motivate students. Like I was motivated by someone when I was 17 years old. So I always told students, you never know what door opens.

Mario Cordero [00:45:26]:
So in answer to your question, number one, you have to have faith. And I say that not to try to tell students what religion they should be part of. That's not my purpose here. But they need to believe. They need to believe in themselves. Have faith in however you acquire that, because that's the biggest step, being able to accomplish your goal. The one thing my parents asked. Well, they wanted to make sure that we went into a career that we loved.

Mario Cordero [00:45:53]:
My father, who worked as a laborer and retired as one, well, he retired as a foreman or supervisor of an aircraft company. But he hated his job. And the only reason he went to work every day and hardly ever. I can't remember him not going to work.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:46:08]:
Right.

Mario Cordero [00:46:08]:
And he provided for a family back then. He was a member of a United steel worker. So we lived in a, you know, we were not impoverished. We had a, a decent home. You know, we had food on the table. You know, we didn't have luxuries. But he provided for the family. But his quest was to make sure, he said, whatever career you go to, I want to make sure that you get up and you can't wait to go to work.

Mario Cordero [00:46:30]:
I'm very blessed to say that that's been the case for me. So part of that has been the ability to have confidence and faith in yourself however you want to. Where you get that faith from. Now, my wife and I, we get our faith from religion. Whether you're religious or not, there's somewhere that you need to go where you get that faith, because you never know what door opens for you. So I'm teaching at Long Beach Community College, and when the president calls me to be, indicate to me what I'm interested in. And being considered to be appointed to the Federal Maritime Commission, which requires Senate confirmation, you have to go through a background check and it takes forever. You know, the FBI does a background check.

Mario Cordero [00:47:10]:
And I remember one of the first questions they asked me was in the interview, the FBI was, have you ever had domestic help? You know, and these guys are serious when they interview you, right? And I said, you're looking at them. He smiled. I cut my own lawn. We cleaned our own house. You know, but it took a long time. You know, you go to the back, then you have to wait for the Senate committee to set this. And then after that you have to wait for a full Senate. I mean, it was taking forever.

Mario Cordero [00:47:38]:
So there was a point that I said, I don't know if I'm going to do this. I think the stars are telling me that, you know what, I'm good where I'm at. I'm practicing law. I live in Long Beach. I'm on the Harvard Commission. So a young lady in class, because I taught at night, asked me One evening, Mr. Cordero, I thought you were going to Washington. And I said, well, I don't know, this is taking too long.

Mario Cordero [00:48:02]:
I think I'm going to change my mind. I'm just going to stay in Long Beach. And this young lady said in front of the class, well, I thought you told us when the door opens, you walk through it.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:48:12]:
See that?

Mario Cordero [00:48:12]:
That really hit me. I came home, some of the trees that night from class, and I told my wife, we're going.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:48:18]:
I love it.

Mario Cordero [00:48:19]:
We're going.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:48:20]:
It's giving me goosebumps just listening to your story.

Mario Cordero [00:48:22]:
I mean, that's because you have to lead by example. So I think what I tell students is take advantage of every day and the opportunity you have. Because as a young person, for many people, and I include myself as a young person, you take for granted a lot of things in life. Life, good. But understand that one of the things that you have to practice, aside from K's in the various subject matter classes you take, is the ability to have a confidence setting in yourself and having faith. I got that from my parents, as did my wife got it from her parents. And our children today, who are now adults in their respective careers, practice the same thing. It makes life a lot easier.

Mario Cordero [00:49:06]:
But I think for students, don't ever doubt yourself. And the reason I say that, and I'll end this long answer to this point, very good question. Let me go back to. I was going to say, I think one of the most rewarding things, as a teacher or professor or adjunct professor, there was a student who, when I asked a question of the class, I would do this every semester. You know what do you want to do. What's your career goal? This one student said, well, I want to be a lawyer. And I said, oh, okay. Well, that's great.

Mario Cordero [00:49:33]:
And this person said, but I don't think I'm smart enough. That was not an answer I like to hear from anybody. I pulled that student aside. I said, you really want to be a lawyer? Yeah. Well, why. Why do you say you're not smart enough? Well, you know, I said, you know, all you have to do. All you have to do is get an A in this class and practice the habit of studying. Do you ever go to the libraries on the weekend? No.

Mario Cordero [00:49:55]:
Well, maybe you should, because that's all it takes. Read the book and then feed it back to me when you. You're asked the questions on the exam. That's all it takes. You don't have to be smart. The only thing smart about this is to be smart, to read the book and apply it. Discipline yourself.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:50:09]:
That's right.

Mario Cordero [00:50:10]:
So this student did well in my class. I motivated this person, and I like to motivate all the students. But why I mention this example now end with the story. About eight years later, I get a letter at the house. At my house. And my wife sees the letter and says, handwritten, and it's from Boston, Massachusetts. And she says, who do you know in Boston? I said, well, I don't know. Let's open up her letter.

Mario Cordero [00:50:34]:
And we open it up. It's this student.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:50:38]:
Oh, that's amazing.

Mario Cordero [00:50:39]:
Dear Mr. Corduro, I want you to know that I passed the bar exam in the state of Massachusetts. I am now a lawyer.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:50:46]:
That's beautiful.

Mario Cordero [00:50:47]:
I want you to know that you're the one that inspired me that I could do what I want to do for anybody in the field of teaching. That's your purpose, to make a difference.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:50:59]:
My goodness, what a beautiful. Like, I am so moved by this conversation. Honestly, like, what a beautiful, beautiful way to. To sunset our conversation. Like this. I have zero words right now. I'm so. I'm so touched by your story.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:51:13]:
Not only your personal stories, but the story of that student. We do know how words can be impactful, but we don't always recognize at the moment that our words can transform someone's life entirely. Their trajectory.

Mario Cordero [00:51:25]:
To be honest with you, once that student completed my class, I never talked or saw that student thereafter until I received that letter.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:51:34]:
They made an effort to reach out and say thank you. That's a testament to you.

Mario Cordero [00:51:40]:
Especially in today's world, it's important for students, particularly students of Immigrants.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:51:45]:
Yes.

Mario Cordero [00:51:45]:
Or students of color for that. Students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds and do not come from households that know what it takes to get into a major college and don't have that education experience. It's important more than ever to reach out to the students and introduce these opportunities and support them.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:52:05]:
That's right. Thank you. Just one last thought. If our listeners would like to connect with you or connect with the Port of Long beach, what would be the best way to do that? And we'll be sure to enter that into the show notes.

Mario Cordero [00:52:20]:
Yeah, just reach out to portalobich.com, that's our website. And then you click on whatever you're going to search for, and that will lead you to the right person or division, department. And it also educates in terms of what we're doing at the Port of Long beach, you know, we're doing more than just move cargo. That's our mandate. But again, like I said in my very first interview, after I got appointed to the Harvard Commission back in 2003, I was interviewed by the Long Beach Press Telegram. And the first question they asked this reporter back in 2003, because I didn't meet the. How should I say, the background of commissioners who were appointed back then, he asked me two, two questions. I remember one was, do you have maritime law experience? Well, number one, you don't have to be a lawyer.

Mario Cordero [00:53:03]:
And there weren't lawyers on the commission. I told the reporter, well, name me the last commissioner that did. Of course, you couldn't name them. And the second question is, what? What's your objective of what you want to do as a commissioner? And I said, I want to make sure that this port is a benefit not only to the few, but to the many. Address the needs of the community and the neighborhoods that were being impacted by port operations. And I think, again, that's what students should always keep in mind. Have confidence, have a vision, and have faith. And if you have all those three, you'll be fine.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:53:35]:
Thank you. Thank you so very much. This has been. Been wonderful. I know you've taken so much time with me, and I'm very grateful for that and our listeners, too. Thanks again. And we know that I and our institution are champions of your work and the work at the Port of Long beach, and happy to be of service always. Thank you.

Salvatrice Cummo [00:53:57]:
So you're very, very welcome. Thank you for listening to the Future of Work podcast. Make sure you're subscribed on your favorite listening platform so you can easily get new episodes. Every Tuesday, you can reach out to us by clicking on the website link below in the Show Notes to collaborate, partner or just chat about all things Future of Work. We'd love to connect with you. All of us here at the Future of Work and Pasadena City College wish you safety and wellness.