The California Employer Advisory Council (CEAC) has named Anacostia & Pacific switching and terminal railroad Pacific Harbor Line as Veterans Employer of the Year for its “exemplary contribution in hiring our American heroes, our veterans.”
Currently, about 25% of Pacific Harbor Line’s 150 employees are veterans or active duty guardsmen and reservists, according to PHL President Otis Cliatt II, himself a U.S. Army veteran. “We’re very pleased to receive this award recognizing our efforts hiring veterans,” he noted. “Their military background increases safety and security and lessens the chance of accidents while working outdoors.”
CEAC Veterans Committee Chair Dr. Cal Farmer said, “The award is presented each year to honor employers who consistently demonstrate positive policies toward U.S. veterans and go the extra mile to hire, retain, and promote them—providing training and benefits.”
PHL will join eight other companies at a May 9 awards ceremony in Ontario, Calif., co-sponsored by CEAC and the California Employment Development Department.
Pacific Harbor Line, a recipient of Railway Age’s Short Line of the Year award, began operations in 1998 providing switching services at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles and also dispatching all BNSF Railway and Union Pacific trains within the ports. PHL maintains 75 miles of track owned by the two ports and serves nine on-dock intermodal terminals, plus numerous carload customers.
