Posted on October 7, 2024
Dockworkers and longshoremen with the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) are underscoring a fear being felt across various industries: Will robots replace them at their jobs?
The ILA’s three-day strike and ongoing labor negotiations have brought the fight against automation technology back into the spotlight, though it remains unclear whether the union will be able to fend off the technology as it seemingly makes its way into several job sectors.
The union reached a tentative agreement Thursday with the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX), an association of companies that operate East and Gulf Coast ports, to suspend its strike, which began Tuesday, until Jan. 15 to give time for contract negotiations.
Thousands of workers at 14 major ports walked out on their jobs Tuesday, demanding better pay and a ban on the automation of gates, cranes and container-moving trucks at the union’s major East and Gulf Coast ports. A total of 36 ports were impacted by the strike.
The ILA said USMX agreed to boost pay for port workers while negotiations are now focused on the automation of ports.
Automation is loosely defined as the use of technology to carry out tasks with less human involvement. At ports, this could look like swapping out manually operated diesel cranes with electric, remotely controlled cranes.
The ILA’s old contract included a provision requiring the union’s permission for ports to add any automation, but the union is seeking “airtight language that there will be no automation or semi-automation,” ILA President Harold Daggett said.
The union argues that technological advances could threaten the existence and value of union jobs, a concern that has persisted to varying degrees since the Industrial Revolution first introduced machines into the manufacturing space.
“The ILA is steadfastly against any form of automation — full or semi — that replaces jobs or historical work functions. We will not accept the loss of work and livelihood for our members due to automation,” the union wrote Wednesday.
The USMX said this week it offered the ILA an increase in compensation but wants to keep the current contractual language related to automation.
As of last March, all 10 of the U.S.’s largest container ports use some automation technologies to process and handle some cargo, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.
In these cases, automation can be used to load, unload and move heavy containers or feature in technology that optimizes and tracks container movements.
To some port stakeholders, automation improves worker safety, resolves supply chain issues and increases efficiency.
Meanwhile, some labor experts and unions believe workers have good reason to worry their jobs will be changed or eliminated in the wake of these technological advancements.
