|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Negotiations are underway in New Jersey as the International Longshoremen Association (ILA) – the union which represents 47,000 dock workers at ports along America’s east and gulf coasts – hopes to continue blocking modernization and innovation at U.S. deepwater ports.
The ILA organized a strike last fall which shuttered shipping on the east and gulf coasts for three days. A short-term agreement was reached on October 3, 2024 – but that deal is set to expire next Wednesday (January 15, 2025). Dock workers received a massive 62% pay hike in the October agreement – although the continuation of those salary hikes remains contingent upon a permanent agreement being reached later this month.
Last week, shipping giant Maersk warned its customers to prepare for a strike.
“Considering the status, we strongly encourage our customers to pick up their laden containers and return empty containers at U.S. east and gulf coast ports before January 15,” the statement noted. “This proactive measure will help mitigate any potential disruptions at the terminals.”
The U.S. Marine Alliance (USMX) – a confederation of shipping lines – has not issued an update on the status of negotiations since December 20, 2024. In that update, though, the brass tacks of this debate were laid bare.
“Central to successfully reaching a new long-term agreement is how we can also strengthen the ability of USMX members to make critical investments in technology and infrastructure to densify and improve the safety, productivity and efficiency of our ports, which provides a direct benefit to both ILA members and businesses in nearly every sector of the U.S. economy,” the update noted.
***
“Critical investments in technology” is a reference to automation – i.e. the use of new innovations to improve efficiency in moving cargo. America lags way behind the rest of the world – especially Asia and Europe – in its use of automation, meaning it takes longer for vessels (and cargo) to move through our ports than it does anywhere else in the world. This leads to higher shipping costs and vital disruptions in key supply chains – including agriculture and food supply.
It’s also a huge export disadvantage for American companies.
A recent performance index (.pdf) from the World Bank Group concluded that only one American port – Philadelphia – ranked in the top fifty internationally. And it was ranked No. 50.
“American businesses rely on continuous improvements at our ports to help streamline their supply chains through expediting cargo turn times, attracting more vessel calls, and increasing overall capacity to meet their growing business demands on the export or import side,” the latest USMX update continued. “We have been clear that this can, and will, be done in a way that not only protects jobs, but adds new jobs as our operations expand.”
ILA leaders are adamantly opposed to any automation – with union leader Harold Daggett insisting on “absolute airtight” language in the new contract unilaterally forbidding it at all east and gulf coast terminals.
Despite campaigning on making America more economically competitive, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has made it clear he is siding with the union.
***
***
“I’ve studied automation, and know just about everything there is to know about it,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform back in December. “The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American workers, in this case, our Longshoremen.”
Trump even framed the issue as a critical component of his ‘America First’ agenda.
“Foreign companies have made a fortune in the U.S. by giving them access to our markets,” he said. “They shouldn’t be looking for every last penny knowing how many families are hurt. They’ve got record profits, and I’d rather these foreign companies spend it on the great men and women on our docks, than machinery, which is expensive, and which will constantly have to be replaced. In the end, there’s no gain for them, and I hope that they will understand how important an issue this is for me. For the great privilege of accessing our markets, these foreign companies should hire our incredible American workers, instead of laying them off, and sending those profits back to foreign countries. It is time to put AMERICA FIRST!”
USMX noted it “appreciated and valued” Trump’s position, but made it clear “this contract goes beyond our ports – it is about supporting American consumers and giving American businesses access to the global marketplace – from farmers, to manufacturers, to small businesses, and innovative start-ups looking for new markets to sell their products.”
“To achieve this, we need modern technology that is proven to improve worker safety, boost port efficiency, increase port capacity, and strengthen our supply chains,” the statement added.
***
RELATED | STRIKE ENDS, AUTOMATION DEBATE REMAINS
***
Organized labor slowing the roll of positive change has plenty of precedent in American history. As Tad DeHaven of the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute noted in a column last fall, fifty years ago the ILA went on strike in an effort to shut down the use of shipping containers – which are now the global standard for moving cargo.
“Containerization cost many union dockworkers their jobs,” Dehaven wrote. “But those losses were dwarfed by the consequent economic benefits realized by countless American consumers, businesses, and workers in other industries.”
It was creative destruction, in other words… necessary reinvention, the lasting value of which our society appears to have forgotten.
Sometimes, a few jobs need to be lost in certain industries for many, many more to be created in others…
“The longer special interest roadblocks remain in front of automaton adoption, the longer market forces will be held at bay, and thus the longer it will take for the U.S. to realize the benefits of automation a la containerization,” DeHaven added.
DeHaven also correctly pointed out that “unless overzealous regulators get in the way, future technological advancements will lead to more effective and efficient automation tools for ports to utilize.”
FITSNews has consistently supported automation – not just in the promotion of efficiency but also in the name of protecting the American supply chain against future threats from Big Labor and its left-of-center political allies (a group which now sadly includes the incoming “Republican” president).
“The best response to the threat of future work stoppages is to automate our ports much as possible, as soon as possible,” I wrote last fall.
It’s a shame Trump doesn’t get that…
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
***
WANNA SOUND OFF?
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
