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Doug Hales[/caption]
In September, Harold Daggett, president of the International Longshoremen’s Association, representing maritime workers at East Coast and Gulf ports, addressed members in a letter. “Let me be clear: we don’t want any form of semi-automation or full automation,” he wrote. “We want our jobs – the jobs we have historically done for over 132 years.”
As University of Rhode Island professors researching global seaport trends, we were surprised.
Given the 2023 agreement reached with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., to allow semi-automation as long as workers weren’t laid off, we expected that the ILA [which has a local unit in Rhode Island] would agree to similar conditions. But to no avail.
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Koray Ozpolat[/caption]
We argue that U.S. container ports urgently need automation to remain competitive. ILA should follow the lead of the West Coast ports to save workers, not jobs.
To begin with, U.S. logistics infrastructure in general, and seaports in particular, are lagging behind their peer competitors. According to the World Bank Logistics Performance Index statistics in 2023, the U.S. ranks 17th out of 139 countries in trade logistics. More specifically, among the 405 global container ports ranked by efficiency, no U.S. port made it to the top 50. The Port of Boston ranked 75th. Inefficient ports slow down supply chains and harm the competitiveness of the U.S., especially with our largest trading competitor, China. In contrast, China is heavily investing in port automation, building the first major fully automated Asian port in Xiamen.
Port automation improves productivity in a variety of ways. Software-controlled gantry cranes make loading and unloading faster. Driverless transport vehicles safely move containers around the terminal, and automated gate systems collect data from trucks. Transactions could be recorded in digital ledgers, providing real-time tracking. These automations can extend operating hours, reduce costs and improve service quality.
Additionally, automation improves safety. Dock workers traditionally have some of the highest rates of lost-time accidents across the skilled trades. Port workers face significant safety risks due to heavy machinery, large cargo and constant movement of personnel.
It’s not all about money. Job losses due to automation are understandable, but our ports are critical to the health and safety of all Americans. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the fragility of our supply chains. The lack of port automation that the rest of the world has shown to be effective harms the American economy and affects millions of workers.
The ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach are making progress with ILWU. For example, in our visit to the Port of Long Beach in the summer of 2023, we witnessed successful automation in action. The workers who were affected by the automated processes were being retrained.
As fellow union members (we belong to the American Association of University Professors), we encourage ILA leadership to better understand that automation doesn’t have to displace workers but can create different jobs that are safer and more skilled.
As automation reduces the cost of shipping, it generates more business at the ports, hence more jobs. Professor Michael Nacht, of the University of California Berkeley and former assistant secretary of defense, and Larry Henry, founder of ContainerTrac Inc., “concluded that higher output of automation at the two semi-automated terminals [in Los Angeles and Long Beach] actually increased jobs for the ILWU,” according to a report in the Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide. While automation will displace some jobs, it doesn’t have to displace workers. Job losses at the West Coast ports are offset by reskilling ILWU’s workers. Northeast ports such as Boston could see similar benefits, as they are poised to take advantage of increasing business from Asia, some through the Northwest Passage extended season, which has seen an uptick in vessels.
Ever since Luddites first burned factories in England in 1811, technophobes have failed to halt industrial progress. While ILA’s battle may delay technology adoption, it will not stop the inevitable. Our ports need more automation to catch up with the rest of the world. ILA should work with terminal operators to save workers, not dangerous jobs.
Doug Hales and Koray Ozpolat are supply chain management professors at the University of Rhode Island’s College of Business.