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on october 6, the wall street journal website published a commentary article stating that u.s. ports are inefficient. world bank data shows that china’s yangshan port ranks first in terms of the time a ship spends in port, while the best-performing u.s. port is only ranked 53rd. the article also pointed out that the american dockworkers who went on strike recently demanded improved wages while also demanding a rejection of automation.

the article writes that after the north american union "international longshoremen's association" (ila)'s demand for a six-year wage increase of 62% was met, it has reached a tentative agreement with the employer and the workers will return to work, but the labor dispute is not over yet. . in the second round of “fighting,” the union demanded a ban on the use of any automated equipment at u.s. ports in order to “permanently protect jobs.”

harold daggett, president of the international longshoremen's association, wrote in a letter to union members on september 7 that the bottom line of the union's demands is that it "does not support automation of any kind, including semi-automation." measure.

the international longshoremen's association does not want any technological advances that would make ship loading and unloading faster, safer and more efficient, such as smarter cranes, gates and container-handling trucks that require fewer workers to operate. the "wall street journal" article stated that they hope to increase wages without increasing productivity, which is unsustainable in the fiercely competitive global economic landscape.

the wall street journal cited a world bank ranking of global port performance to illustrate the real-world consequences of such requirements. the 2023 container port performance index rankings based on the time ships spend in port show that no u.s. ports make it into the top 50, with the highest-ranked u.s. port of charleston, south carolina, only ranked 53rd. china's yangshan port ranks first in the world, and china is investing in ports in latin america and other places.

the wall street journal pointed out that this is not the first time dock workers have struggled with technological progress. when the "container revolution" occurred in the 1960s, parts and cargo were concentrated into large standardized containers, which simplified loading and unloading work. the number of dock workers also decreased with the popularity of containers. today, terminals in other countries are automating faster than in the united states, making them cheaper and more efficient.

the article stated: "by now, mr. daggett, the 78-year-old chairman of the international longshoremen's association, should have understood that the fight against productivity is a losing battle. look at the fate of those british miners. they once thought you can fight against the closure of unprofitable coal mines and keep your jobs. a century ago, british textile workers also fought against the introduction of mechanized looms.”

the hard truth, the author writes, is that technological advances that increase a company's productivity often mean those companies will need fewer workers.

"if unions can secure better buyout packages for older workers who have long-term job security, rather than trying to delay the inevitable, longshoremen will be better off in the long run." a healthy, growing economy that adopts new technologies creates new and better jobs, which is also better for unemployed workers."

the article concludes by commenting that boycotting the productivity tools that other countries around the world are adopting will harm the u.s. economy and millions of american workers in addition to ports. mr daggett and his partner, us president joe biden, should act more responsibly against the union's 50,000 members.

members of the international dockers association held up signs against port automation during the strike bbc

previously, due to the breakdown of contract renewal negotiations, the international longshoremen's union, representing all major port workers on the eastern coast of the united states, officially held its first strike in the past 50 years starting in the early morning of october 1, eastern time. according to reuters, this means that about half of the ocean shipping in the united states has come to a standstill.

for the u.s. economy and politics, the timing of the outbreak of this conflict of labor interests is very delicate. it is only about five weeks before the u.s. election. the economic impact of the strike may make biden, who claims to be "the most pro-labor in history," and the democratic party trapped.

on the evening of october 3, local time, the international longshoremen's federation and the united states maritime union (usmx) issued a joint statement announcing that major port workers on the east coast and gulf coast of the united states have reached a preliminary agreement with port owners on wage issues and will "immediately "stop" the "largest scale" strike action in the past 50 years that started in the early morning of the 1st and resume all work covered by the main contract.

the two sides agreed to extend the main contract, which expired on september 30, to january 15 next year, which means that any possible strikes and potential supply shortages of goods will be postponed until after the presidential election in november. us media said that this result also defused a "political time bomb" for the democrats, especially candidate and vice president harris.

according to the associated press, when asked about the interim agreement on the evening of the 3rd, u.s. president biden said: "thanks to the grace of god and the goodwill of neighbors, this agreement will continue." biden said in a subsequent statement china praised the move by both parties as "patriotic" and ensured the supply of key supplies for recovery and reconstruction after hurricane helene.

people familiar with the matter said that the white house sent a number of senior government officials to intervene to promote an early agreement between labor and management. after several days of negotiations, white house chief of staff zients held an online meeting with senior executives of multinational shipping companies early in the morning on the 4th local time to increase pressure, emphasizing the necessity of opening ports for post-disaster reconstruction. white house national economic council director brainard, acting labor minister sue weisi urged the employer to increase its offer, saying he would use this to persuade the union.

according to people familiar with the matter, the temporary agreement reached between the port labor and management parties will increase the wages of port workers by approximately 62% in the next six years. this range is still lower than the 77% previously requested by the ila, but higher than usmx’s previous 50% salary increase plan. however, reuters pointed out on the 3rd that a key issue leading to the strike, namely the application of port automation technology, has not yet been resolved, which may cause differences between the two sides in future negotiations. in addition, the new york times stated that unions have also been demanding increased retirement benefits for workers.

this article is an exclusive manuscript of observer.com and may not be reproduced without authorization.