Dockworkers Call Off Talks Again, With Automation at Issue
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The U.S. dockworkers union that halted cargo at every major port on the country’s eastern and southern coasts last month has called off talks with their employers over the issue of automation.
The International Longshoremen’s Association and U.S. Maritime Alliance, known as USMX, agreed on a 62% pay raise in order to suspend the three-day strike in early October. But they left more difficult issues such as the use of remote-controlled cranes and other machinery — which the union views as a threat — to hash out after the presidential election.
While the two sides were set to resume negotiations on a new six-year contract over four days this week, the union rejected a proposal on Nov. 12 from the USMX that would permit the use of semi-automated equipment at ILA-operated ports.
“The ILA recognized this as a renewed attempt by USMX to eliminate ILA jobs with automation and broke off talks,” the union said in a Facebook post earlier Nov. 13. (The post was no longer visible as of 12:30 p.m. New York time.)
ILA union chief Harold Daggett speaks to picketing workers outside the Port of Newark in New Jersey on Oct. 1. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg News)
The employers group said it isn’t seeking to use technology that would eliminate jobs, but would rather improve safety and increase efficiency.
“Unfortunately, the ILA is insisting on an agreement that would move our industry backward by restricting future use of technology that has existed in some of our ports for nearly two decades — making it impossible to evolve to meet the nation’s future supply chain demands,” the USMX said in a statement Nov. 13.
The partial deal struck last month was made under pressure from the White House, and the changing political backdrop during the government’s leadership transition is now clouding the picture.
The outgoing Biden administration may not be as engaged as before, and Donald Trump’s vocal union support while he was a candidate angling for middle-class votes will be tested as he returns to the White House.
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If there’s no agreement before Jan. 15 — just five days before Trump’s inauguration — a second port strike could be one of the first economic challenges facing the next administration.
The USMX has offered to maintain language on technology in the existing contract — which it sees as a concession. That document also already bans the development of “fully automated” terminals and forbids the use of such equipment, defined as machinery or other equipment devoid of human interaction.
ILA President Harold Daggett is seeking to take that further, and laid that position out to union members in an Oct. 5 letter. “By extending negotiations, we aim to establish strong protections against the introduction of remote-controlled or fully automated machinery that threatens our work jurisdiction,” he wrote.
