I love how left-wingers are all over social media asking Trump supporters if they agree with the above. One thing about Trump supporters, they are a helluva lot more objective than left-wingers. If he makes a bad call, no one runs to defend him.
This is a bad call.
We need to automate our ports. Using robots and AI to do that is a smart play. Trump is wrong here. What’s the solution to the impasse? You can see why the longshoreman would not want any automation. That’s not any different than any heavily unionized company. In general, unions do not increase employment. At the same time, they don’t decrease it much either. They just want everything to stay the same. Unions are anti-innovation when it impacts jobs or hours worked.
The solution to this problem is to be empathetic with this generation of longshoremen. However, ports have to be operated a lot more efficiently. This means automation. New ports ought to be built that are 100% automated. Maybe even right next to existing ports if there is geographical room. Automation benefits supply chains, decreases prices, and benefits end users.
I don’t think this is a hill for Trump to die on. He is doing this to curry favor. Many in this bloc probably voted for him.
Deregulating ports is another thing they can do to make them cheaper. Look at Long Beach, CA. Gavin Newsome has turned it into his regulatory playground. It’s hard to get a truck in and out and in a few years no fossil-fueled trucks will be allowed in.
Other ports like NYC and Philly, east coast ports in blue states are heavily regulated. That says build ports in places that will be less regulatory and when you build them, automate everything you can.
There are only a handful of longshoremen/stevedore unions in the US and they have recently concluded 5-year contracts that address the issue of automation. So, nothing much will happen at existing facilities for the next 5 years. New facilities will be different.
1. International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) - largest with 85,000 members on Atlantic, Gulf coasts plus Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, Canada, and the Bahamas.
2. International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) - 42,000 members on US West Coast.
The ILWU also has an additional 3,500 members in the Inlandboatmen's Union of the Pacific and 14,000 ILWU Canadian Area
All in all, we are talking about 145,000 workers of all ages -- a lot of old farts. Based on actual work, we likely require about half that amount. The plum job is being an equipment operator.
Both unions struggle to get their men off the bench -- meaning working full time as they have too many members for the amount of work available.
The contracts include many "make work" and "fake work" provisions as well as "no show" jobs. They are, like all trade unions, corrupt AF. A guy has to supervise a worker who is throwing a line around a berthing stanchion. Stupid union shit.
This nonsense from Trump is purely political and a complete head fake. Trump is trying to wiggle into the unions politically looking at the mid-terms. This impacts Congressional elections in many blue states that have ports.
Structurally, the unions have some control over how much technology is deployed via their contract, but new cargo handling companies will begin to appear, new port facilities will be built, and these new cargo handling companies -- not currently signatories to any union contracts -- will deploy new tech at American ports.
I live in Savannah and its port is modestly tech. It is planning a massive expansion and is already one of the largest ports in the US. They are going to either replace the big bridge and dredge the Savannah River to handle the new super container ships. Huge investment and won't be made without a tech upgrade.
Ultimately the cargo handling and the ships will determine the level of tech necessary to handle certain types of containers and bulk goods.
From a tech perspective the two big areas are cargo handling from ship to shore and scheduling for trucks/rail to take the containers and bulk cargo away. The schedule software currently is the best it's ever been. The fight will be over automating the ship to shore lifting equipment.
There is a similar fight underway in the automotive business as it takes 40% less manpower to make an EV than an ICE car. And, then, there are robots.
This is purely political and the victory of tech is inevitable.
JLM
www.themusingsofthebigredcar.com
My first thought was that it is inevitable. Just as all technology evolves.