Are you prepping for potential port strike.

I'm not surprised that a raise in wages settled things (for now), but the worker's main complaint was job-loss due to automation. I can't find anything about that part of the negotiations.

What's nuts about pushing back against innovating and updating port works is that US ports rank something like #40 in the world for efficiency and speed. Job loss is unavoidable with progress and innovation, but at the same time, progress and innovation brings new jobs, new industries, new opportunities...

Candle makers had to find another gig when electric light bulbs lit everyone up, but where would we be now if electricity had never been harnessed for the sake of candle makers? And there were millions of them world-wide.
(electric lights overtaking oil lamps saved a few species of whales from extinction, so there's that, too.)
 

Murrmurr said:
I'm not surprised that a raise in wages settled things (for now), ...

... progress and innovation brings new jobs, new industries, new opportunities...
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People have been fed this line for decades, going back at least as far as the late 1940s though it got more serious in the 1970s as perpetual war, globalization, and the race to the bottom began.


At least we'll have leadership that takes notice of the economic self-immolation and proposes policies to put the fire out.

 
dilettante said:
Look at what I quoted.

Why do I need to explain this again? Ahh, you want to preserve your narrative that the workers are at fault.
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Oh, you mean like the Allentown thing, right? That had nothing to do with progress. "The workers at fault" isn't my "narrative". The unions pushing back on automation is. There's no doubt people will lose jobs, and that's a bummer. But when the entire coast, in fact, the whole country falls behind economically because shippers choose better, more efficient ports, that's a huge problem. That effects everyone.

It would be fair if renewed negotiations includes compensation and ongoing benefits for dock workers who lose their jobs due to advancements, but dock big-wigs are talking about saving as many jobs as possible by moving workers around, starting with senior workers...ones who've been there longer.
 
It’s no surprise that working men and women want to preserve their way of making a living.

The fear and uncertainty associated with a mid life career change along with an almost certain reduction in pay and benefits is normal and has been a reality for millions of workers but IMO it would be a mistake to restrict innovation and automation.

I agree with @Murrmurr , that it might be better to build in some early retirement, severance, and retraining benefits for those current workers displaced by automation.
 
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Aunt Bea said:
It’s no surprise that working men and women want to preserve their way of making a living.

The fear and uncertainty associated with a mid life career change along with an almost certain reduction in pay and benefits is normal and has been a fact a reality for millions of workers but IMO it would be a mistake to restrict innovation and automation.

I agree with @Murrmurr , that it might be better to build in some early retirement, severance, and retraining benefits for those current workers displaced by automation.
Click to expand...
I would hate it. I would absolutely hate it, especially if I was 40-something with kids in high-school looking at college, and a mortgage and a couple of car payments. So there needs to be a safety net for those guys. But they have skills; they're not useless; they're employable. Free transitional training would be a great offer, too.
 
Aunt Bea said:
It’s no surprise that working men and women want to preserve their way of making a living.
Click to expand...
While we have a so called pension guarantee system in the U.S., there are many parts of company "pension" benefits that do not qualify.
Many a retired Chrysler employee learned this the hard way back in 2009.

Reducing the current employee workforce, also reduces the flow of money into these pension plans, which can easily be reduced via corporate bankruptcies. Not saying this is part of the current issue, but that Chrysler experience was very damaging, imho.
 
Such workers are often fed a line about "retraining for modern jobs." If anything ever happens at all, these are usually pretty wimpy classes and often there aren't any of these "modern jobs" to take. At best individuals get hired and must start at the lowest rung of the ladder - and now they have dependents and bills.

So yeah, they should be disgruntled. They've seen this play out for others in a bad way. It's almost a sure way to lose your wife and kids when she runs away disgusted, looking to trade up. Marriage vows? What is this thing of which you speak?
 
January 15th is just around the corner. Odds of a strike are about 10%, imo. Bargaining talks begin on January 7th. The two sides are very close, but the U.S.M.X. would hugely benefit from another 3 1/2 month extension, which also benefits the ILA, to a lesser extent.

70% of freight rates are established on the Asia-American transit in May of each year. Spot rates move at a discount/premium to these.

Shipping companies make higher profits from higher rates, which are currently elevated and likely would remain the same through May. The issue of automation is still delayed, which benefits the ILA. In addition, the U.S.M.X. is spending those added profits on additional fleet.

Note the ILA, despite the having International in their title, is actually East and Gulf Coast. Likewise, the U.S.M.X. despite having United States in its name, is actually an international consortium.
 

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