On Sunday, John Stossel posted an article at Hot Air about America’s ports. In the fall, the International Longshoremen’s Association went on strike asking for higher wages and a ban on automation. A strike was avoided when the current contract was extended until January 15th. President Trump takes office on January 20th. The Longshoremen’s strike will be one of the first things he has to deal with. I am hoping he follows the example of Ronald Reagan’s handling of the air traffic controllers’ strike.
The article at Hot Air reports:
America’s ports have fallen behind. Not a single one ranks in the top 50 worldwide.
A big reason is that dock unions stop innovation.
This fall, the International Longshoremen’s Association shut down East and Gulf coast ports, striking for a raise and a ban on automation. They got the raise.
Now union president Harold Daggett says longshoremen will strike again in January if they don’t get that ban on automation.
His statement in my new video makes it clear that he knows how badly his strike would damage other Americans.
“Guys who sell cars can’t sell cars, because the cars ain’t coming in off the ships. They get laid off,” says Daggett. “Construction workers get laid off because materials aren’t coming in. The steel’s not coming in. The lumber’s not coming in. They lose their job.”
Obviously, labor leaders aren’t necessarily “pro worker,” says Mercatus Center economist Liya Palagashvili.
“They’re saying, ‘We don’t care if these other jobs are destroyed as long as we get what we want.'”
Daggett is unusually clueless. He doesn’t understand that a ban on automation will also hurt his members.
As Palagashvili puts it, “They’ll save some jobs today, but they’ll destroy a lot more jobs in the future.”
The article also notes:
That’s because today’s shippers have options. Daggett’s union only controls East and Gulf coast ports. Shippers can deliver their products to ports that accept automation.
“We’re going to see less activity in ‘Stone Age’ ports,” says Palagashvili.
“Stone Age?”
“They want to ban automated opening and closing of port doors,” she points out, requiring workers to pull heavy doors themselves.
Weirdly, the union boss makes his demands while also pointing out that dockworker jobs are dangerous.
“Very dangerous … We’ve had 17 people killed in the last three years!”
That’s terrible, but it’s an argument for automation! Using machines instead of vulnerable humans protects human workers. Daggett’s arguing against himself!
I see why he wouldn’t agree to an interview.
“It’s backwards,” notes Palagashvili. “(If) you care about the safety of these workers, you should enhance their jobs and make them safer and better. And the only way you can do that is with technological advancements in automation.”
Other countries have used automated cranes for years. They’re 80% faster than the human-operated cranes in many American ports.
It will be very interesting to watch the outcome of this strike. If the union gets its wage hikes and ban on automation, business may go to other ports and the ports involved may lose traffic. If the unions go on strike, business will go to other ports. I think that if I were a union member, I would want a new leader.