Longshore unions are planning a global meeting to map out what they are framing as a war of survival against automation.
The U.S.-based International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and International Dockworkers Council (IDC) in a release Wednesday announced the People Over Profit Anti-Automation Conference Nov. 5-6 in Lisbon, Portugal, home of the IDC.
The invitation to all maritime unions, trades, and leadership aims to “collectively strategize, share experiences, and strengthen our united front against the rise of job replacing automation,” and was signed by ILA President Harold Daggett; his son, ILA Executive Vice President and IDC General Coordinator Dennis Daggett; IDC International Labor Coordinator Jordi Arugunde; and IDC Secretariat Xavier Bellido.
“This is not just about protecting our jobs. It is about preserving our communities, our families, and the very future we are building for the next generation,” Dennis Daggett said in an accompanying letter.
The ILA, which represents 24,000 workers, was at the center of a bitter contract dispute over dockside automation that boiled over into a three-day strike in October 2024, shutting down container handling at East and Gulf coast ports. The union and port employers eventually settled on a landmark six-year agreement that permits some port automation, but with significant job protections.
“Automation is creeping into every sector, little by little, industry by industry, while global corporations hide behind words like efficiency and progress,” Dagget wrote. “They are also pushing job-killing automation under the guise of safety. But what they are truly after is one thing only – cutting labor costs.
“This is not a blue-collar problem. It is a working class crisis, threatening both white and blue collar livelihoods. Whether you work in a crane cab or at a terminal console, the risks are the same. And so is the responsibility to act.”
“Technology should serve humanity, not replace it.”
The IDC comprises 92 organizations from 41 countries and has over 100,000 affiliated members.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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