President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday sided with union longshore workers in their standoff with employers over the deployment of port automation technology.
Following a meeting with International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) President Harold Daggett, Trump, in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, said foreign-based terminal operators and ocean carriers at East and Gulf coast ports ought to eschew automation in favor of hiring more dockworkers.
“I’ve studied automation, and know just about everything there is to know about it,” Trump wrote. “The amount of money saved [instead of employing workers] is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American workers, in this case, our Longshoremen.”
The post went on to echo the ILA’s oft-stated position that port employers headquartered outside the U.S. have racked up record profits, in exchange for the “privilege” of accessing U.S. markets.
“I’d rather see these foreign companies spend [profits] on the great men and women on our docks, than machinery, which is expensive, and which will constantly have to be replaced.
“In the end, there’s no gain for them, and I hope that they will understand how important an issue this is for me,” Trump wrote.
Employers “should hire incredible AMERICAN WORKERS [sic], instead of laying them off, and sending those profits back to foreign countries.”
Trump, much like President Joe Biden earlier this year, seemed to signal that he would not intervene in a strike by the ILA. The union walked off the job for three days in early October, bringing container handling worth billions of dollars a day to a halt. Biden administration officials helped broker an end to the work stoppage, and the sides agreed to resume bargaining under an extension of the current contract through Jan. 15.
But talks between the ILA and employers represented by the United States Maritime Alliance covering 45,000 workers at 36 ports broke down in early November over the union’s refusal to allow semi-automated container cranes onto the docks, which it claimed would eliminate jobs. Another strike seems likely in early January, and shippers have been frontloading imports ahead of a walkout.
The Taft-Hartley Act gives the President powers to temporarily pause a port strike if it endangers national health or safety. The President can request a court order for an 80-day cooling-off period while negotiations continued.
President George W. Bush invoked Taft-Hartley in 2002 to end a strike by West Coast longshore workers.
Employers say automation is desperately needed to boost container volumes moving through ports, which in turn will create more jobs for union workers.
In a statement late Monday, the USMX said, “We appreciate and value President-elect Trump’s statement on the importance of American ports. It’s clear President-elect Trump, USMX, and the ILA all share the goal of protecting and adding good-paying American jobs at our ports. But this contract goes beyond our ports — it is about supporting American consumers and giving American businesses access to the global marketplace — from farmers, to manufacturers, to small businesses, and innovative startups looking for new markets to sell their products.
“To achieve this, we need modern technology that is proven to improve worker safety, boost port efficiency, increase port capacity, and strengthen our supply chains. ILA members’ compensation increases with the more goods they move — the greater capacity our ports have and goods that are moved means more money in their pockets.
“We look forward to working with the President-elect and the incoming administration on how our members are working to support the strength and resilience of the U.S. supply chain and making crucial investments that support ILA members and millions of workers and businesses across the entire domestic supply chain, improving efficiency and creating even more high-paying jobs for ILA members.”
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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