The Longshorman Strike and Automation

By Rich Kozlovich

Well, the longshoreman's strike is on, and it has a potential for serious economic downturns with the union president declaring:

“These people today don’t know what a strike is, “I’ll cripple you........ I will cripple you.”  

When this all started my first thought was if these companies are not negotiating it must be because these men are already making obscene amounts of money. So I decided to see if I could find out.  If this site is truthful, then what they're making can hardly be called big bucks, and in fact, they're underpaid in my view.  But that site is not being entirely honest.  The crane operators aren't like the dockworkers, and can make as much as $250,000 a year, and the union wants a five dollar an hour pay increase every year for five years, a 77% increase.  As the head of the union states:

 “They’re not making millions no more. They’re making billions. And they’re spending it fast as they make it,”..... “I want a piece of that for my men...."

Well,  that's all hyperbole, and as far as I'm concerned how much the owners make and how much they spend is irrelevant.  On the other hand the companies are claiming the union's demands are so unreasonable the union isn't really willing to negotiate, but as far as I've been able to determine they're not explaining what they think is so unreasonable, although I think I know.

Normally I would think a 77% increase over six years is unreasonable, but considering how little the dock workers are making now, the companies need to come up with something substantial.   I don't think the biggest log in the fire is wages.  It's the union's demand for job guarantees against automation.   If that's the case, and I'm sure it is, that's a lost cause.  

Automation has been fought in every industry in America, and automation always wins.  This battle isn't just about money, it's about control.   And now we find the union's leader is yacht-owning millionaire with allegedly unsavory connections, earning big bucks.   The big deal for him is if automation comes in, he will lose members, and it must be assumed that will ultimately impact his income. 

The issue is all about automation and control, and truthfully, I'm inclined to think this may be a long strike, because the companies cannot abandon these technological advancements any more than Hollywood can abandon the advances accorded to movie makers over AI.