Category: Automation Impact on Jobs

Dockworkers’ Union Suspends Strike Until Jan. 15 to Allow Time to Negotiate New Contract

DETROIT (AP) — Some 45,000 dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports are returning to work after their union reached a deal to suspend a strike that could have caused shortages and higher prices if it had dragged on.

The International Longshoremen’s Association is suspending its three-day strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract. The union and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies, said in a joint statement that they have reached a tentative agreement on wages.

A person briefed on the agreement said the ports sweetened their wage offer from about […]

Dockworkers’ union suspends strike until Jan. 15 to allow time to negotiate new contract

Dockworkers' union suspends strike until Jan. 15 to allow time to negotiate new contract

DETROIT (AP) — Some 45,000 dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports are returning to work after their union reached a deal to suspend a strike that could have caused shortages and higher prices if it had dragged on.

The International Longshoremen’s Association is suspending its three-day strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract. The union and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies, said in a joint statement that they have reached a tentative agreement on wages.

A person briefed on the agreement said the ports sweetened their wage offer from about […]

Striking dockworkers want a complete ban on automation

JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

Dockworkers are on strike for a third day on the East Coast and Gulf Coast. One of their demands – a complete ban on automation. Their union wants to make sure humans are moving shipping containers, not machines. NPR’s Andrea Hsu reports.

ANDREA HSU, BYLINE: I was at the Port of Baltimore the other night when midnight struck and dockworkers started forming a picket line.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)UNIDENTIFIED DOCKWORKER #1: Let’s get it, baby. Shut the [expletive] down.UNIDENTIFIED DOCKWORKER #2: Shut it down.UNIDENTIFIED DOCKWORKER #3: Shut it down.UNIDENTIFIED DOCKWORKER #1: (Chanting) What are we going to do?UNIDENTIFIED GROUP […]

Striking dockworkers want a complete ban on automation

JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

Dockworkers are on strike for a third day on the East Coast and Gulf Coast. One of their demands – a complete ban on automation. Their union wants to make sure humans are moving shipping containers, not machines. NPR’s Andrea Hsu reports.

ANDREA HSU, BYLINE: I was at the Port of Baltimore the other night when midnight struck and dockworkers started forming a picket line.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)UNIDENTIFIED DOCKWORKER #1: Let’s get it, baby. Shut the [expletive] down.UNIDENTIFIED DOCKWORKER #2: Shut it down.UNIDENTIFIED DOCKWORKER #3: Shut it down.UNIDENTIFIED DOCKWORKER #1: (Chanting) What are we going to do?UNIDENTIFIED GROUP […]

Dockworkers join other unions in trying to fend off automation, or minimize impact

Dockworkers join other unions in trying to fend off automation, or minimize impact

The massive port workers’ strike that has shut down all the major dockyards on the Eastern seaboard of the U.S. and the Gulf coast is highlighting a fear held by many workers: Eventually, we will be replaced by machines.

The International Longshoremen’s Association, which represents the approximately 45,000 dock workers who walked off the job Tuesday, is testing whether it’s possible to fight back.

The union is demanding, along with hefty pay raises, a total ban on the automation of gates, cranes and container-moving trucks in its ports. But it’s unclear whether they’ll be able to stave off a trend that […]

Enterprise Connect AI: Practitioners Advise Approaching AI With Caution

Enterprise Connect AI: Practitioners Advise Approaching AI With Caution

AI_AdobeStock_230441943_81221.jpeg

Image: Tierney – stock.adobe.com During day two of Enterprise Connect AI , presenters with Deloitte shared their perspectives on how their clients are approaching the integration of AI into existing technology and systems. Later that morning, another pair of presenters spoke about the potential impact of AI on contact center employment and provided some thoughts about how to possibly mitigate the risk associated with implementing Gen AI. The Deloitte Keynote: Profitability and Performance Are Not Always Straightforward

Two speakers from Deloitte , Vinita Kumar, Business Development, and Dexter Zavalza, Conversational and Generative AI UX Design Lead, shared […]

Dockworkers Join Other Unions in Trying to Fend off Automation, or Minimize the Impact

NEW YORK (AP) — The massive port workers’ strike that has shut down all the major dockyards on the Eastern seaboard of the U.S. and the Gulf coast is highlighting a fear held by many workers: Eventually, we will be replaced by machines.

The International Longshoremen’s Association, which represents the approximately 45,000 dock workers who walked off the job Tuesday , is testing whether it’s possible to fight back.

The union is demanding, along with hefty pay raises, a total ban on the automation of gates, cranes and container-moving trucks in its ports. But it’s unclear whether they’ll be able to […]

Data, pilot projects showing food service robots may not threaten jobs

Data, pilot projects showing food service robots may not threaten jobs

Paige Gross (via Missouri Independent)

Fast-casual restaurant Chipotle is experimenting with a work station that has automation assembling salads and bowls underneath the counter while a human worker assembles more complex dishes such as burritos on top. (Photo courtesy of Chipotle)Though food service workers and economists have long worried about the impact technology would have on the restaurant labor force, pilot programs in several fast-casual restaurants over the last few years have shown it may not have the negative impact they feared, a labor economist says.

Technology plays several roles in food service, but the industry has seen the adoption of […]

Yes, America Should Automate Dock Work

Yes, America Should Automate Dock Work

As the global economy has grown in recent decades, so too have the container ships that transport cargo to and from the world’s ports. They are growing both in numbers and in size . And to keep up with all those containers, ports have introduced advanced automation. In fact, the world’s first fully automated port terminal—the Delta Dedicated North Terminal operated in The Netherlands by Hutchison Ports ECT Rotterdam (ECT)—is now more than 30 years old. ECT has used technologies such as automatic guided vehicles and automatic stacking cranes to whisk containers to and from the port’s quay in […]

CMV: Preventing Jobs from being eliminated due to technological advancement and automation should not be considered a valid reason to strike

Unions striking over jobs lost to technological advancements and automation does nothing but hinder economic progress and innovation. Technology often leads to increased efficiency, lower costs, and the creation of new jobs in emerging industries. Strikes that seek to preserve outdated roles or resist automation can stifle companies’ ability to remain competitive and adapt to a rapidly changing market. Additionally, preventing or delaying technological advancements due to labor disputes could lead to overall economic stagnation, reducing the ability of businesses to grow, invest in new opportunities, and ultimately generate new types of employment. Instead, the focus should be on […]