Donald Trump weighed in on the dock workers’ dispute that is affecting a variety of East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, taking sides on behalf of the longshoremen’s union. Although union members ended their strike after management agreed to a 62-percent wage boost, the two sides still are at odds over automation. Further work stoppages are likely if the issue isn’t resolved by mid-January when the current contract expires.
The union wants to ban ports from using automated systems to open gates and unload containers as well as automated systems to track and manage cargo. According to Freethink, the International Longshoremen’s Association is demanding the continuation of this arcane languagecontract language: “There shall be no implementation of semi-automated equipment or technology/automation until both parties agree to workforce protections and staffing levels.”
That’s economically disastrous. Ports are a core aspect of our economy, which – despite complaints from anti-trade populists – is heavily dependent on imports and exports. Restricting innovation drives up prices for every type of product and also reduces worker safety. In countries with modernized ports, workers operate equipment from the comfort and safety of a booth rather than from a crane or other heavy equipment. Even the union notes that deaths and injuries are common under the current system.
Yet here’s what the president-elect posted on his Truth Social account: “For the great privilege of accessing our markets, these foreign companies should hire our incredible American Workers, instead of laying them off, and sending those profits back to foreign countries. It is time to put AMERICA FIRST!”
Yet to really put America first – and not just protect the jobs of a small subset of American workers – the president ought to embrace new technology.
In a recent video (linked from Reason magazine), union president Harold Daggett made it clear that he’s not too concerned about the impact of a strike on other Americans: “Guys who sell cars can’t sell cars, because the cars ain’t coming in off the ships. They get laid off. 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.” It’s too bad Trump is siding with the enemies of progress.
To extrapolate a bit, when ports operate inefficiently the prices of goods and services soar. Shipping companies move their shipments to other ports, which ends up costing dock worker jobs. It drives up inflation. Ironically, one of the key reasons voters sent Trump back to the White House is their concern with rising prices. Combined with his support for tariffs, Trump’s opposition to port modernization will ratchet up prices and cost union jobs in manufacturing sectors that are reliant on these goods.
During the pandemic, U.S. ports – including California’s – had long backlogs as container ships backed up for days. Per the Cato Institute, the problem was decades in the making. It concluded that “not one U.S. port ranked in the top 50 global ports in terms of getting a ship in and out of a port” and found that Rotterdam’s automated ports were nearly twice as productive as “stone-aged ones in Oakland.”
If Republicans want to make the American economy more competitive, they need to support cost-saving innovations rather than stick with costly and outdated systems.