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US dock workers fear losing jobs with the advent of automation
US longshoremen are up in arms over the drive over the last decade by international maritime ports to fully automate operations since their high paying jobs and way of life are at stake.
California is on the frontlines in the battle over automation as the ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles and Oakland handle 40 per cent of US container traffic and that number is anticipated to rise now the expanded Panama Canal is in operation.
Advocates for automation argue that ports operated basically by robots can handle the higher volume of goods expected to go through the state's ports and do it more efficiently and in a tighter space, reported Fox News.
TraPac LLC, which operates a port of Los Angeles shipping terminal, says the company's fully automated terminal in southern California has not only doubled the speed of loading and unloading ships - cuting TraPa'sc expenses and strengthening its profit margin - but it has also reduced down on the time trucks have to wait for containers. Adding to this is the electric and hybrid-powered automated machines.
"Those robots represent hundreds of (lost) jobs," president of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 13, Bobby Olvera, told the PressTelegram.
At the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach the International Longshore and Warehouse Union formally accepted the use of self-driving and automated technologies in 2008. Since then, while none of the unions 14,000 workers have lost their jobs, 10,000 contingent workers have been called up to work much less often, according to president of the Pacific Maritime Association, Jim McKenna.
The push for full automation has been much stronger on the west Coast than at ports on the east and Gulf Coasts, where operators and unions have come to an implied agreement on partial automation.
While ports in Virginia and New Jersey were the first to try out full automation, major ports like Miami and New York appear less likely to do so anytime soon given the resistance from the unions and the fact that large ships infrequently unload all of their cargo on a single stop like they do out west.
"We have no problem with semi-automated terminals," spokesperson for the International Longshoremen's Association, Jim McNamara, told Fox News. "New technology is fine if it keeps our workers safe, but full automation means that our jobs are gone."
Mr McNamara added: "Not only do our jobs help the economy and keep more people working, but it would also take years and a lot of money to rebuild a port to be fully automated."
The high cost, however, is something that terminal owners seem willing to absorb if it means bigger profits and to keep pace with global competitors.
The port of Los Angeles and TraPac have already invested US$693 million in four dozen self-driving cranes and automated carriers, plus related infrastructure. Middle Harbour, the port of Long Beach's $1.3 billion automated terminal, is expected to commence operations in two years' time
California is on the frontlines in the battle over automation as the ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles and Oakland handle 40 per cent of US container traffic and that number is anticipated to rise now the expanded Panama Canal is in operation.
Advocates for automation argue that ports operated basically by robots can handle the higher volume of goods expected to go through the state's ports and do it more efficiently and in a tighter space, reported Fox News.
TraPac LLC, which operates a port of Los Angeles shipping terminal, says the company's fully automated terminal in southern California has not only doubled the speed of loading and unloading ships - cuting TraPa'sc expenses and strengthening its profit margin - but it has also reduced down on the time trucks have to wait for containers. Adding to this is the electric and hybrid-powered automated machines.
"Those robots represent hundreds of (lost) jobs," president of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 13, Bobby Olvera, told the PressTelegram.
At the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach the International Longshore and Warehouse Union formally accepted the use of self-driving and automated technologies in 2008. Since then, while none of the unions 14,000 workers have lost their jobs, 10,000 contingent workers have been called up to work much less often, according to president of the Pacific Maritime Association, Jim McKenna.
The push for full automation has been much stronger on the west Coast than at ports on the east and Gulf Coasts, where operators and unions have come to an implied agreement on partial automation.
While ports in Virginia and New Jersey were the first to try out full automation, major ports like Miami and New York appear less likely to do so anytime soon given the resistance from the unions and the fact that large ships infrequently unload all of their cargo on a single stop like they do out west.
"We have no problem with semi-automated terminals," spokesperson for the International Longshoremen's Association, Jim McNamara, told Fox News. "New technology is fine if it keeps our workers safe, but full automation means that our jobs are gone."
Mr McNamara added: "Not only do our jobs help the economy and keep more people working, but it would also take years and a lot of money to rebuild a port to be fully automated."
The high cost, however, is something that terminal owners seem willing to absorb if it means bigger profits and to keep pace with global competitors.
The port of Los Angeles and TraPac have already invested US$693 million in four dozen self-driving cranes and automated carriers, plus related infrastructure. Middle Harbour, the port of Long Beach's $1.3 billion automated terminal, is expected to commence operations in two years' time
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