SHIPPING: Port automation a key sticking point in union, USEC ports negotiations ahead of 15 Jan deadline

HOUSTON (ICIS)–The 15 January deadline for finalizing a new labor agreement between unionized dock workers at US Gulf and East Coast ports and the negotiating entity for the ports is nearing with no clear progress on a key remaining issue – automation.

This week, a union vice president criticized semi-automated rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMGs) for eliminating jobs and posing national security risks in a post on the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) website.

In response, the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), the group representing the ports, defended automation as essential for port modernization and addressing land constraints.

The ILA paused a three-day strike on 3 October after agreeing on a wage increase, with a commitment to negotiate the remaining issues by 15 January.

Top among the remaining issues is the automation or semi-automation at the ports, which the ILA is adamantly against because they think it will take jobs typically done by humans and which the USMX says is needed for the US to remain competitive.

ILA Vice President Dennis A Daggett said in his post on the union’s website that the ILA is not against progress, innovation, or modernization – “but we cannot support technology that jeopardizes jobs, threatens national security, and puts the future of the workforce at risk”.

Daggett explained that in the early-2000s, employers introduced semi-automated RMGs at a greenfield terminal on the East Coast, saying the move would create thousands of jobs.

“What seemed like a win for one port turned out to be the project that is becoming the model for automation that could potentially chip away at many jobs at almost every other terminal along the East and Gulf coasts,” Daggett said.

Daggett said 95% of work performed by RMGs is fully automated.

“From the moment a container is dropped off by a shuttle carrier, the RMG operates on its own – lifting, stacking, and moving containers, including gantry and hoisting, without any human intervention,” Daggett said. “This includes the auto-stacking of containers in the container stack, which is also fully automated. Only in the last six feet of the container’s journey on the landside, when it is placed on a truck chassis, does an operator step in. But how long until employers automate those final six feet as well?”

The USMX, in a response, said modernization and investment in new technology are core priorities required to successfully bargain a new master contract with the ILA – they are essential to building a sustainable and greener future for the US maritime industry.

“Port operations must evolve, and embracing modern technology is critical to this evolution,” the USMX said.

“It means improving performance to move more cargo more efficiently through existing facilities – advancements that are crucial for US workers, consumers, and companies,” the USMX said. “Due to the lack of available new land in most ports, the only way for US East and Gulf Coast ports to handle more volume is to densify terminals – enabling the movement of more cargo through their existing footprints. It has been proven this can be accomplished while delivering benefits to both USMX members and to the ILA.”

The USMX stressed that it is not, nor has it ever been, seeking to eliminate jobs, but to simply implement and maintain the use of equipment and technology already allowed under the current contract agreements and already widely in use, including at some USMX ports.

As an example, the USMX pointed to a terminal where modern crane technology was implemented more than a decade ago, which was previously limited to a 775,000-container capacity using traditional equipment.

That same terminal nearly doubled its volume after incorporating the use of modern rail-mounted gantry cranes into its daily operations.

“The added capacity delivered an equal increase in hours worked, leading to more union jobs, as the terminal went from employing approximately 600 workers a day to nearly 1,200,” the USMX said. “Moving more containers through the existing terminal footprints also means higher wages from the increased cargo, bringing in more money for volume/tonnage bonuses.”

Container ships and costs for shipping containers are relevant to the chemical industry because while most chemicals are liquids and are shipped in tankers, container ships transport polymers, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), are shipped in pellets.

They also transport liquid chemicals in isotanks.

No negotiations are currently underway with just about five weeks left before the deadline.

Focus article by Adam Yanelli