The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the US Maritime Alliance (USMX) have until January 15 to agree on a new contract. This is the result of a temporary deal reached in October.
President Trump announced his support for the workers’ position following a meeting with Harold Daggett, the president of ILA, and Dennis Daggett, the union’s executive vice president.
[Source]
“I’ve studied automation and know just about everything there is to know about it. The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American Workers, in this case, our Longshoremen,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Notice how the media always present the verbiage of the dockworker’s employers as “employers’ group USMX,” without actually noting the employers’ group are the port owners, multinational shipping conglomerates and as a consequence, foreign countries.
In material fact, most critical ports in the USA are owned by foreign entities. As a result, the ILA are pushing back against the ideological, political and financial interests of mostly foreign entities (USMX).
On the demand side of the equation the ILA wants to eliminate the threat posed by automation. Many voices say this is a ridiculous demand; after all, when you combine artificial intelligence, automation, robotics and remote access capabilities, it is clearly predictable that a time will come when 80% of the ILA jobs can be replaced by remote controlled operational systems.
In China, many industrial ports are already fully automated and operated remotely by people using what look like gaming consols, robotics and computer screens.
US #Port Strike by 45,000 Dockworkers Is All but Certain to Begin at Midnight who doesn’t want automation. Meanwhile in China – pic.twitter.com/4C8p1eCT8H
— sceptical_panda (@sceptical_panda) October 1, 2024
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This brings me to the main point that most overlook.
In Asia and Europe, port automation is happening rapidly. However, in Asia and Europe they have rules and regulations against foreign ownership of their ports. In Europe, Asia and particularly China, ports are considered critical national security infrastructure by the politicians who represent the people. In the USA our politicians represent the multinational corporations and as a result we have sold the majority of our ports to Saudis, Qataris, Europeans and Chinese owners.
If Chinese ports are automated in China, they are operated by Chinese owners. If American ports are automated in the USA, they are operated by Chinese owners. It doesn’t take a genius to see the problem.
Fast forward to 2035, all of our critical ILA members have given up and gone to work for Wal Mart in the face of overwhelming opposition against them by a short-sighted American electorate. The children of the dockworkers are now addicted to prescription narcotics, and the docks are automated by German industrial machinery, facilitated by Chinese technology that was purchased by Chinese owners. The machinery is operated remotely by Chinese, Indian and Pakistani workers getting $5/hr.
After seamless integration, China decides to take New Zealand as the latest strategic notch in their Belt and Road initiative. Wait, wha… the American politicians shout, “this cannot stand.” But it does, because if the USA tries to make a move against it, the docks in the USA are brought to a halt by China.
Sound crazy?
‘Crazy’ was 9-years ago when CTH was warning about a weaponized FBI operating like the Russian FSB. ‘Crazy’ was our warning that a DC-based intelligence apparatus was conducting surveillance of a presidential nominee. ‘Crazy’ was our alarms ten years ago that various interests of the DoS and DHS were deep inside the mechanisms of social media, controlling the content of private conversations. THAT was then considered “crazy.”
What we are talking about now against the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and remote automation, is not crazy; it’s predictable reality if the efforts of the ILA fail.
Now do you see why I support them.
[READ HERE to Understand Picture Below]
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We have a dragon rider who not only understands the stakes. He’s also smart enough to ride the dragon while wearing an invisible suit. That invisible suit is why we call him the “blue-collar billionaire.”
Just because Silicon Valley has shifted to replace wingtips with sneakers, doesn’t mean the outcome changes. And yeah, the Technocrats may keep using class warfare in the effort to make me hate Harold Daggett, while we pretend not to notice the designer labels on their T-shirt.
Perhaps the best compromise would be a two-issue dynamic:
♦ First, all foreign ownership, influence and control over USA ports must be eliminated.
♦ Second, 100% of all equipment, machinery, hardware and software, used in every aspect of the port automation process, must be manufactured inside the United States of America.
Put those two qualifiers into the port contract negotiations as expressed by ILA President Harold Daggett, and watch what happens.
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It cannot be an overly complicated task to computer-control a crane to find a standardized shipping container, grab it and deposit it onto a flatbed.
Each individual container is identified by clear markings as well as RFID tags. Their origin, destination, contents and weight are all listed on the shipping manifest. Each container’s location where loaded on the ship is also documented. All containers worldwide are standardized size, shape and lifting points. The cranes only operate on two axis movement plus up/down.
The whole containerized cargo system was specifically designed for standardization and ease of operation.
I am amazed the whole industry was not fully computer-automated years ago.
Wow. I really hate unions, always have, even when I had to join because I lived in a closed-shop state. The unions gave the crowning blow to Pan American Airways, my beloved company. ..
But this makes sense, for sure. Gotta hold my nose.
Plus he has to end the strike or else.
I still have a Pan Am blanket.
The unions were captured early on by the Communists and the gangsters. Take away government protection from the union process and most of that toxic influence would evaporate. Unions would have to find a useful purpose as contractors for large businesses. The core business model of the average labor union is to come into companies with dysfunctional labor-management relations and fill in the gaps. That function could be worth a lot to companies that are unable or unwilling to hire and develop solid leadership talent.
Don’t forget the other angle – union leadership also funnels money to the very same political interests many find so inimical.
Don’t forget the Corporations Dock managing company’s ,Funnel money to politicians. The Military industrial complex , the colleges ,medical field Drug industry. So what is your point.maybe politicians are for sale and should be abolished huh?
One of the most dangerous things in The Marines,was a 1StLt with a map and compass.Thinking just ant their strong point.
I’m in a union, I hate the union not because they are a bad idea but just like everything else it’s putrid with corruption.
The company loves that, it gives them freedom to exploit the worker.
Basically the idea behind our current government.
A morons view of success by destroying the business to spite your workers. Or in governments case, a country to control its people.
I watch people use the same plan in every aspect of our society now, cut and burn without regard because they deem it as power. Even in parenting their own kids or in marriage. “I win you lose” whilst they burn in the pit they created. Changing the sex on your kid because you wanted the opposite sex? Insanity.
Hell is ruled by insanity.
I’ve always hated unions as well. My parents grew up in Pueblo where Colorado Fuel & Iron operated a steel mill. It is what drew my great-grandparents to the state eons before.
That union decided they’d rather work at Wal-Mart (the CCP’s Outlet Store) than accept the terms offered by the owners some decades ago now. The CF&I now operates one small mill with the site now virtually barren of activity.
This does make sense, and one option would be to Nationalize the Ports. Put them back under US ownership and control. Who in the world ever had authority to sell a national asset in the first place?!
Yeah, no kidding! That must have been some huge bribery going on.
I was in the Teamsters and the UTU UPS feeder Driver, when I worked for Southern railroad/ Norfolk Southern, . True Unions have some bad eggs,but like I always say they can be dealt with. The company’s have a right to a decent return on their money,but if they can’t function without my labor. I deserve a decent return on my life.They have managers making big bucks,never hanging on a RRCar in the middle of a freezing night. Running that set of Doubles with sleet rain and bad conditions,and if by chance some dipshit causes a wreck ,the company will try like heck to put the blame on you,legal law suite BS. I could tell you some bad stories what UPS would do.
Well good, because the Dems managed to convince them to go on strike in Jan, just in case Trump won to make him look bad. Too bad they forgot they’re dealing with a business man.
Exactly right. These people have sold off our assets little by little.
The US Ports are 20 years behind Ports in Europe and Asia – fighting Automation is a losing position.
Its not about fighting automation – its about fighting automation by the Chinese – and for the Chinese.
Yes! Huge difference!
Simply not true.
ILA specifically targeted automation in its negotiation strategy based on job security considerations.
The national security argument is no different from asserting that Chinese ownership of factories that manufacture critical components for American missile systems is a bad idea. Ownership ultimately connects to access in this argument. Which implies control.
The labor component of the argument is severable from ownership. The conversation neglects that these ports, regardless of ownership, are still subject to American jurisdiction and labor laws.
The national security argument in respect to ownership, which is valid, has some holes as it is. What about commodity shipping ownership/flagging such as oil, bulk goods, etc.? What about the state of existing or any new production capacity for such shipping? What about all the specialized shipping/pipeline infrastructure for offshore oil and gas exploration, drilling, transport? Ports are only one link in the chain. If America First economics are now an integral element of national security, all these considerations matter. The inability of the Biden administration to exercise such control was there for everyone to see when it comes to the Russia sanctions – short, of course, of blowing up such infrastructure.
Just because others do something, that doesn’t make it a good thing…
The EU is allowing their nations to be permanently changed by massive illegal invasion too…as well as allowing themselves to be shoved into the green new arse, which will make their economies as 3rd world as their populations. Asia is the land of sheep. No thanks to both of those.
I agree.
Whatever replaces that also matters. If national security is paramount, is further oversight and regulation of American owned ports in play? Does national security carry with it burdens beyond, say, owning a Walgreens pharmacy? That is an integral component of the entire security argument. It’s not just preventing foreign control. It includes proactive domestic ownership security investment.
The KXL pipeline? That could be entirely American owned. But does that change the behind the scenes machinations that factored in a big way in shutting that system down? Does anyone not think that Warren Buffet’s dominant ownership of rail transport influenced that decision in addition to all the “save the world” Green politics? The inference here is that “control” is an extensible concept. How far should the country go with this?
Well, Frank…,
Guess we could be completely automated and have less employed in every industry.
While we would have really nifty factories and more folks “writing code,” we would
also need to pay for lots of folks who are sitting on their couch w/ a bag of Doritos.
But, sure, we would have really neat videos of our factory floors that are fully automated.
Well, HK, what are you proposing?
That the production isoquant be permanently frozen in terms of the ratios of technology, labor and materials?
Don’t see any conflicts in this idea versus the fungible labor concept that is a keystone to capitalist economies?
Don’t believe new jobs are created when technology changes?
Don’t believe tech change can create more real income to be distributed?
The analysis has to cover all the winners and losers. It has to account for the fundamental nature of capitalism. It also shouldn’t be a strawman argument.
There IS a middle ground that allows for full employment AND increased efficiencies, while maintaining the dignity, feeling of self worth, and other aspects of what it means to be human in the workforce – the humanity factors.
The way to accomplish this most definitely isn’t full automation. Machines should compliment and enhance human physical attributes and allow for a more efficient and safer process flow, increasing productivity – not eliminate humans.
An example in a different arena and deals with the application of AI. Instead of using AI to replace people – along with their creativity, intelligence, and problem solving abilities – use it to enhance their productivity.
An example consists of the mountains of mundane, time consuming and often repetitive tasks that scientists, engineers, and programmers expend time on – which often change or are new, unique, and transitory on a regular basis – that could make use of AI to dynamically learn and then perform – allowing the human to spend more time doing those things which they do best and greatly increasing their overall performance, while also eliminating much of the tedium and boredom – which also enhances their creativity, clarity and frame of mind (which also increases efficiency).
The day we eliminate the richness of the human equation is the day that humanity dies and fades from existence – to be replace by a cold, sterile world consisting entirely of machines and until they completely die off, a cadre of useless eaters.
Given the choice between max profit and max quality of life, I’ll take the latter and the human experience any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Not a surprise: The Ford Foundation bankrolls Chinese Communist Party influence.
Ford Foundation paid CCP allies millions to aid China’s global influence operations
The Ford Foundation, one of the largest private charities in the world, has spent the last four years shoveling millions of dollars into branches of the Chinese government with the stated goal of helping China carry out its strategy of funding foreign infrastructure projects to accumulate influence.
An October 2024 report from the Government Accountability Office, the watchdog organization of the U.S. government, found that China invested $679 billion in 165 countries between 2013 and 2021 as part of its global infrastructure initiative. The GAO went on to report that infrastructure spending has provided China with the ability to leverage debt against developing countries to extract political concessions and given the Chinese Communist Party a massive global telecommunications foothold.
Despite the political nature of China’s foreign infrastructure investment program, the Ford Foundation has paid out nearly $10 million since 2020 to arms of the Chinese government to assist the CCP in carrying it out, according to a Washington Examiner analysis of grant records.
“The Chinese Communist Party doesn’t primarily use development loans to develop Global South economies,” Michael Sobolik, American Foreign Policy Council senior fellow and author of Countering China’s Great Game, told the Washington Examiner. “It leverages them to export authoritarianism and create economic dependency on Beijing. American foundations shouldn’t be furthering those malign objectives.”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/investigations/3247400/ford-foundation-paid-ccp-allies-millions-aid-china-global-influence-operations/
Selling out your own country.
Is that not considered treason?
(Asking for 330+ mil. of my closest friends)
Well, since I’m not one of your closet friends, I’ll provide another thought to your strawman pile:
Accepting that there are pros/cons for American grants, loans, etc., overseas: you don’t think that the opportunity for China to expand its presence overseas is abetted in part by American withdrawal?
You think it is in America’s interest to withdraw all physical, political, intelligence and/or economic presence at, say, choke points to the Red Sea, Bosporous and Straits of Hormuz? Heck! Throw in the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, Strait of Malacca and Strait of Singapore just for fun!
Cuz that’s the dilemma. It’s not an American problem exclusively. It’s a global problem.
If we were purely isolationists, these would not be America’s interests at all. What needed commodities exist outside of our country?
Three, all operators, whether they ride a robo car as a ‘fireman”, or operate a crane, even if the sit in a seat as a monitor, or if the sit at a console to monitor and control movements, will be at a site or a seat, or a console, here in the USA, AND preferably at the harbor where they are working, not remote. If a remote monitor at a console, here in the city or the harbor, not an ocean and a continent away by satellite.
Although it’s not being said, what we have here is nothing less than “AI” at work on the US Docks.
“AI” puts people out of work and it seems Trump is not for putting people out of work. So what is Trump going to do as “AI”steadily but surely puts people out of work in all the other industries?
I think Trump is right when he says “AI” machinery is expensive and will constantly have to be replaced and, at the end of the day, not worth it.
His gut instincts serve him well.
Every time I see AI, I think “Garbage In Garbage Out”
Man, how things have changed. I agree with President Trump.
Trump’s statement does not make any sense. Trying to convince ownership that automation is a losing proposition is a losing argument, because companies know what is and what is not profitable. I’d they don’t understand that they do not stay in business long. Automation is a heckuva lot more profitable than paying guys with a tenth grade education $120,000 a year to stand around while cranes carry containers from ships to trucks.
if foreign ownership is the problem, make them sell to American ownership, but don’t insult people’s intelligence by arguing that automation is not profitable.
All properties in USA owned by foreign entities need to be owned by Americans. Our politicians that sanctioned these foreigners buying our properties are traitors.
Many foreign countries require at least majority ownership by nationals. It makes sense to do the same here in the US as well. Particularly for critical industries.
Some suggest the port takeover and automation by foreign nations is but one of many elements of the gradual shift to a “multi-polar global order”.
The long-term view is that the US decline that accelerated in the late 1970’s cannot be stopped, the simultaneous rise of China cannot be stopped, and the Controllers of the US have been maneuvering to ensure their position through the shift and now are steering things toward the planned end state: US vassal under the coming “multi-polar global governance” headed by de facto industrial leader China.
Everything happening aligns with this view.
And this view also means many things are steered with these ulterior goals, covered by false narratives. In other words, things are not what they seem.
In a corporatist (neo-fascist) US regime, what entitities possess the developed art, global means, power, cover, and position for such steering?
Observers have pointed to zip code 22101 as a starting point to answer that question.
McLean Virginia. I am in 22043. There is the HQ of the Central Intelligence Agency over that way. It is not a “nice” agency.
It seems to bear some passing resemblence to NICE–the version which appears in That Hideous Strength.
over paid lazy a– union workers….get a huge pay raise and we get 2.5% SS increase with 20% of that going to plan B increase. What a farce, F union workers.
The 50 year plan for China is to rule the world. I have posted that speech several times and yet, no one reads it or comments on it. But, China sees its people as being superior to others in the world.
My biggest grief with Richard Nixon is not that he was involved, maybe, with Watergate. His mistake that is still at work today was bringing China out of the closet. They aim to rule the world. As I read the comments here, there is a deep mistrust that a Union can see China at work against their jobs and our supply chain. Why did it get this way. Greedy Americans who sold out to become richer. Richer means nothing when you don’t have God and Freedom.
Mitch McConnell is married to The Foremost Group, an Asian based shipping/shipbuilding bidness and his bro-in-law runs IDG Capital… You know who China is paying…
I dislike unions and will, like others, hold my nose on this one.
Now America finally has the right man at the right time.
Both sides of the port issue are running a skimming operation. They’re the uniparty parallel to transportation. It’s bad that foreign owners control our ports. It’s bad that port workers can demand enormous sums of money which translate into higher prices for consumers. It’s a bit of a stretch to call them private sector workers, too. The ports are essentially a public utility.
The best thing for the American people as a whole is to require US owner/operators of ports, and hire great American workers to run and repair the necessary automation.
Both sides were more than happy to blow up our economy. Nobody at that scale should have that much power.
Trump can’t possibly be this stupid. Automation is going to happen to America’s ports. It’s happened to every industry in America since the end of WWII, and rightly so. This is America, not a centralist cabal of unionist nitwits. There are times when I think Trump has lost it, like picking Kennedy to be in charge of the nation’s health, and and this is another brain glitch. What needs to happen is the repeal of FDR era federal labor laws that force companies to recognize unions.
Don’t forget that ILA leadership met with PDJT prior to the election – but refused to meet with Biden.
The political calculus in all of this might be part payback for the implicit pre-election support as well as avoiding a costly strike right at the moment PDJT assumes office with higher priorities.
Land in America should not be owned by non US citizens and not by foreign corporations “doing business in the US or a particular state.
Sundance, really appreciated your thorough explanation here. I had just watched John Stossel’s recent video on port automation and thought it sounded good. Stossel left out a lot of important information.
Sundance, your solution is terrific:
So why didn’t President Trump suggest it himself, rather than hitting on automation and sounding like a Luddite? Concentrate on getting American docks back into exclusive American hands, and let Americans do the automating.
FORCE the sale of the ports back to US entities, by legislating it w Repub majority (do it quickly!).
Have private discussions w/ banks and Fed to help UNIONS make the purchase.
Future problems with labor contracts/port owners/port workers will be a private matter.
Looks like they mostly hire teenagers to run the operation. I guess you qualify if you have played all versions of GTA to the end.
It’s always good to be on good terms with a couple of union guys in case somebody needs to “fall down the stairs” if you know what I mean, just sayin, cough, cough…
Nationalize the Ports. Give them pennies on the dollar and tell them to get the heck out, and if they don’t like those terms, give them nothing but the boot.
I have long stated that Unions have outlived their legitimate purpose, and follow with Unions are only a viable option when management makes it so. In this case, that is foreign governments, and they should not be making money on our backs!
First …JMO….PT needs to confiscate all our ports….and land bought by foreign actors by ID if he has to. National Security must be the reason
My second thoughts about AI …Robotics….Long term this seems like self destruction both for individuals but also the big companies. How is it good for these companies long term when you are destroying jobs. People are the reason they stay in business.
While I am at it about concerns and solutions….Take away the laws that enable the Government to rule over it’s citizens. That would be the Patriot Act. Take away the ability for government to look into small business and financials. In other words take away the ability to invade your privacy.
These unions are overpaid and underworked. To say otherwise is pandering to a small segment of society. The balance of society must produce more to pay the tax. This is not capitalism, but rather crony capitalism and not what I voted for.
Who are the traitors that gave foreign ownership of our ports and our farmland?