yea i went into this article hoping for a cohesive argument as to why the strike may be justified. i understand that majority of the power is now on the side of big business, and i have empathy for ppl doing labor intensive jobs. as a professional musician there is a similar conversation around AI and also exploitation and bad treatment from promoters and venues vs the musicians doing the actual work on stage. with that being said we have to justify the WHY of advocating for a raise…
okay if automation is inevitable then what concessions do the longshoreman deserve ? and how much money as at stake to be made and by who with the new technological process ?
“Covid shone a cold light on our [workers’] powerlessness relative to employers”.
I’m not sure how much more backward you could get it. Employees, thanks to a 3-point-something unemployment rate, had all the leverage, and demanded the right to work from anywhere, when they wanted, and only as much as they wanted. Obviously this was much more the case with white-collar than blue-collar jobs, many of which are tied to location and physical presence. But workers at all levels benefitted from job openings many times greater in number than the number of workers available (or willing to actually work). Meanwhile employers’ businesses suffered as a result of being unable to fill openings.
In what counterfactual world of the imagination does this constitute “[workers’] powerlessness relative to employers”??
I’m not finding any merit in the pro strike arguments here. Blocking automation and reducing efficiency for critical infrastructure does benefit a very small group of people while the cost is spread over many people. The strikers are backed by federal labor law, so follow the $ to see why entrenched systems are not going to change anytime soon. Some industries are portable like manufacturing plants can and do move to greener pastures, non portable infrastructure like the railways, ports and public education are fixed geographically.
You have to wonder if better more efficient and safer automation at the ports might expand to new jobs in designing, building, and maintaining the newer systems might be a net positive. Nope, can’t have that.
This approach will lead to American exports being less competitive against foreign companies because of rougher transportation costs, and Americans will have to pay for the unwillingness of longshoremen to upskill themselves.
Im a longshoreman working out of the NY area. I love the Free press and been a subscriber for about a year now. Ok, so much to unpack. I don't believe this strike was about higher wages as much as it was a fight against automation. We want people operating machines, not machines operating machines. It's a real problem we all face with AI. There is so much unknown about its roll in the future, it's simply a safer bet to stop all future forms of automation (for now). As we have a new contract every 6 years. Port owners have broken agreements in the past. for one example, they installed automated gate counters for trucks leaving the port. So if we give an inch they will take a mile. As for now only wages have been settled. USMX and the ILA have 90 days to hash out the automation issues. Personally Im for some forms of automation, It will make a better safer life for everyone if executed correctly.
Salvatore, thanks for weighing in on this and giving some clarity. I’m trying to understand this too. Seems like technology is inevitable- as michael said in the comment- but there has to be some sort of concessions, stability, and fairness for workers affected by all this.
Salvatore, I appreciate your measured response. Automation and what AI will do are inevitable for you and every one of us in some way or another. However, if we keep putting off the inevitable, there will be a major series of changes that are just waiting to be unleashed. We either accept it and start adapting now or be left twisting in the wind.
Our ports are third world and very low ranked on a global scale. The union president makes over $1 million and lives a very rich life. His sons are also on the union payroll at exorbitant salaries. All this money in addition to the organized crime no show jobs in the union at $400,000 per year. Why is the justice dept spending so much money on political prosecutions and failing to clean up a mob influenced union that is costing their members and raising the costs of doing business in the ports for everyone?
I would invite Mr. Ahmari to visit Flint, Michigan, & study the history of a place where labor unions were all-powerful & were able to resist automation & efficiency right up until the moment when all the factories shut down & the major employer declared bankruptcy.
Imagine the UAW striking because it wanted to prevent automation. Imagine getting into an elevator and having to depend on an elevator operator to push the button. The list of examples of foolish examples of Luddite behavior is endless.
Its 1997, I go to work at The Donaldsons Co. making air filters. On an average shift I'm processing 4-5 thousand feet of filter media. Fast forward 10 years My partner Dan and I are processing 40-50 thousand feet a shift. The machine was moved to Dickson Ill. in 2010. Can't prove it,, but I'd wager there are machines Now that are processing 100-150 thousand feet a shift. Slit, corrugated ready for packaging. AUTOMATION That is just one example.
The days of making a good living with a strong back and a weak mind, are GONE.
_____________________________________
As I keep point out That Little Silicon Chip is changing EVERYTHING.
Resisting technological change is not different than fighting the tides of the ocean. There have been Luddites throughout history, but other than the Concorde airplane, I am at a loss to cite an example where we have rejected technological innovation.
U.S. start-up Boom is convinced it can bring a 21st century supersonic airliner to market by 2030, shrinking the time it takes to cross oceans. Former British Airways Concorde chief pilot Mike Bannister and Boom founder and CEO Blake Scholl shared their insights on how the Overture aircraft will move the technology forward, with new engines and a modern flight deck.
Concorde showed supersonic flight was possible. Soon, Overture will make faster flight routine. Here’s a look at Boom's progress toward realizing supersonic flight–in two minutes.
Here’s one from the vault… Hard to believe it, but it’s been twenty years since the Concorde SST (SuperSonic Transport) was permanently retired. It was a remarkable machine that plied the transatlantic trade at twice the speed of sound, the tooth-jarring sonic boom footprint limited to over-water flight. But the real promise of supersonic travel — Los Angeles to New York in a little over two hours, for example — in has never been practical due to that noise footprint. Until now. Meet the ingeniously designed OVERTURE with its sonic THUMP, manufactured by Boom Technology of Denver, Colorado.
This is the first time I've ever seen a right-wing publication support labor. If the GOP is suddenly becoming pro-worker, it is welcome news. Workers and capital need each other, but for far too long, thanks to the GOP, workers have been at a very severe disadvantage. Maybe the tide is finally turning.
So extortion in the name of inefficiency and faux economic power is somehow a good thing? True economic power comes from providing products and services people want at the price they’re willing to pay - NOT strongarming them into submission. Your narrative of prosperity born of extortion is simply false. Our grandparents lived in a halcyon post World War II era where the US had the only remaining industrial capacity in a bombed out world. No wonder we succeeded. And that era ended mostly because of the exponential growth of government, taxes and regulatory red tape. The Federal government is 60 times larger than it was in 1960, as measured by federal spending. Nominal GEP has grown only 50X. The difference doesn’t sound like much, but we’re talking trillions of dollars.
The desire for more money when already at least one or two standard deviations above the mean salary is justifiably greedy. But it is the consequence of profligate government spending. A union with a choke hold is trying to maintain their income status.
When government radically increases spending and incurs debt to do so, it means it increases the money supply. That increase is just the government ‘printing’ dollars. It is not income the government received. When trillions more dollars are added to the money supply, it decreases the value of the existing dollars. The dock worker union understands this and is worried about inflation from the increased money supply diminishing their incomes.
Lay the blame at the house of Biden and the democrats. Biden just sat back and let the strike occur, and he and the dem’s are behind the increase in money supply and the resulting inflation.
If you have an iPhone you can listen to the page when the site is opened in the safari browser. Just tap on the “aA” in the web address window and you’ll see the option to listen.
This is horrible. An article full of stinking thinking. Where do I apply to get my time spent reading ot back 😁
Why compare the number of strikes last year to 2021 - a year strongly influenced by the Covid pandemic?
yea i went into this article hoping for a cohesive argument as to why the strike may be justified. i understand that majority of the power is now on the side of big business, and i have empathy for ppl doing labor intensive jobs. as a professional musician there is a similar conversation around AI and also exploitation and bad treatment from promoters and venues vs the musicians doing the actual work on stage. with that being said we have to justify the WHY of advocating for a raise…
okay if automation is inevitable then what concessions do the longshoreman deserve ? and how much money as at stake to be made and by who with the new technological process ?
“Covid shone a cold light on our [workers’] powerlessness relative to employers”.
I’m not sure how much more backward you could get it. Employees, thanks to a 3-point-something unemployment rate, had all the leverage, and demanded the right to work from anywhere, when they wanted, and only as much as they wanted. Obviously this was much more the case with white-collar than blue-collar jobs, many of which are tied to location and physical presence. But workers at all levels benefitted from job openings many times greater in number than the number of workers available (or willing to actually work). Meanwhile employers’ businesses suffered as a result of being unable to fill openings.
In what counterfactual world of the imagination does this constitute “[workers’] powerlessness relative to employers”??
I’m not finding any merit in the pro strike arguments here. Blocking automation and reducing efficiency for critical infrastructure does benefit a very small group of people while the cost is spread over many people. The strikers are backed by federal labor law, so follow the $ to see why entrenched systems are not going to change anytime soon. Some industries are portable like manufacturing plants can and do move to greener pastures, non portable infrastructure like the railways, ports and public education are fixed geographically.
You have to wonder if better more efficient and safer automation at the ports might expand to new jobs in designing, building, and maintaining the newer systems might be a net positive. Nope, can’t have that.
This approach will lead to American exports being less competitive against foreign companies because of rougher transportation costs, and Americans will have to pay for the unwillingness of longshoremen to upskill themselves.
America second not America first:
https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/national/fema-runs-out-of-money-for-helene-while-spending-hundreds-of-millions-on-migrants/article_b7733f32-3672-5354-88ea-87e91fc83b88.html
Not only did the ever senile Joe allowed 11 million illegals in, (sorry, I meant undocumented Democrats not illegals) but he gave them a free ride.
Im a longshoreman working out of the NY area. I love the Free press and been a subscriber for about a year now. Ok, so much to unpack. I don't believe this strike was about higher wages as much as it was a fight against automation. We want people operating machines, not machines operating machines. It's a real problem we all face with AI. There is so much unknown about its roll in the future, it's simply a safer bet to stop all future forms of automation (for now). As we have a new contract every 6 years. Port owners have broken agreements in the past. for one example, they installed automated gate counters for trucks leaving the port. So if we give an inch they will take a mile. As for now only wages have been settled. USMX and the ILA have 90 days to hash out the automation issues. Personally Im for some forms of automation, It will make a better safer life for everyone if executed correctly.
Salvatore, thanks for weighing in on this and giving some clarity. I’m trying to understand this too. Seems like technology is inevitable- as michael said in the comment- but there has to be some sort of concessions, stability, and fairness for workers affected by all this.
Salvatore, I appreciate your measured response. Automation and what AI will do are inevitable for you and every one of us in some way or another. However, if we keep putting off the inevitable, there will be a major series of changes that are just waiting to be unleashed. We either accept it and start adapting now or be left twisting in the wind.
Agreed, thanks for the reply.
Our ports are third world and very low ranked on a global scale. The union president makes over $1 million and lives a very rich life. His sons are also on the union payroll at exorbitant salaries. All this money in addition to the organized crime no show jobs in the union at $400,000 per year. Why is the justice dept spending so much money on political prosecutions and failing to clean up a mob influenced union that is costing their members and raising the costs of doing business in the ports for everyone?
Good question.
Sohrab Ahmari is a founder and editor of Compact magazine and a contributing writer to The New Statesman. And A Complete Economic Moron.
I would invite Mr. Ahmari to visit Flint, Michigan, & study the history of a place where labor unions were all-powerful & were able to resist automation & efficiency right up until the moment when all the factories shut down & the major employer declared bankruptcy.
Imagine the UAW striking because it wanted to prevent automation. Imagine getting into an elevator and having to depend on an elevator operator to push the button. The list of examples of foolish examples of Luddite behavior is endless.
(I've mentioned this before)
Its 1997, I go to work at The Donaldsons Co. making air filters. On an average shift I'm processing 4-5 thousand feet of filter media. Fast forward 10 years My partner Dan and I are processing 40-50 thousand feet a shift. The machine was moved to Dickson Ill. in 2010. Can't prove it,, but I'd wager there are machines Now that are processing 100-150 thousand feet a shift. Slit, corrugated ready for packaging. AUTOMATION That is just one example.
The days of making a good living with a strong back and a weak mind, are GONE.
_____________________________________
As I keep point out That Little Silicon Chip is changing EVERYTHING.
Resisting technological change is not different than fighting the tides of the ocean. There have been Luddites throughout history, but other than the Concorde airplane, I am at a loss to cite an example where we have rejected technological innovation.
Hydrogen filled dirigibles?
"but other than the Concorde airplane, I am at a loss to cite an example where we have rejected technological innovation."
HELLO :-)
Boom Supersonic Works on Its Own Engine, Shows the Overture Airliner’s Flight Deck – AIN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lLEukXb26c
Aug 12, 2024 #aviation #airplane #travel
U.S. start-up Boom is convinced it can bring a 21st century supersonic airliner to market by 2030, shrinking the time it takes to cross oceans. Former British Airways Concorde chief pilot Mike Bannister and Boom founder and CEO Blake Scholl shared their insights on how the Overture aircraft will move the technology forward, with new engines and a modern flight deck.
The Return of Supersonic is Here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-mBFso8sJQ
Sep 10, 2024
Concorde showed supersonic flight was possible. Soon, Overture will make faster flight routine. Here’s a look at Boom's progress toward realizing supersonic flight–in two minutes.
Cool. The Concorde lives on to fly another day.
Concorde was great , saw it first in 1974 at degaille airport in France first flight on it was 1986 best flight ever . About time they fly again
Why I subscribe To Bill Whittles Channel
SONIC (boom)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH0ISKWDqSk&t=648s
Sep 5, 2024
Here’s one from the vault… Hard to believe it, but it’s been twenty years since the Concorde SST (SuperSonic Transport) was permanently retired. It was a remarkable machine that plied the transatlantic trade at twice the speed of sound, the tooth-jarring sonic boom footprint limited to over-water flight. But the real promise of supersonic travel — Los Angeles to New York in a little over two hours, for example — in has never been practical due to that noise footprint. Until now. Meet the ingeniously designed OVERTURE with its sonic THUMP, manufactured by Boom Technology of Denver, Colorado.
This is the first time I've ever seen a right-wing publication support labor. If the GOP is suddenly becoming pro-worker, it is welcome news. Workers and capital need each other, but for far too long, thanks to the GOP, workers have been at a very severe disadvantage. Maybe the tide is finally turning.
This isn't a right-wing publication.
So extortion in the name of inefficiency and faux economic power is somehow a good thing? True economic power comes from providing products and services people want at the price they’re willing to pay - NOT strongarming them into submission. Your narrative of prosperity born of extortion is simply false. Our grandparents lived in a halcyon post World War II era where the US had the only remaining industrial capacity in a bombed out world. No wonder we succeeded. And that era ended mostly because of the exponential growth of government, taxes and regulatory red tape. The Federal government is 60 times larger than it was in 1960, as measured by federal spending. Nominal GEP has grown only 50X. The difference doesn’t sound like much, but we’re talking trillions of dollars.
Hard to comprehend that an annual salary of $100K and likely generous benefits are deemed “working class.”
The desire for more money when already at least one or two standard deviations above the mean salary is justifiably greedy. But it is the consequence of profligate government spending. A union with a choke hold is trying to maintain their income status.
When government radically increases spending and incurs debt to do so, it means it increases the money supply. That increase is just the government ‘printing’ dollars. It is not income the government received. When trillions more dollars are added to the money supply, it decreases the value of the existing dollars. The dock worker union understands this and is worried about inflation from the increased money supply diminishing their incomes.
Lay the blame at the house of Biden and the democrats. Biden just sat back and let the strike occur, and he and the dem’s are behind the increase in money supply and the resulting inflation.
Why can’t your subscribers listen to this post???? Your competitors provide audio options.
If you have an iPhone you can listen to the page when the site is opened in the safari browser. Just tap on the “aA” in the web address window and you’ll see the option to listen.