ILA, USMX Spar Over Semi-Automated Cranes in Contract Stalemate

If the back and forth this week is any indicator, dockworkers at the East and Gulf Coast ports are signaling that they’re getting closer to walking off the job again on Jan. 15.

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and their maritime employers, the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX), remain at a standstill weeks after master contract talks again broke down between both parties.

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Automation has long been the divisive talking point in the contract negotiations, with the dockworkers’ union insisting on a total ban on the use of automated equipment at the ports.

In a statement Monday, ILA executive vice president Dennis Daggett slammed the USMX’s push to expand use of semi-automated rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMGs) across the East and Gulf Coast ports.

Daggett, son of the ILA’s international president Harold Daggett, took umbrage with the designation that the RMGs are semi-automated, saying in his post that 95 percent of the work performed by the cranes are 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?”

Daggett claimed that the RMGs are no more productive than traditional equipment, accusing the USMX of deploying the cranes to eliminate jobs in the long run.

The USMX, whose member companies include container lines like Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and Maersk as well as terminal operators for major ports, fired back with its own press release on Tuesday saying that the alliance has never sought to cut jobs.

“Due to the lack of available new land in most ports, the only way for U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports to handle more volume is to densify terminals—enabling the movement of more cargo through their existing footprints,” said the USMX, which noted that it only wants to implement and maintain the use of equipment and technology already allowed under the current contract agreements and already widely in use.

In an example, the USMX said one terminal was able to double its volume from a prior 775,000-container capacity after incorporating modern RMGs into 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,” said the USMX. “Moving more containers through the existing terminal footprints also means higher wages from the increased cargo, bringing in more money for volume/tonnage bonuses.”

While the ILA is demanding for automation language to change from the current extended contract, the USMX want to keep that terminology the same in a new deal.

“We cannot risk moving the industry backward with unworkable restrictions on the implementation of modern technology already in use—and permitted by the existing contract,” the USMX said.

The automation battle isn’t just about jobs and wages, the ILA said, pointing to ongoing national security risks as ports rely on interconnected systems that can potentially be hit by cyberattacks.

“A single ‘glitch’ can halt operations, as we’ve already seen with recent shutdowns at major ports,” Daggett said. “Imagine if a foreign adversary, like China, exploited these vulnerabilities and hacked our port systems. With ports increasingly dependent on automation and green energy technologies, an attack could cripple the U.S. economy overnight. This isn’t hypothetical—it’s a new form of warfare that we are not prepared to defend against.”

Port security has become more of a concern in government in recent years, with one Homeland Security official telling a Congressional subcommittee earlier this year that the U.S. has an “overreliance” on China-made cranes. In February, the Biden administration earmarked a $20 billion investment to bolster port security initiatives and focus on domestic crane manufacturing.

As the talks remain at an impasse and the current contract extension counts down, the union continues to apply public pressure to the ocean carriers and terminals.

In a new statement released Wednesday, the elder Daggett said the ILA was prepared to strike again if a new agreement is not reached by Jan. 15.

“Our ILA members are ready to make the ultimate sacrifice to win this battle against automation,” said president Daggett. “They understand it’s a fight for their very survival.”