President-elect Donald Trump voiced his support for the International Longshoremen’s Association’s stance against automation in a Dec. 12 Truth Social post.
After meeting with ILA President Harold Daggett on Thursday, Trump said the financial benefits of automation are “nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm” the technology creates for workers.
In response to the president-elect’s statement, the United States Maritime Alliance, or USMX, claimed that automation is needed to support better pay for workers and help American consumers.
“To achieve this, we need modern technology that is proven to improve worker safety, boost port efficiency, increase port capacity, and strengthen our supply chains,” USMX said in a statement. “ILA members’ compensation increases with the more goods they move – the greater capacity our ports have and goods that are moved means more money in their pockets.”
Trump’s meeting with the union comes nearly a month after the ILA and USMX’s contract negotiations were halted due to the ongoing automation dispute. Both parties met in November after a three-day strike in October but were unable to move forward with an agreement.
Some experts argue that a lack of automation undermines the competitiveness of U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports, while others say the technology creates tension between workers and port operators.
With a Jan. 15 deadline to finalize a new deal fast approaching, it’s unclear whether Trump’s support will move the needle in the contract talks between the ILA and USMX.
“[Ocean carriers] shouldn’t be looking for every last penny knowing how many families are hurt,” Trump said Thursday. “They’ve got record profits, and I’d rather these foreign companies spend it on the great men and women on our docks, than machinery, which is expensive, and which will constantly have to be replaced. In the end, there’s no gain for them, and I hope that they will understand how important an issue this is for me.”
