Dockworkers Strike a Blast from the Past
The dockworkers strike has the financial press spinning tales of logistical and supply chain problems raining on the economy’s soft landing just in time for the holidays. While the labor unrest will certainly produce headwinds for the recovery – particularly in those areas from Maine to Texas that rely on those containers moving in and out all day – it also presents the opportunity for a teachable moment.
Contract negotiations between unions and ownership are usually fraught with a range of issues and bargaining minefields. But the standoff between the International Longshoreman’s Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance is not just about the usual issues – wages, hours, benefits, etc. – it’s about change.
Like the buggy whip workers of the early 19th century and the cottage industry weavers before them, longshoremen are coming face to face with the future, and they don’t like what they see. And it’s not hard to see why.
The march of progress threatens to fundamentally change the way container ships are loaded and unloaded at American ports in the form of increased automation. In industry after industry, machines have displaced human workers, increasing efficiency for manufacturers but not turning out so well for the workers. This is nothing new – it’s just that we are witnessing the next act in a drama that has played out over the years as old industry meets new technology. And technology usually wins.
The French weavers of the early 19th century, threatened with the loss of their livelihood to powered looms, saw the future and put their feet down – literally. Aiming to disrupt if not destroy the machines, they threw their wooden shoes, known as sabots, into the mechanisms becoming the world’s first saboteurs.
The displacement of workers by technology has been an ongoing motif in the story of commercialism, mechanization and economic growth. The concerns of longshoremen losing their jobs to increased automation, like worries artificial intelligence will wreak havoc on workers in a range of industries, is the next chapter in the story.
At its heart, the challenge faced by members of the longshoreman’s union is the other side of the technological coin. As a society, we welcome the latest technical breakthroughs and labor-saving devices that make our lives easier. Faster computers, smarter smartphones and more adaptive technology is seen as proof things are getting better.
But like Newton’s Third Law of Motion, for every technological advancement, there is an equal and opposite reaction and effect. Those labor-saving devices we are all so fond of are ultimately depriving someone of an honest day’s work. While retraining programs and workforce development initiatives can soften the blow, there is still a social price to be paid for every new device and invention.
Right now, that price may come in the form of supply chain snafus and logistical problems. But technological change is inevitable. As a society, we can’t stop it – we can only hope to contain it.