Longshoremen's Union Executives Outline New Contract Protections From Automation
The new ILA contract with USMX may serve as a template for negotiating job protections against AI and Automation.
By Peter List, Editor | February 9, 2025
With AI and automation threatening more and more workers across many different industries, both unions and employers were watching the negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMC).
Although the wage issues were settled after a three-day strike in October, the thornier issue of automation was set aside for further negotiations with a deadline of January 15th. One week before the deadline, however, the ILA and USMX reached an agreement that was a “win-win.”
With the ILA members due to vote on the contract’s ratification in the next week, ILA President Harold J. Daggett and ILA Executive Vice President Dennis Daggett put a video out to its members on Friday that provides some of the contract’s details.
During the first 12 minutes of the video, Harold Daggett provides the background of the negotiations, crediting Biden Acting Secretary and then-President Elect Donald Trump—whom Daggett stated has been a freind for many years—with helping to push an agreement through.
However, beginning at 12:55, Dennis Daggett goes into detail as to the job protections from automation that were negotiated into the contract.
From a labor relations perspective (whether union or employer side), the concepts are useful to understand, especially as more and more industries begin tackling the thorny issue of automation, and its resultant impact on workers.