While the ILA’s strike came to a temporary end after three days, the union and the US Maritime Alliance (USMX) still don’t see eye-to-eye on one key issue: automation.
As Miranda Nazzaro of The Hill reports, the union argues that technological advances could threaten the existence and value of union jobs, a concern that has persisted to varying degrees since the Industrial Revolution first introduced machines into the manufacturing space.
While those concerns are valid, not everyone sees the issue the same way.
“What most Americans don’t realize is that American exceptionalism does not exist in our port system. Our infrastructure is antiquated. Our use of automation and technology is antiquated,” said Margaret Kidd, program director and associate professor of supply chain logistics at the University of Houston.
“The ILA needs to be looking at a long-term vision. There’s no industry — journalism, academia, manufacturing — that hasn’t been changed by technology,” she added.
Leading up to the strike, US East and Gulf Coast ports got busier as shippers began pulling forward imports. As
Meanwhile, despite the pressure that hurricanes Helene and Milton exerted on US supply chains, the trucking market remains soft. According to the most recent
