Among other key findings being highlighted is that the automated machinery can stack containers higher, closer together, and more efficiently for transfer to trucks or trains.
“Critically, the study found that automation has not reduced job opportunities for dockworkers, as many workers have traditionally feared,” the authors concluded. “The gains in output in Los Angeles and Long Beach mean that contrary to fears of job losses, automation has increased, not reduced, ILWU jobs and work opportunities, including training and upskilling.”
On Friday, ILWU International President Willie Adams cited the need for a deal that protects both workers and the economy while denouncing efforts to automate marine terminals.
"To strengthen America's economy, it's not enough for ports to hold the best economic cards; they have to play them in ways that help the American workers who make, grow, and move the things we need for our lives," Adams wrote.