Rail-mounted gantry cranes at center of port labor talks impasse

 Both sides are bargaining as ILA members work under a temporary extension of their current master contract until Jan. 16, 2025. The sticking point continues to be what the union calls “automation” and the employers call “port modernization.” At the center of the impasse, says ILA executive VP Dennis A. Daggett, is the employers’ push to expand the use of semi-automated rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMGs).

Though ports such as the Port of Virginia have reported impressive throughput improvements with RMGs, a post by Daggett earlier this week spells out some of the ILA’s concerns— and some of the history,

“In the early 2000s, under a different ILA administration, the employers introduced semi-automated RMGs at a greenfield terminal on the East Coast,” writes Daggett. “They sold the ILA a vision that this new terminal would create thousands of jobs. It sounded like an opportunity, but hindsight reveals a much different picture. What seemed like a win for one port turned out to be the project that is becoming the model for automation that could potentially chip away at many jobs at almost every other terminal along the East and Gulf Coasts. “At that time, the New Technology clause in our Master Contract required employers to file a letter of intent 120 days before implementing new equipment. However, after that notice was filed, employers essentially had free rein to unilaterally introduce whatever they wanted, without protecting the job functions or the roles of the workforce. It was a loophole that came at a cost to ILA members and their families.

“By the 2012-2013 Master Contract negotiations, we had learned from these mistakes. Under new leadership, the ILA secured workforce protections and guarantees, ensuring that automation would no longer be implemented without consideration of its impact on jobs. This progress continued in 2018, when we negotiated a prohibition on full automation. These agreements set clear limits on how far technology could go in replacing human labor. “Today, employers are pushing to expand RMGs, claiming they are only ‘semi-automated’ and necessary for safety and productivity. But let’s break this down. “The reality is that 95% of the work performed by RMGs is fully automated. ..“This isn’t about safety or productivity—it’s about job elimination. The ILA has proven through data and real-world operations that RMGs are not more productive than traditional equipment operated by human workers. Faced with this evidence, employers have shifted their argument. Now, they claim that RMGs are needed to densify terminals and push out more volume, emphasizing their ability to stack nine containers across compared to six with traditional rubber-tired gantry cranes (RTGs). But this argument doesn’t hold up under scrutiny either. With all the advancements in technology, why can’t manufacturers design human-operated equipment capable of achieving the same density? This isn’t about meeting operational needs—it’s about replacing workers under the guise of progress while maximizing corporate profits at the expense of good-paying, family-sustaining U.S. jobs.” MPA MAKES THE CASE FOR MODERNIZATION

Here’s what the MPA said in a statement released yesterday:

Modernization and investment in new technology are core priorities required to successfully bargain a new Master Contract with the ILA – they are essential to building a sustainable and greener future for the U.S maritime industry…Our priority has been, and continues to be, using technology to improve our efficiency, safety, capacity, and productivity. We cannot risk moving the industry backward with unworkable restrictions on the implementation of modern technology already in use – and permitted by the existing contract – which would serve only to decrease efficiencies at ports, reduce existing capacity, prevent increased cargo volumes and throughput, and block further growth in union jobs and wages. We need to ensure we are strengthening an increasingly complex supply chain and supporting port resilience to weather disruptions or surges in trade volumes, so that we are facilitating robust growth across the U.S. economy. Strategic investment in new technology and modernized operations does not mean fewer jobs. Instead, it will create new opportunities for the ILA. We need a Master Contract that allows us to plan for the future and to ensure that the ILA are our partners in charting this path forward.