ILA East/Gulf Coast Port Strike

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rsm

rsm

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If I understand this correctly, ILA is demanding a 77% raise and agreement to not automate the ports?

That's perfect. I've been working in AI for decades, still do. All that's needed for an AI solution is a reasonable cost/benefit model. With senior longshoremen making northward of $200K+, I think the port owners / operators now have a great incentive to invest in AI / Robotics.

We have a nearby port that is part of the ILA extortion strike. No expert, but what do longshoremen actually do? They move containers from trucks, to storage and/or to ships and the inverse, using heavy equipment. Most shipping containers are standard sizes with some being non-standard.

simple AI is very capable of dealing with objects that are standard sized, including computer vision. All of the containers have a code / identifier that is human readable, which can also be read by computer vision; RFID tags would make it even easier to identify a container. warehouse robots are already capable of moving items of various shapes and sizes, storing them on shelves moving them to/from loading docks, etc.

AI / Robotics driving vehicles in a well known, well marked, low unpredictability (e.g., vs driving in a city in traffic, with pedestrians, bicycles, etc.), is almost perfect situation.

Cranes move in well known and understood directions.

The one major missing piece is connecting/disconnecting the containers from the cranes; and the final positioning of the container in place. This may not have been a focus of AI / Robotics solutions for maritime logistics, however this strike may provide the justification for such investment and development.


This could be a great opportunity for port owners / operators, shipping companies, container owners / manufacturers to automate with AI / Robotics and eventually eliminate the need for human longshoremen. I hope they seriously consider this. I know my employer and many other tech firms would be happy to work on this...Musk has all the fundamental pieces and is in a great position to capitalize on this opportunity IMO, as is Amazon.


I hope the ILA doesn't agree to any offered terms for awhile, that will further incentivize the maritime industry to automate.


Greedy luddites usually lose eventually; except under communism.


IMO
 
Well, it's drag queens and communism for errybody..

:unsure:
 
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Floyd Eye said:
Threaten to cripple an already fucked up economy while everyone in the country is hurting if they don’t get a 77% raise and an impossible guarantee of no automation. Talk about not knowing how to read a room.
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You think this is bad ?

Just wait until the Nephilim get here.

:cool:
 
I'm all for people getting paid what they're worth and making as high a salary as they can. But this seems like it's going to be $20/hr. for fast food workers all over again.

Sure you can have a big raise, but your hours are cut in half and you have to work 2x as hard since we had to let half the staff go in order to afford it.
 
MadAsAHatter said:
I'm all for people getting paid what they're worth and making as high a salary as they can. But this seems like it's going to be $20/hr. for fast food workers all over again.

Sure you can have a big raise, but your hours are cut in half and you have to work 2x as hard since we had to let half the staff go in order to afford it.
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I am no fan of unions, especially for public sector workers. I worked in a closed union shop while going to college, and saw the corruption and waste first hand.

I think this should be a wake up call to all companies that could find themselves at the mercy of a union's extortion.

The President of the ILA doesn't sound reasonable at all, and his arrogance sets the tone for my impression of the ILA and its' members. This prez said he wanted to bring the US to its' knees or cripple the US economy or similar? That's no way to get sympathy, make friends or get people to support you when they're already having a hard time.

If the shipping industry doesn't use this opportunity to accelerate and expand their automation, they will be very sorry. IMO
 
rsm said:
I am no fan of unions, especially for public sector workers. I worked in a closed union shop while going to college, and saw the corruption and waste first hand.

I think this should be a wake up call to all companies that could find themselves at the mercy of a union's extortion.

The President of the ILA doesn't sound reasonable at all, and his arrogance sets the tone for my impression of the ILA and its' members. This prez said he wanted to bring the US to its' knees or cripple the US economy or similar? That's no way to get sympathy, make friends or get people to support you when they're already having a hard time.

If the shipping industry doesn't use this opportunity to accelerate and expand their automation, they will be very sorry. IMO
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I don't care for unions either. I get why people buy into their surface level sales pitch. "We're HR that actually represents the employee" Too bad it's no where close to that when you pull the layers back. Pay us to join our organization, we may even want a commission on the wages you earn. If you don't join us we'll make sure you're blackballed and never work in this industry. Basically extortion. And like you said, the amount of corruption and waste that goes on.

Something that perplexes me a little though. What actually gives unions any power? What's stopping a company from telling a union & their members to shove it and hire non-union; or as you've suggested take the opportunity to invest in AI & automation?
 
japetus said:
Too late
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m4J7p8u.jpg
 
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MadAsAHatter said:
I don't care for unions either. I get why people buy into their surface level sales pitch. "We're HR that actually represents the employee" Too bad it's no where close to that when you pull the layers back. Pay us to join our organization, we may even want a commission on the wages you earn. If you don't join us we'll make sure you're blackballed and never work in this industry. Basically extortion. And like you said, the amount of corruption and waste that goes on.

Something that perplexes me a little though. What actually gives unions any power? What's stopping a company from telling a union & their members to shove it and hire non-union; or as you've suggested take the opportunity to invest in AI & automation?
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I think they're all sorts of commie laws, which is why they get to engage in racketeering so easily. "Wagner Act"
https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/employer-union-rights-and-obligations

Robert Wagner was a communist under commie retard president FDR.
 
MadAsAHatter said:
I don't care for unions either. I get why people buy into their surface level sales pitch. "We're HR that actually represents the employee" Too bad it's no where close to that when you pull the layers back. Pay us to join our organization, we may even want a commission on the wages you earn. If you don't join us we'll make sure you're blackballed and never work in this industry. Basically extortion. And like you said, the amount of corruption and waste that goes on.

Something that perplexes me a little though. What actually gives unions any power? What's stopping a company from telling a union & their members to shove it and hire non-union; or as you've suggested take the opportunity to invest in AI & automation?
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skilled workers is what stops the company from telling the union to shove it. replacing those skilled workers, with what unions would term "scabs" isn't easy to do as there aren't many of them. Many of the jobs are passed down from experts using on-the-job-training very similar to medieval guilds, e.g., blacksmith...you have to start at the bottom and learn/work your way up to the top level, like a Master electrician, Master plumber, etc.

Companies would do better to offer company sponsored training and certifications, like the IT industry has; partner with nearby trade schools etc., to eliminate the union guild process.

union members are conditioned to support other unions blindly and without question, like demoncrat supporters. many with the skills won't or are afraid to go against the union as they will be punished and blacklisted, if not violently attacked...

If I was a US manufacturer, and the workers striked; and the contract time was over, I'd have plans to build/buy a factory in another location, with good compensation and benefits in return for the workers not being in a union and agreeing not to try to unionize. The same way many white collar workers and their employers work. If the company and workers collaborate and work together, they can avoid the us and them...for example, raises for hourly workers can be tied to company profits with a reasonable ratio; e.g., if company profits are up 30%, hourly wages go up 4%; if company profits are down, hourly wages are cut...same for white collar bonuses, exec pay etc. this is an oversimplified example.

TL/DR; if compensation, reality based, is fair to all/most employees and tied to company performance overall there would be no need for unions.

Ports are unique due to their location; unlike a factory that can be moved anywhere in the world. That's why the Ports, and maritime logistics as a whole industry, have incentives to develop automation, AI and robotics solutions.
 
American ports will not be able to not make use of automation as the rest of the world’s ports do make use of it. Even if these dockworkers get their 77% raise they’ll be out of a job in 10 years so…..
 
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Floyd Eye said:
American ports will not be able to not make use of automation as the rest of the world’s ports do make use of it. Even if these dockworkers get their 77% raise they’ll be out of a job in 10 years so…..
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A robot can't steal your job if you're retired, Floyd.

:unsure:
 
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rsm said:
skilled workers is what stops the company from telling the union to shove it. replacing those skilled workers, with what unions would term "scabs" isn't easy to do as there aren't many of them. Many of the jobs are passed down from experts using on-the-job-training very similar to medieval guilds, e.g., blacksmith...you have to start at the bottom and learn/work your way up to the top level, like a Master electrician, Master plumber, etc.

Companies would do better to offer company sponsored training and certifications, like the IT industry has; partner with nearby trade schools etc., to eliminate the union guild process.

union members are conditioned to support other unions blindly and without question, like demoncrat supporters. many with the skills won't or are afraid to go against the union as they will be punished and blacklisted, if not violently attacked...

If I was a US manufacturer, and the workers striked; and the contract time was over, I'd have plans to build/buy a factory in another location, with good compensation and benefits in return for the workers not being in a union and agreeing not to try to unionize. The same way many white collar workers and their employers work. If the company and workers collaborate and work together, they can avoid the us and them...for example, raises for hourly workers can be tied to company profits with a reasonable ratio; e.g., if company profits are up 30%, hourly wages go up 4%; if company profits are down, hourly wages are cut...same for white collar bonuses, exec pay etc. this is an oversimplified example.

TL/DR; if compensation, reality based, is fair to all/most employees and tied to company performance overall there would be no need for unions.

Ports are unique due to their location; unlike a factory that can be moved anywhere in the world. That's why the Ports, and maritime logistics as a whole industry, have incentives to develop automation, AI and robotics solutions.
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I'm sure Musk and the WEF isn't going to use AI to learn how to write code and put all the software developers and AI specialist's out of business as well putting people like yourselves out of work along with the Luddites.:unsure:;)
 
Ben Waylin said:
A robot can't steal your job if you're retired, Floyd.

:unsure:
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You're right, Klause just sends in the Terminator robots or UN troops in to remove a useless eater at s later date after they finish crashing the global economy.
 
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harddriver said:
You're right, Klause just sends in the Terminator robots or UN troops in to remove a useless eater at s later date after they finish crashing the global economy.
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That's not what it says in the book of Revelation.

:unsure:
 
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