United States President-elect Donald Trump has backed the International Longshoremen’s Association’s fight against automation in the country’s ports.
Trump issued a statement expressing his unequivocal support for the ILA’s contract negotiations with international shipping lines and terminal operators, which reached a deadlock in recent weeks.
According to the ILA, contract negotiations broke down in November when the US Maritime Alliance (USMX) placed its intentions to implement semi-automated rail-mounted gantry cranes in ports on the table after initially agreeing not to.
Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Thursday that he had just finished a meeting with ILA president, Harold Daggett, and executive vice president, Dennis Daggett.
“There has been a lot of discussion about ‘automation’ on United States docks. I’ve studied automation and know just about everything there is to know about it,” Trump said.
“The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American workers, in this case, our longshoremen.”
He said foreign companies had “made a fortune” in the US through access to its markets.
“They shouldn’t be looking for every last penny, knowing how many families are hurt. They’ve got record profits, and I’d rather these foreign companies spend it on the great men and women on our docks than machinery, which is expensive, and which will constantly have to be replaced,” Trump said.
“In the end, there’s no gain for them, and I hope that they will understand how important an issue this is for me. For the great privilege of accessing our markets, these foreign companies should hire our incredible American workers, instead of laying them off, and sending those profits back to foreign countries.”
The union has threatened repeatedly to strike for a second time if there is no agreement before the current contract expires on January 15, just five days before Trump’s inauguration ceremony.
Responding to Trump’s statement, USMX said it was looking forward to working with the new president and his administration.
“This contract goes beyond our ports; it is about supporting American consumers and giving American businesses access to the global marketplace – from farmers to manufacturers, to small businesses and innovative start-ups looking for new markets to sell their products,” USMX said.
“To achieve this, we need modern technology that is proven to improve worker safety, boost port efficiency, increase port capacity, and strengthen our supply chains. ILA members’ compensation increases with the more goods they move – the greater capacity our ports have and goods that are moved means more money in their pockets.”
