ILWU’s Spinosa leaves the door open to boosting technology at West Coast ports
http://www.joc.com/enews/20001024/sections/ocean/w57894.shtml
James Spinosa, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union president who is known for being a tough negotiator, is striking a conciliatory tone with waterfront employers regarding the development of new technology at West Coast ports.
Waterfront employers, represented by the Pacific Maritime Association, are eager to implement technology that would boost productivity at West Coast ports. But to do so, they need to reopen the current waterfront contract with the ILWU. PMA President Joseph Miniace said employers cannot wait until the current contract expires in July 2002 to expand the use of computers at marine terminals and formally requested last month to begin contract talks early next year.
Spinosa, speaking last week at Wesccon, the Western Cargo Conference of freight forwarders and customs brokers, said opening the contract to discuss technology-based productivity measures “is not out of the question by any means.”
But he added that the conditions must be right.
“A middle ground has to be found,” Spinosa said.
The two sides remain far apart on how quickly technology should be implemented. The PMA noted that the computer-based technology it wants to implement already is being used in Europe and Asia.
“Obviously, employers would like it to happen yesterday,” Spinosa said.
The ILWU wants a more cautious approach that places equal importance on job security.
“How many people will be displaced and by what work force? That’s a major concern for me,” Spinosa said.
In correspondence with the ILWU, Miniace indicated that because of technology, some jobs would be diminished or even eliminated, but others would be enhanced. Some new jobs would be created. Miniace assured ILWU officials, however, that every registered longshoreman and marine clerk would have the opportunity to work until the normal retirement age of 62.
The PMA last week outlined its vision of what the new technology would look like. The key to the plan would be to automate and integrate the flow of information between the gate, the yard, the trucker, the vessel and the train so trucks could move seamlessly through the terminal gate and yard.
For this seamless transmission of data to occur, the use of computers or similar technology would be required on all equipment. The improved information flow would allow the terminal operator to assign equipment exactly where and when it is needed.
Miniace said that by embracing the technology of the new economy, longshoremen would guarantee their role in the intermodal chain. Furthermore, the increased efficiencies would lead to higher cargo volumes and even more work opportunities at West Coast ports. Industry consultants have projected that the proper use of technology would allow terminals to achieve 30% greater density, extending the life of existing facilities by 20 years.
The ILWU realizes that computerization of marine terminals is inevitable, and the union is prepared to embrace computers just as it accepted containerization in the historic Mechanization and Modernization agreement of 1960, Spinosa said.
He noted that he has participated in two joint PMA-ILWU technology tours of Europe.
“I am a progressive thinker,” Spinosa said.
The M&M agreement took years to implement, though, and the union wants to take an equally cautious approach in implementing computer-based technology that will forever change the character of the waterfront.
“We have to consider the impact on jobs. We are concerned about people,” Spinosa said.
