Source: Xinhua| 2024-10-03 14:06:45|Editor:

HOUSTON, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) — Picket lines were formed on Tuesday as about 45,000 dock workers walked out at 36 ports along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts, demanding higher pay and ban on automation amid fears of job loss in an AI-driven future that extends far beyond the dock industry globally.

SHARP DISAGREEMENT

At Port Houston, striking workers, organized by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), erected a large banner on Tuesday that read, “No to automation! Machines don’t have families to feed.”

“We are prepared to fight as long as necessary, to stay out on strike for whatever period of time it takes, to get the wages and protections against automation our ILA members deserve,” said Harold Daggett, the ILA president.

On the eve of the walkout, the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents the ports, had increased its offer on Monday, promising to raise wages by nearly 50 percent while keeping the limits on automation in place from the old contract and allowing semi-automation.

The union rejected the offer Tuesday, saying it fell short of workers’ demand.

The disagreement remains sharp as the labor union not only demands a 77 percent wage raise over the six-year life of the contract, but also a “total ban on automation” at ports, multiple U.S. media outlets reported.

As always, port operators, often representing large corporations, are keen to cut costs, increase profits, improve efficiency, and reduce the risk of accidents by adopting new technologies. Supporters of automation view it as a “must” and an inevitable step toward achieving these goals.

If the union gets most of what it wants from their employers regarding automation, U.S. ports will continue to lag behind international ones in terms of speed and efficiency, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a right-wing think tank, warned on Tuesday.

The labor union, focused on protecting workers’ rights, argues that corporations are dead set on replacing hard-working people with automation but “robots do not pay taxes and they do not spend money in their communities.”

“USMX is trying to fool you with promises of workforce protections for semi-automation. Let me be clear: we don’t want any form of semi-automation or full automation,” ILA leadership said in a September letter to members.

WHO CAN LAUGH AT LAST

Can union workers win the battle against automation?

In the coming weeks, port operators may raise their offer again as disruptions to the U.S. economy grow, the presidential election approaches, and the pressure to reach an agreement accumulates day by day.

The ports affected by the strike handle roughly half the country’s cargo ships. Analysis firm J.P. Morgan estimates the port work stoppage could cost the U.S. economy 5 billion U.S. dollars per day, not to mention fears of inflation and supply shortages. This strike could potentially become one of the most disruptive labor actions to the U.S. economy in decades.

The ILA last launched a major strike in 1977 against big containers, which were much easier to handle than individual boxes, saving costs and reducing the need for as many workers. The strike lasted 44 days and ended with a substantial pay raise and guaranteed income for union members, according to The Washington Post.

However, the 1977 strike did nothing to stop containers from dominating the shipping industry, which finds itself in a similar episode during the current strike: workers fighting to stop another technological advancement: automation.

Looking back at history, it is difficult to find an optimistic example of such resistance that has successfully preserved jobs as wished by the striking workers. One of the most famous early examples is the Luddite movement in 19th-century Britain, where textile workers protested automation by destroying machines but were eventually suppressed by the government.

It seems most likely that new industries and jobs will emerge from technological innovations, but only for those who acquire the necessary skills to thrive in the modern workforce. But what will happen to those who lose their jobs?

Industry experts suggest that the AI revolution and increased use of robots could drastically reduce the number of workers needed on-site at dockyards. Tasks like operating cranes, trucks, and gates will require fewer workers, possibly almost none.

American dock workers have already felt the impact of automation. A report from the Economic Roundtable found that automation removed 572 full-time-equivalent jobs per year at the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles in 2020 and 2021.

“AUTOMATION UNEMPLOYMENT”

Beyond the shipping industry, automation is expected to eliminate millions of jobs in sectors such as transportation, retail, healthcare, law, finance, and many other professions, according to researcher Harry Holzer, writing for the Brookings Institution.

Local observers note that the labor market is becoming increasingly polarized. “Automation unemployment” is now a global challenge, affecting not only individual livelihoods but also social stability and economic growth.

“Global labor income share — the proportion of total global income that goes to workers — is shrinking,” said Celeste Drake, deputy director-general of the UN International Labour Organization (ILO), last month.

“The global trend of shrinking pay in heavily industrialized economies could be driven — at least temporarily — by tech innovations like automation and AI in the workplace,” warned the ILO official. “This needs to change because it’s increasing inequality, which disproportionately affects working people.”

One thing is certain: this strike will not be the last effort to resist automation. While automation is advancing with unstoppable force, the fight against robots replacing human workers will help shape our future in an AI-driven world, with serious consequences for global peace in the rest of the 21st century. ■

Source: Xinhua| 2024-09-21 00:57:00|Editor:

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday unanimously approved a bill that aims to enhance Secret Service protection for the presidential nominees and their respective vice presidential candidates, days after the second assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.

The vote was 405-0, demonstrating the bipartisan support for boosted security amid growing political violence ahead of the November election.

The Enhanced Presidential Security Act would require the U.S. Secret Service to “apply the same standards for determining the number of agents required to protect presidents, vice presidents, and major presidential and vice presidential candidates.”

The first assassination attempt of Trump in Pennsylvania in July prompted former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign amid widespread outrage over the agency’s failure to prevent the incident, in which Trump was struck in the ear by a bullet. After that, the Secret Service allocated additional resources not typically provided to someone in Trump’s position.

But the frequency and scale of Trump’s events, as well as controversies around him, made the Secret Service’s job very challenging.

On Sunday, a man was arrested after a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle barrel sticking out of a fence at Trump International Golf Club in South Florida and “engaged” with him. Trump was unharmed in what appears to be the second assassination attempt within two months.

Although the House passed the measure with strong bipartisan support, it remains uncertain how the Senate will address the security issue.

Lawmakers from both the House and Senate are debating whether to allocate extra funding for the Secret Service in the temporary funding bill that Congress needs to pass by Sept. 30 to prevent a government shutdown.

U.S. President Joe Biden previously said the Secret Service needs “more help.” ■

Source: Xinhua| 2024-09-21 07:58:15|Editor:

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — Early in-person voting sites opened throughout the three states of Virginia, Minnesota and South Dakota on Friday, marking the 2024 voting season officially kicked off in the United States.

Videos posted online by MSNBC showed that voters in Virginia lined up to cast their ballots, and the reporter on scene said people were anxious to cast their ballots at early voting sites or election offices.

The state’s early voting sites will remain open until Nov. 2.

Minnesota and South Dakota also provided opportunities to voters, starting Friday, to cast their ballots in person through a different method. The two states are among 23 states that allow voters to hand in their absentee ballots in person to election offices or other designated locations instead of mailing them.

Before Friday’s early in-person voting for the 2024 presidential election, Alabama became the first state to begin sending its mail votes on Sept. 11. It is one of 10 states that begin sending mail ballots to voters more than 45 days before the Election Day on Nov. 5.

According to law, military and overseas ballots must be sent 45 days before the Election Day, so they will be mailed on Sept. 21.

Voter registration deadlines are decided by each state.

As early voting became popular in the past decade, experts predicted there would be a large number of early voters this election season.

During the 2020 election, more than 69 percent of votes cast in the election were done through either mail-in ballots or early in-person voting, according to the election data compiled by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s election data science lab.

By comparison, only 40 percent voted early in the 2016 election and 33 percent in the 2012 election, the data showed. ■