So lets all understand this clearly: The Longshoremens Union one of the most corrupt Unions in history rallies against plans to automate. I see why organized crime would have a tough time getting a kick back from a machine.

more union BS the unions ruined this country,glad to see the unions losing ground,get another job,do something else,stop this complaining.I hate complaining.eat right and reduce your chances of getting sick,live more simply you dont need cable TV you dont need kids,you dont need internet on your cellphone,you dont need a new car STOP IT

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You're ignoring the jobs that were created because of technology.

If technology is bad for people, we should scrap all machines and go back to an agricultural society, right?

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Yes, sure - productivity is the root of all evil!

Have you ever heard the word "luddite"?

Ports aren't the only ones going automated....
office jobs.... almost everything that the human hands usually do , will be automated.

But the Powers-at-Be want job creation... BAH!

there will be more people without jobs because machine will take over our lives. we can blame our government for that.

So do we want to lose some jobs to modernization at the piers or would we prefer that all that shipping go to South Carolina who has a deep water port to handle these newer and bigger ships and is also a right to work state.

Resisting automation did such wonders for steel and other unionized industries. The steel plants didn't cut back on payroll.. they ended up closing as imports and mini-mills cleaned their clocks.


Fools... If Port Newark / Elizabeth doesn't keep cost competitive, the shipping can easily go to Baltimore, Philly, or ports in Canada. Its modular shipping. Trucks and trains will take it the rest of the way to its destination.

Longshoremen's union rallies against plans to automate Jersey City-Bayonne port Published: Monday, January 09, 2012, 3:00 AM By Steve Strunsky/The Star-Ledger Some 27,000 longshoremen worked the region's docks before the use of bus-sized, steel containers revolutionized the shipping trade in the mid-1960s. The number of local longshoreman since has dwindled to about 3,500. Now, shipping's latest technological revolution is coming to the region. Global Container Terminals plans to create the region's first automated port at its Jersey City-Bayonne location on the Port Jersey peninsula. It is part of a $312 million expansion that Global agreed to under a June 2010 deal with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. And, it's not going over well with the International Longshoremen's Association, the union that represents Global and other dockworkers. About 150 members from ILA locals rallied Friday outside Global?s Jersey City offices to protest what they feel is a serious threat to their job security. ?We want to let everyone know that we?re here to protect our jobs and our members,? said Stephen Knott, general vice president of the ILA. ?We helped build these companies. We went along with containerization. Now that they want automation, we want to make sure that we?re as much a part of it as possible and that any new jobs created are ILA jobs. That?s very, very important to us.? The term ?automated-port? is somewhat a misnomer in that all ship-to-shore cranes are still operated by a person, said Joe Harris, a spokesman for the Virginia Port Authority. It runs the nation?s only automated port, a facility built by the Maersk shipping line that opened in Portsmouth in 2007. The automated portion involves a separate crane that transfers containers, though even a significant portion of that is controlled by a person from a remote location, Harris said. The combination of automated and manual crane operation results in a faster transfer, Harris said. For example, the Portsmouth terminal operates at a rate of 45 container-moves per hour, compared with a nationwide average of 35 to 38 moves. ?It?s a highly efficient terminal,? Harris said. Industry officials said the Jersey City terminal would be similarly automated. But automation is anathema to the ILA, and it was not mentioned when the expansion was announced 18 months ago. In the announcement, the Port Authority said it would purchase Global?s 98-acre site and lease it back to Global, which is based in Vancouver, Canada. The Port Authority also said it would provide up to $150 million in financing. Global declined to comment at the time. And Friday, James Devine, the executive in charge of the company?s Jersey City facility, did not return a call seeking comment.