| The US dockworkers’ union that walked out of every major East and Gulf coast port in October remains at loggerheads over technology in contract negotiations with their employers — with just six weeks left to reach a deal and prevent another strike. “At the center of this impasse is the employers’ push to expand the use of semi-automated rail-mounted gantry cranes,” said Dennis Daggett, the son of International Longshoremen’s Association president and next in line to lead the union. “The ILA is not against progress, innovation, or modernization but we cannot support technology that jeopardizes jobs, threatens national security and puts the future of the workforce at risk,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “This is a pivotal moment in our history.” Union members have been moving cargo under a temporary contract extension since early October, after suspending a three-day strike that halted container operations at every major port from Houston to Boston. Read More: Millionaire Union Boss Gets Short-Term Win in Costly Ports Clash Under pressure from the Biden administration, the ILA and their employers — the terminal operators and ocean carriers represented by the US Maritime Alliance — managed to agree on a 61.5% pay increase over six years that will kick in once they reach a deal on a new long-term contract before Jan. 15. The contract extension left an issue on the table that’s even more difficult to be hashed out during Biden’s lame duck period and with a deadline just five days before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated. Improving Efficiency But the ILA called broke off talks last month almost as soon as they began, citing concerns over technology that would eliminate jobs on the docks. USMX, as the employers’ group is known, said at the time it isn’t seeking to use technology that would eliminate jobs, but would rather improve safety and increase efficiency. In his social-media post on Monday, Daggett laid out a timeline that includes how technology was handled in previous contract negotiations. Read More: A $2 Trillion Reckoning Looms as Ports Become Pawns in Geopolitics In the early 2000s, “the employers introduced semi-automated RMGs at a greenfield terminal on the East Coast. They sold the ILA a vision that this new terminal would create thousands of jobs,” he said. “It sounded like an opportunity, but hindsight reveals a much different picture.” By 2018, the union negotiated a ban on “full automation,” setting limits on how far the technology could go to replace human labor. This time around, the USMX has offered to maintain language on technology in the existing contract — which it sees as a concession. Daggett said the RMGs deployed already showcase a sign of things to come, and that 95% of the work they do is fully automated. Trump’s Labor Pick The union is hoping to maintain government support for its cause during a leadership transition. Trump nominated outgoing US Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon to lead the Labor Department, choosing a Republican whose unusually pro-union record has rankled some of his business allies. Read More: Trump Picks Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Labor Secretary While the union didn’t endorse Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris during the election campaign, ILA International President Harold Daggett sounds all-in for Chavez-DeRemer. In a letter to Trump last week, the older Daggett said the ILA would urge the Senate to confirm her. “We look forward to working with Ms. Chavez-DeRemer and your Administration on legislation and policies that protect worker’s rights, safety, and honors their commitment to building a strong economy for our great nation,” Daggett said in the letter. —Laura Curtis in Los Angeles Click here for more of Bloomberg.com’s most-read stories about trade, supply chains and shipping. | 
