CA longshoremen up in arms over port automation

[Puffnstuff]

I didn't see this one in a search so forgive me if its been posted already. I just came across this story on Fox news about automation being deployed in their port terminals displacing jobs. If you're trying to hang onto the past its time to recycle yourselves folks before you get left behind. I expect for this sort of thing to accelerate during the Trump administration as business owners take advantage of his stance towards them. Workers need to wake up and realize that job losses will only continue in any sector where people can be replaced by automated machinery. You can thank both parties and globalism for this.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

There's always room in Mexico.

 

[dank69]

I didn't see this one in a search so forgive me if its been posted already. I just came across this story on Fox news about automation being deployed in their port terminals displacing jobs. If you're trying to hang onto the past its time to recycle yourselves folks before you get left behind. I expect for this sort of thing to accelerate during the Trump administration as business owners take advantage of his stance towards them. Workers need to wake up and realize that job losses will only continue in any sector where people can be replaced by automated machinery. You can thank both parties and globalism for this.

What exactly should either party be doing to combat this?

 

[Fern]

What exactly should either party be doing to combat this?

Good question.

Another might be "should we be combating this?" IDK.

-----------------

OP seems to think Trump will have something to do with this. I don't see that, at least so far. This has been happening for a while, even a long while. I suppose that Trump could push and get passed some tax breaks incentivizing more development and deployment of such technology, but it hasn't happened yet nor has he mentioned it that I know of. And kinda strikes me as counter to his push for more jobs etc.

Fern

 

[Puffnstuff]

What exactly should either party be doing to combat this?

Republicans have resisted calls to make education more affordable and this is the area they need to focus on to bring our workers up to a new level of competency. The days of assembling things for a livable wage are over and they're aren't coming back no matter how many do good feel good speeches the politicians make. Last year I was a right leaning Democrat, this year I'm a left leaning Republican and next year I might dress up like Homie the clown.

OP seems to think Trump will have something to do with this. I don't see that, at least so far.

Nope this has been in the making for a long time and it would happen no matter who was in office. Trump has demonstrated through is own business practices that he will go to the lowest bidder and this philosophy is true in every sector so you shouldn't expect any resistance from his administration when large companies leverage it to reduce costs.

 

[Mai72]

1) History has a way of repeating itself over and over. The automotive industry is an example.

2) We are going thru an era of unprecedented change. Most industries are going to be automated in one way or another.

3) Step aside Trump.

 

[feralkid]

Trump announces plan to retrain longshoremen to work in newly reopened coal mines.

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9JMA5eU0...-FbE3haeyeAkwCLcB/s320/trump+freaking+out.jpg

 

[Jaskalas]

If you're trying to hang onto the past its time to recycle yourselves folks before you get left behind.

There is no shelter from this coming tide of automation.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Interesting, found this. :bringbackthewhistlesmiley:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-dockworker-pay-20150301-story.html

More wealthy blue-collar white people that feel entitled to freedom from competition. Thanks, automation!

 

[dank69]

Republicans have resisted calls to make education more affordable and this is the area they need to focus on to bring our workers up to a new level of competency. The days of assembling things for a livable wage are over and they're aren't coming back no matter how many do good feel good speeches the politicians make. Last year I was a right leaning Democrat, this year I'm a left leaning Republican and next year I might dress up like Homie the clown.

Nope this has been in the making for a long time and it would happen no matter who was in office. Trump has demonstrated through is own business practices that he will go to the lowest bidder and this philosophy is true in every sector so you shouldn't expect any resistance from his administration when large companies leverage it to reduce costs.

Yeah, my point was that this isn't either party's "fault" or the fault of globalization. It's progress and it can't be stopped. Only one party wants to make it easier to get an education, though, while the other wants to make sure kids learn alternative facts.

 

[PottedMeat]

Another might be "should we be combating this?" IDK.

nope

You can thank both parties and globalism for this.

no, it's the logical progression of technology

-demand for some product
-production is labor intensive and/or dangerous
-invent machine to automate
-price goes down, more people get the product

 

[alcoholbob]

CA longshoreman make 200k/year with pensions and cadillac health plans. Im surprised their jobs havent been fully automated yet. Its one of the few industries that still pay unskilled labor like its 1960.

 

[Jhhnn]

All hail the Job Creators!

 

[woolfe9998]

There is no shelter from this coming tide of automation.

Precisely. Which is why we're going to have to figure out what to do with the increasingly large number of people who are jobless due to growing structural unemployment. Not all are capable of jobs which require higher education. Which is why I think the idea of a social safety net is something that conservatives aren't going to be able fend off indefinitely. When jobs are not available, the argument that welfare makes people not want to work becomes irrelevant even if it's factually correct.

 

[theeedude]

This is such a no-brainer to automate, I am surprised they are only now getting around to it.

 

[Jhhnn]

This is such a no-brainer to automate, I am surprised they are only now getting around to it.

It's already highly automated. Management's dream is to have H1B visa IT workers run the robots to do the work. They might be able to just do it from Mexico or even India.

 

[Ns1]

Their jobs pay a fortune. Of course someone is going to try to automate that.

 

[Azuma Hazuki]

This is one small example of a much larger problem, and one that's not going away: we have a consumer economy. Automation is going to make it so large chunks of the population will have no money with which to consume. This is going to cause a complete collapse.

 

[MikeMike]

This has happened multiple times in the past.

Each one at a larger and more complex scale than the past.

We adapted, changed, and moved forward.

Why is our government not currently trying to find ways to adapt, change, and move forward?
- Note: I also think a major war occurred right before the major changes