Nearly 50,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) are beginning a port strike against the nation’s East and Gulf Coast ports, from Maine to Texas, disrupting the flow of crucial imports and exports. From bananas and beer to auto parts and raw materials for U.S. factories, the strike has effectively halted a wide variety of goods essential to the U.S. economy. It’s poised to become one of the most disruptive work stoppages in decades. But this isn’t just about wages or working hours. It’s about something bigger—a human rights issue that intersects with the looming threat of automation.
The Right to Strike: A Human Rights Perspective
What’s happening here isn’t just a labor dispute; it’s a real-time example of workers exercising their right to strike, a right protected under international human rights law. According to the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), workers have the right to strike, join unions, and advocate for fair labor conditions. The International Labour Organization (ILO) reinforces this, stating that the right to strike is essential for balancing the power dynamics between labor and management.
This strike is about workers standing up for their rights—demanding fair pay, safer working conditions, and protection against being replaced by machines. And yet, it’s not just a question of economics. It’s a fundamental issue of dignity and safety, which are core tenets of human rights law.
What’s Driving the Port Strike?
The ILA workers are pushing for a significant wage increase and better working conditions. Specifically, the union has demanded a $5-an-hour pay increase each year over the next six years, which would raise top pay from $39 an hour to $69 an hour—a 77% increase. Meanwhile, the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents the major shipping lines and port operators, offered a 50% wage increase over the same period.
But the dispute goes beyond just wages. The union is deeply concerned about the use of automation in ports, which they argue will cost many workers their jobs. Automation could make some workers, like checkers who manually process trucks and cargo, obsolete as technology takes over these tasks. The USMX has proposed keeping the current contract language on automation in place, but the union insists that it’s not strong enough to protect workers from being replaced by machines.
ILA President Harold Daggett summed it up bluntly: “If we have to be out here a month or two months, this world will collapse.” He’s not exaggerating. The disruption to global supply chains is already causing ripple effects, with potential shortages of consumer goods like bananas, beer, and imported cars. And the longer the strike drags on, the more severe the impact could be.
Automation: The Silent Threat to Human Rights
The automation debate is key here. It’s not just about replacing human labor with machines for efficiency. It’s about workers being forced to watch as their jobs are automated out of existence, often with little regard for their futures or livelihoods. The rise of AI and automation presents a major human rights challenge. People have the right to work under fair and just conditions, as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). But what happens when robots take over those jobs?
For port workers, automation threatens to displace jobs that have provided stability for decades. The ILA’s concerns aren’t just about losing work today—they’re about the future of labor in a rapidly evolving technological landscape. If automation replaces jobs without adequate protections in place, we could see a mass displacement of workers not just at the ports, but across many industries.
This brings us to a critical question: How do we balance technological advancement with human rights? Automation can boost productivity, no doubt. But when it’s used to cut costs by eliminating jobs, it risks violating the fundamental rights of workers to fair employment and livelihoods.
Labor Rights and the Future of Work
The port strike is, in many ways, a line in the sand. The workers on the picket lines today are not just standing up for fair wages—they’re standing up for the future of work itself. This is the first major strike at these ports since 1977, and it’s more than just an economic negotiation. It’s a battle for relevance in an era where automation is increasingly seen as the future.
What’s happening at the East and Gulf Coast ports is a microcosm of a much larger global debate about the future of work in the face of AI and automation. This is about drawing a line between us—human workers—and machines. It’s about asserting that human rights cannot be tossed aside in the pursuit of technological efficiency.
The ILO has long argued that technological advancement should be embraced in ways that benefit both workers and employers. But too often, the conversation is one-sided, focusing on how machines can replace people rather than how they can complement human labor. In port work, for example, there are ways to integrate automation that would enhance worker safety and efficiency without putting jobs on the chopping block. But for that to happen, companies and governments must commit to safeguarding workers’ rights as they navigate these changes.
The Road Ahead: More than the Port Strike
This port strike is a wake-up call. If we don’t address the human cost of automation now, we’re setting ourselves up for a future where millions of workers could be displaced without recourse. What’s happening at the East Coast ports could be the beginning of a much larger labor movement, one that challenges how we integrate technology into the workforce while still protecting human dignity.
Governments and companies need to recognize that labor rights are human rights, and as automation continues to reshape industries, we must ensure that workers aren’t left behind. The East Coast port strike is more than just a wage dispute—it’s a turning point in the global conversation about how we balance technological progress with the fundamental rights of workers.
So, the next time you hear about a labor strike, remember: it’s not just about paychecks or productivity. It’s about people. It’s about dignity. And it’s about ensuring that, in the race to automate, we don’t forget the very real human lives behind the work.
