People over Profit: Global anti-automation conference brings together maritime, transport workers for historic conference
Hundreds of dockworkers, seafarers, and transportation
workers from over 60 countries gathered in Lisbon, Portugal, on November 5-6 for
the “People over Profit: Anti-Automation Conference.” The meeting was organized by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the International Dockworkers Council (IDC) to build a global alliance to oppose port automation that threatens jobs and communities.
The ILWU delegation, led by ILWU International Vice President (Hawaii) Brandon Wolff and International Secretary-Treasurer Ed Ferris, included members from the Alaska Longshore Division, ILWU Canada, the Hawaii Longshore Division, Locals 10, 13, 23, 40, 63, and the Pacific Coast Pensioners Association.
The conference opened with a welcome from José Monteiro, President
of SEAL, the Portuguese longshore workers union. ILA President Harold Daggett delivered the opening address at the conference, stressing an unwavering
commitment to the fight against automation.
“We’re not just fighting for jobs, we’re fighting for our dignity, our community, and our future. We’ve always been the backbone of maritime commerce. We’ve always been the first to show up and the last to leave. And we’ll be the last one standing when this fight is over,” Daggett said.
“We will never surrender. We will prevail. We will do it for the people who depend on us. We will win for our ancestors. And we will show this world a force like they’ve never seen before.”
Daggett was followed by Secretary-Treasurer Ed Ferris, who discussed the extensive negative impacts of automation and Artificial Intelligence on workers and communities, including the loss of millions of jobs. Ferris noted that according to a Goldman Sachs estimate, up to 50 percent of jobs could be automated by 2045.
“These statistics should motivate all of the working class into readiness and action,” he said. “We must resist. We cannot sit and watch good jobs be eliminated for profit and corporate greed. We must fight for ourselves and for future generations by standing up and speaking truth to power. This is all
about greed; it’s not about efficiency, terminal throughput, or increasing worker safety. It’s an absolute farce.”
Dennis Daggett, speaking in his dual roles as Executive Vice President of the ILA and General Coordinator of IDC, echoed the sentiment that automation was not about efficiency but about eliminating jobs. “Let’s be clear —this isn’t about moving cargo faster,” Daggett said. “It’s about moving us out of the picture. It’s about cutting labor to pad profits. It’s about eliminating people, not improving performance.”
“This time, we call it what it is: a corporate strategy to erase working class jobs and spin it under a feel-good word like modernization,” continued Daggett. “But we know exactly what it is – job-killing technology, plain and simple.”
Local 13 President Gary Herrera delivered the morning address on the second day of the conference, warning that automation threatens the existence of dockworker unions. He argued that employers mainly use technology to eliminate bargaining power, not to increase efficiency.
Herrera also pointed out that in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, 54 percent of Local 13’s members live within five miles of the ports, illustrating the community-wide stakes of job-eliminating automation. He emphasized that no tax dollars should fund automation that benefits corporate profits at the expense of jobs.Herrera also called for the creation of “worker impact” reports, similar to environmental reports produced for construction projects.
“They have environmental impact reports, but they don’t have one for workers, because they don’t care how many jobs are lost. We need everybody to understand how many jobs are lost when they do a project. If jobs are lost, then that project shouldn’t go through,” he said.
Herrera criticized the way employers are ‘greenwashing’ automation by using the language of environmental justice to eliminate jobs. He highlighted Local 13’s efforts to counter this by partnering with environmental groups to create a zero-emission terminal in the Port of Long Beach, which will use human-operated zero-emission equipment.
“We need to start educating and organizing ourselves to protect the working class. We deserve it. We make the world a better place. Labor makes our communities strong. They don’t. We do,” Herrera concluded.
Dane Jones, a member of Local 40 and chair of the Coast Longshore
Division Clerks Technology Committee, participated in a panel discussion moderated by Sergo Sousa from the Portuguese Dockers Union,
SEAL. The panel included leaders from dockworker and other maritime unions.
Jones emphasized that automation is not a single event but a process
involving multiple technological systems implemented over time. He highlighted the importance of solidarity in fighting against automation: “We will
either all hang together or we will hang separately. We need to have friends in the city. We need to have friends on other docks in other countries. We need to have friends at the national level. We need to have friends all around the world. We cannot have too many friends in this. Because people with money don’t like us. They don’t like us, we don’t care.”
Lisbon statement
The conference passed a resolution: ‘Protecting Jobs, Communities, and Collective Bargaining Against Job-Killing Automation,” which was signed by representatives from the ILA and IDC.
The resolution stated that ports should be modern, green, and efficient, but technology must not come at the expense of jobs. The statement called on port authorities worldwide to “craft a formula for integrating dockworkers into their technological investments.”
The resolution opposed automation that results in job losses, economic uncertainty, or violates collective agreements or workers’ rights. It
reaffirmed collective bargaining as the main tool for managing technological change at ports. The statement also emphasized that technology should serve workers and communities, not oppose them.
The document concluded with a pledge to unite efforts against any attempt to impose automated or semiautomated terminals without prior union approval.
Gary Herrera said the conference was a hopeful rallying point for maritime workers, uniting workers’ voices to defend their rights and jobs against automation.
“The first ‘People Over Profit Anti-Automation Conference’ stands as a beacon of hope and a testament to our collective strength. At this crucial conference, we are witnessing an unprecedented movement where the voices of workers resonate powerfully in defense of our rights and livelihoods,” Herrera said. “Together, we are not merely resisting change; we are advocating for a future that prioritizes people over profit. Our unity is our strength. As we navigate the complexities of an evolving labor landscape, I am optimistic that our collective efforts will
pave the way for a better future for all workers in the world.”
The conference marked a first step toward building a global alliance so that opposition to automation is not fragmented into local resistance but instead forms a coordinated international strategy, said Jordi Aragunde, IDC International Labor
Coordinator. “If the employers’ strategy is global, ours must be too. Wherever there is a port, there will be an organized union, and wherever a worker is threatened, there will be