Effective immediately Long Beach is allowing cargo to be stacked up to 4 containers high at container lots across the city. And up to 5 containers with safety approvals. Previously 2 had been the limit. This is a temporary move to address our national supply chain emergency.— Robert Garcia (@RobertGarcia) October 22, 2021
Previous limit was 2. Most international ports allow 8-10.
Chinese ports are automated. Long Beach / Los Angeles ports have these restrictions as a result of the ILWU pushing back on automation and worker safety demands
Automated ports arent better they arent automatically faster than human labour with machines and ilwu is right that they are more dangerous and less safe (no critical thinking from robots), but they do tend to be cheaper long run if you dont want to pay labour. You could run port of LA and long beach 24/7 better, safer, faster with human labor but youd have to be willing to pay them.
And, arguably, automation in China is used to benefit the public good, not make some rich fuck even fucking richer. The workers who would have been doing those jobs will be put to work doing some other socially productive labor, not thrown out and expected to find some new exploiter of their labor.
Chinese ports are automated. Long Beach / Los Angeles ports have these restrictions as a result of the ILWU pushing back on automation and worker safety demands
We need to unionize the robots.
Automated ports arent better they arent automatically faster than human labour with machines and ilwu is right that they are more dangerous and less safe (no critical thinking from robots), but they do tend to be cheaper long run if you dont want to pay labour. You could run port of LA and long beach 24/7 better, safer, faster with human labor but youd have to be willing to pay them.
Also I guess the Chinese ports are newer so they can implement automation immediately without fear of infringing on existing workers.
And, arguably, automation in China is used to benefit the public good, not make some rich fuck even fucking richer. The workers who would have been doing those jobs will be put to work doing some other socially productive labor, not thrown out and expected to find some new exploiter of their labor.
That’s the caveat
Also the labor unions are state controlled so there is no pushback except for wildcatting