The 1934 West Coast Waterfront Strike can be considered as one of the most important events in the American labor history with Harry Bridges and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. Dockworkers demanded:
- Fair hiring practices to eliminate favoritism and bribery.
- Better wages and working conditions to protect workers from injury and exploitation.
- Union recognition to allow collective bargaining.
As a result of intense strikes which included the use of force by police and the killing of some workers, longshoremen gained the freedom to form unions, increased wages, hiring halls and measures to enhance safety at the workplace. It marked the beginning of the fight for rights in the maritime sector with regard to labor unions.
The Rise of Port Automation and the Decline of Jobs
In the mid of the twentieth century, the concept of containerization of goods was adopted in the ports, and this meant that goods could be moved in large metal containers as opposed to loading each item separately. Though this innovation reduced the time taken in shipping, it also resulted in the loss of about thousands of dockworkers.
- In the 1960s and 70s, labor unions negotiated agreements to protect workers from mass layoffs, but many still lost their jobs.
- By the 1990s and 2000s, corporations pushed for more automation, reducing the number of workers needed at ports.
- Today, AI-driven cranes, robotic vehicles, and automated terminals threaten even more jobs, forcing unions to fight for new protections.
As technology takes over and renders certain tasks easier, it becomes a threat to employment of workers, giving rise to pertinent questions as to the fate of port workers.
Port Truck Drivers: A Workforce Exploited by Misclassification
While longshoremen were struggling for their rights, port truck drivers, who in addition to loading docks also transport the goods to other facilities, were not even recognized as employees. As mentioned earlier, the industry that was affected by deregulation during the 1980s was the trucking industry and as a result of this change it was experienced the following:
- Misclassification of drivers as “independent contractors”, stripping them of benefits like health insurance and paid leave.
- Predatory truck leasing programs, forcing drivers to take on massive debt to keep their jobs.
- Wage theft, with companies deducting fuel, repairs, and fees from drivers’ paychecks, leaving them with little to no earnings.
Many of them complained and went to court, and have been winning such cases in recent years. But still, many companies are able to look for the ways to gain legal ways to enslave many drivers, making them to be in the state of financial difficulties.