People Over Profit: Global Anti-Automation Conference Brings Together Maritime, Transport Workers

Hundreds of dockworkers, seafarers, and transportation workers from over 60 countries gathered in Lisbon, Portugal, Nov 5 and 6 for the “People Over Profit: Anti-Automation Conference.” The meeting was organized by the International Longshoremen’s Association or ILA and the International Dockworkers Council or 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, and 63 and the Pacific Coast Pensioners Association.

The conference opened with a welcome from Jose 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.

“Were 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,” said Daggett.

“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% 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  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% of local 13’s members live within five miles of the port’s, 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 the 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.

This is a shortened version of the story published in The Dispatcher, Volume 83, No. 10, Nov. 2025.

Details: Read more at https://www.ilwu.org/the-dispatcher-newspaper/current-issue/ when the November, 2025 issue publishes.