The Unionizing of Amazon – Victory or???

An editorial in U.S. Tech April/May 2022, titled The Unionizing States of Amazon, tells how a small, organized group led to the unionizing of an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, NY.  On April 1, the workers voted 2,654 to 2,131 in favor of the union.  The article goes on to say, “Now, the union has to take on the next difficult challenge, which is to negotiate a contract with Amazon, a collective bargaining agreement.  …their main goal is to boost wages to a minimum of $30 per hour.  The average hourly wage, according to Amazon, is $18.  Other demands include longer breaks for workers and eliminating mandatory overtime, except in a few special cases.”

My question for you – is this a victory or could it have unintended consequences?

My answer – I’m not sure but I would be concerned if I was an Amazon laborer.  I grew up on the Minnesota iron range and watched, during the 1960s and 1970s, as America moved away from domestic iron ore (and the later taconite) in favor of offshore.  At the time, and still today, I find it hard to believe that northern rural Minnesota couldn’t be competitive with iron ore being shipped from Venezuela.  I am not talking about toothpicks or matchboxes that are small, light, and compact – I am talking heavy, and bulky ROCK!  Was the outsourcing, offshoring decision based on economics or product quality?   I am not sure; however, I am concerned that Amazon labor may be repeating history to their detriment.

Dani Romero’s May 10, 2022 article Supply chains: High stakes port labor negotiations begin on the West Coast addresses my primary concern. - that dramatic increases in wages and benefits may ACCELERATE the reductions in labor.  Today - not due to outsourcing but due to AUTOMATION.

The long-anticipated labor negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and their employers represented by the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) begin on Tuesday.

The stakes are high for supply chains as the two parties involved represent 22,000 dockworkers and shipping companies that do business at 29 West Cost ports…  

Against the backdrop of negotiations, PMA released a new study last week analyzing automated terminals at the country's two busiest ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The study found that cargo handling accelerated, terminal capacity was expanded, and longshore work was generated “significantly faster” there than at conventional terminals.  Furthermore, while providing benefits to shippers and consumers, the study argued that the technology also did not reduce job opportunities for dockworkers.

Automation is offering early proof of a win-win strategy: work gains… productivity and efficiency gains…drive down cargo-handling costs and help restore the San Pedro Bay ports’ competitive advantage.

…Automation is the future of our ports….”

“To strengthen America’s economy, it’s not enough for ports to hold the best economic cards; they have to play them in ways that help the American workers who make, grow, and move the things we need for our lives.”  Can I get an AMEN?

I think everyone needs to contemplate the benefits and threats that will come from AUTOMATION.  Brookings summarizes the reality of automation this way:

The “new automation” of the next few decades—with much more advanced robotics and artificial intelligence (AI)—will widen the range of tasks and jobs that machines can perform, and have the potential to cause much more worker displacement and inequality than older generations of automation

McKinsey added, automation will displace many jobs over the next ten to 15 years, but many others will be created and even more will change. Jobs of the future will use different skills and may have higher educational requirements. 

OK – back to Amazon – is the unionizing of the warehouse a victory or could it have unintended consequences?

I will leave you with this comment from Amazon:

For the past decade, Amazon has been pushing to automate office work under a program now known as Hands off the Wheel. The purpose was not to eliminate jobs but to automate tasks so that the company could reassign people to build new products — to do more with the people on staff, rather than doing the same with fewer people.