The money from U.S. President Joe Biden's administration for Long Beach Container Terminal's purchase of 60 electric yard tractors that haul shipping containers from stacks to waiting trains comes with strings attached: the new equipment must be operated by humans.
More automation means fewer jobs, in the minds of union leaders, and they have found an ally in the White House. "We've been dealing with technological change for 100 years in terms of transportation labor," department President Greg Regan said. "Over the last few years, we've seen a lot more of a recognition that you have to think about the workforce aspects of it."
The Long Beach terminal, purchased from Hong Kong-based owners in 2019 by the asset management unit of Australia's Macquarie Group Ltd, bet on both electric power and automated equipment for its decade-long redevelopment that combined two aged terminals into one.