A multimillion dollar plan to stand up a private 5G network at the Port of Tacoma is moving forward. The plan is the first step in making Tacoma a “smart port” by bringing the latest technology to the Tacoma Tideflats, according to the findings of a feasibility study published last month.
Parts of the study drew concern from the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 23, representing about 1,500 longshoreman in the Port of Tacoma. “The concern of the ILWU is that such publicly funded technology has a duel purpose of allowing the predominantly foreign owned terminal operators in the Port of Tacoma to seamlessly transition to the use of semi or fully automated terminal equipment…. At the expense of jobs in the community,” Jared Faker, president of ILWU Local 23, said in a statement Wednesday.
Faker pointed to a part of the study that listed a possible case to “allow remote operation of equipment.” The study itself, Faker said, acknowledged that implementation of digitized and automated processes might lead to “overall adverse reductions in live-wage, trade-based jobs.”
“The ILWU is not anti technology,” Faker said in the statement. “But as workers and citizens of this region, we are pro jobs. The Tacoma Tideflats produce thousands of family wage jobs for our community. Those workers in turn buy houses, shop at local restaurants, and pay their taxes. Robots don’t. The Port of Tacoma is funded by the taxpayers of Pierce County to serve two local needs: create a gateway for regional goods and commerce to thrive, and to create jobs in the community. The ILWU is very mindful and committed to ensuring both of those goals are carried out.”
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