Port strike union boss rails against EZPass, self-checkout: 'Machines got to stop'

[o_mlly]

Port strike union boss rails against EZPass, self-checkout: 'Machines got to stop'

International Longshoreman's Association President Harold Daggett is against automation, and condemned EZPass automated tolls and self-checkouts in a recent interview.

www.foxbusiness.com

"ILA President Harold Daggett condemns allowing technology to replace workers."
AKA: Return of the Luddites.

If unions did not demand unrealistic wage increases then automation would make less, or even no sense, economically.

Businesses react to any input cost increase by seeking substitutions.

Raise the minimum wage? Last month, a robot delivered our food to the table at our local Mexican restaurant.

 

[comana]

Port strike union boss rails against EZPass, self-checkout: 'Machines got to stop'

International Longshoreman's Association President Harold Daggett is against automation, and condemned EZPass automated tolls and self-checkouts in a recent interview.

www.foxbusiness.com

"ILA President Harold Daggett condemns allowing technology to replace workers."
AKA: Return of the Luddites.

If unions did not demand unrealistic wage increases then automation would make less, or even no sense, economically.

Businesses react to any input cost increase by seeking substitutions.

Raise the minimum wage? Last month, a robot delivered our food to the table at our local Mexican restaurant.

It is inevitable that new technologies will replace old. Humans adapted in the past and will continue to do so.

 

[iluvatar5150]

If unions did not demand unrealistic wage increases then automation would make less, or even no sense, economically.

That's absurd. Toll booth operators could work for free and EZ Pass would still be better due to the higher throughput and lower liability.

 

[public hermit]

The reality is we have to adjust to new technologies. Even if there were no unions, new technologies would be embraced and we would have to adjust. The first step we need to take is give up our love of capitalism. We will have to get comfortable with the fact that less and less workers will be needed. Some form of socialism will be needed, and people are going to have to figure out how to spend their leisure time. It would be nice if work could be replaced with arts, study, and even philosophy (!). But I'm more confident people will waste their lives on pleasures because we are more animal than we imagine.

 

[Pommer]

That's absurd. Toll booth operators could work for free and EZ Pass would still be better due to the higher throughput and lower liability.

I’m old enough to remember when calculating travel time during rush hour included the ten minutes to get through the toll booth.

 

[Desk trauma]

Port strike union boss rails against EZPass, self-checkout: 'Machines got to stop'

International Longshoreman's Association President Harold Daggett is against automation, and condemned EZPass automated tolls and self-checkouts in a recent interview.

www.foxbusiness.com

"ILA President Harold Daggett condemns allowing technology to replace workers."
AKA: Return of the Luddites.

If unions did not demand unrealistic wage increases then automation would make less, or even no sense, economically.

Businesses react to any input cost increase by seeking substitutions.

Raise the minimum wage? Last month, a robot delivered our food to the table at our local Mexican restaurant.

There is no wage low enough to undercut mechanization.

 

[o_mlly]

That's absurd. Toll booth operators could work for free and EZ Pass would still be better due to the higher throughput and lower liability

Red herring nonsense.

 

[o_mlly]

The reality is we have to adjust to new technologies. Even if there were no unions, new technologies would be embraced and we would have to adjust.

Of course we have to adapt. While there may be multiple reasons for companies to spend on developing or acquiring new technologies, the point of this thread is that increase labor costs is a major driver. R2D2 won't ask for a raise, an extended break time, a paid parental leave ....

 

[Arcangl86]

Red herring nonsense.

What? Do you even understand what a red herring is?

 

[Nithavela]

There is no wage low enough to undercut mechanization.

At least not in the west.

Amazon used remote workers from India to power its ‘Just Walk Out' AI technology at stores

Amazon's 'Just Walk Out' technology, initially lauded for its AI-driven checkout-free shopping experience, was found to heavily rely on manual labor, particularly low-paid workers in India, according to a recent report by The Information.

tech.hindustantimes.com

 

[o_mlly]

What? Do you even understand what a red herring is?

Do you even understand what was posted?

 

[Arcangl86]

Do you even understand what was posted?

Yes. You claimed that the use of automation is being driven by union workers asking for high wages and Desk Trauma responded that low wages won't undercut the benefits of automation. That was a direct response to your claim that high wages were responsible for automation, which is the direct opposite of a red herring.

 

[o_mlly]

Yes. You claimed that the use of automation is being driven by union workers asking for high wages and Desk Trauma responded that low wages won't undercut the benefits of automation. That was a direct response to your claim that high wages were responsible for automation, which is the direct opposite of a red herring.

Looks like you do not understand. Use the site's quotation facility instead of your strawmen.

 

[Sif]

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Of course we have to adapt. While there may be multiple reasons for companies to spend on developing or acquiring new technologies, the point of this thread is that increase labor costs is a major driver. R2D2 won't ask for a raise, an extended break time, a paid parental leave ....

You’ve clearly never had to work the business side of a self-checkout.

They break. They randomly don’t work correctly. They still require a human to maintain them. And they need *a lot* of maintaining.

They have as many barriers and idiosyncrasies to working as people do.

And our state switched to entirely EZ-Pass or unmanned toll booths. Why? Turnover and inability to hire since COVID. It’s also why our grocery store took out 4 manned cashier lanes and added 10 self checks.

 

[o_mlly]

You’ve clearly never had to work the business side of a self-checkout.

They break. They randomly don’t work correctly. They still require a human to maintain them. And they need *a lot* of maintaining.

They have as many barriers and idiosyncrasies to working as people do.

Self-checkout is a relatively new technology. As with all new technologies, it will take time to work the bugs out ... but once, so to say, that ship has set sail, those bugs will be worked out.

Yes, I have never worked the business side of a self-checkout. Nor have I taken a rickshaw or ridden a horse to work. I can't remember the last time I sent a roll of 35mm film out to be developed. I toted my first cell phone, the size of a shoe box, in the trunk of my car and more often than not had to drive farther down the road and yell, "Can you hear me now?"

 

[Pommer]

Self-checkout is a relatively new technology. As with all new technologies, it will take time to work the bugs out ... but once, so to say, that ship has set sail, those bugs will be worked out.

Yes, I have never worked the business side of a self-checkout. Nor have I taken a rickshaw or ridden a horse to work. I can't remember the last time I sent a roll of 35mm film out to be developed. I toted my first cell phone, the size of a shoe box, in the trunk of my car and more often than not had to drive farther down the road and yell, "Can you hear me now?"

Does anyone else remember the provocative “QualComm” commercial from ~20 years ago, where a young trench-coated man waltzed through a store placing various items into his trench-coat, then sauntering out of the door…and the eagle-eyed security guard stopped him, to hand the customer his receipt?