Due to a breakdown in contract negotiations, dockworkers on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico walked off the job last Tuesday morning. It was the first big dockworker strike in nearly 50 years.
It was a huge deal, as the International Longshoremen Association (ILA) represents 45,000 dockworkers.
The longshoremen were not only seeking better pay but also job security. As I discussed last week, the dockworkers were worried about artificial intelligence-powered automation eliminating their jobs. So, the union rejected an offer that included a nearly 50% increase in wages because it retained some language about automation and semi-automation.
Essentially, the strike stopped all containers from being shipped to and from some 36 U.S. ports, including Baltimore and New York/New Jersey. These ports on the East and Gulf coasts handle about 50% of goods shipped to and from the United States.
A two-week strike would have disrupted holiday sales and impacted supply chains for medications and other essential products. Perishable items (like bananas or mangos) would have been the first casualties. But auto manufacturers were also already warning about part shortages.
Thankfully, the longshoremen were back at work on Friday, and their current contract has been extended to mid-January. After that, they’ll receive a 61.5% pay increase over the next six years, though they still have to hammer out the contract to make sure they’re protected from automation.
Now, a prolonged strike would have had significant ramifications for the U.S. economy, as it delays shipments and creates goods shortages ahead of the busy holiday shopping season. Analysts had estimated that the U.S. economy would lose about $5.0 billion per day due to the strike.
So, crisis averted, right?
Maybe for the dockworkers, for now. But only for now.
No matter how many protections against automation the ILA gets in their contract, AI and robots are coming for their jobs.
Technological advances are inevitable. While unions like the ILA might be able to push it off for a while, nothing any of us say or do will stop it.
It’s better to get trained in the new technologies… and demand higher wages for your enhanced productivity.
That said… there is another line of work where AI will likely replace humans in the very near future.
And these folks don’t have a union – strong or otherwise – throwing up roadblocks.
They’re doomed…
AI Is Set to Revolutionize the Ridesharing Industry
I’m talking about the folks who drive for Uber Technologies, Inc.(UBER), Lyft, Inc. (LYFT), and other ridesharing companies.
For years, ridesharing has required a human behind the wheel, but that’s no longer true.
As my InvestorPlace colleague LukeLango explained during his urgent briefing yesterday, self-driving cars are here. There is Waymo, Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOG) self-driving car division, which is up and running as a ridesharing service in Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Austin. Between all of those cities, Waymo is delivering over 100,000 completely autonomous rides per week.
However, when it comes to ridesharing, 100,000 is but a drop in the bucket. Uber, the biggest rideshare company in the U.S., has 149 million active customers and 7.1 million drivers. And in the first quarter of 2024, it delivered 2.57 billion rides.
The average pay for an American Uber driver is $18.75 per hour, so imagine the money Uber could save if it replaced its drivers with AI-powered autonomous vehicles. The potential is huge.
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and automation is reshaping industries and posing threats to jobs, pushing America’s financial system to its limits.
The recent Longshoremen’s Strike is just one example; we’ve also seen Hollywood actors and voice performers strike over AI-related concerns, reflecting a much larger crisis on the horizon.
The problem, however, is that few people are aware that self-driving car technology is finally, actually, really working.
But that could change literally this Thursday. That’s when the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, is scheduled to reveal Tesla Inc.’s (TSLA) “robotaxi,” a fully automated car with no mirrors, no pedals and no steering wheels. This “Cybercab” will rely 100% on AI-powered sensors in order to find its way around.
Luke says this “We, Robot” event will be the tipping point for robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles to go mainstream in 2025.
You may not be ready to try one yet. I’m not sure if I’m ready to try one yet.
But I can tell you that Luke – and thousands and thousands of other folks in Phoenix and elsewhere – have adapted to driverless cabs as easily as midcentury housewives adapted to dishwashers.
The rest of us will soon, too.
And it’s clear to me that nearly every rideshare driver out there will be looking for a new job in just a few years.
At the center of it all, he says, is a sub-$3 stock that could play a pivotal role in turning Musk’s driverless world into a reality.
It’s free to attend. And Luke will give away the name and ticker symbol of another play on Musk’s robotaxi that could 10X your money in the coming years, no strings attached.
To learn more about Tesla’s robotaxi… how it could propel self-driving cars into the mainstream… and the best way to profit from this innovative technology, watch Luke’s briefing here.
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