VOA新闻杂志2023--California Port Workers Worry About Jobs

California Port Workers Worry About Jobs

The port at Long Beach, California is one of the busiest in the United States. Its owners are making changes to the equipment used to move containers from ships and around the port.

The U.S. government is paying for some of the changes. The company wants to buy electric work vehicles and automated² machinery³. The goal is to reduce the production of carbon gases and improve performance at the port. But the workers are concerned about keeping their jobs.

Anthony Otto works for the Australian company Macquarie. It purchased the port in 2019. Otto is the port's chief executive.

Macquarie started a port electrification⁴ project. Its goal was to make the port more effective and to use less power. The electrification project meant a lot of the equipment is to run on power from the state's electricity grid⁵ and not from motors that run on fuel.

Otto said the Long Beach port's performance improved in 2022. It moved three times the cargo⁶ compared to 2019 and created 90 percent less carbon gases.

The people who work there direct self-driving machines to move heavy containers. Others use hand-held controls to move containers on and off ships and trains with robots. Sensors⁷ in the pavement help small vehicles and large trucks move through the port area.

Otto said truckers spent less time last year waiting to pick up or drop off containers. That also reduced pollution from diesel⁸ fuel engines.

But port workers, who are part of a labor⁹ organization, worry that robots, self-driving vehicles, and electrification will cost them their jobs.

Otto said even if some traditional jobs for port workers are gone, new technology has created other jobs. But in a discussion with the Reuters news agency, he would not discuss the job cuts. He did say, however, that the company spends more money on worker salaries than before.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says transportation, which includes work at ports, is one of the nation's biggest producers of carbon gases. Those gases have been linked to warming of the Earth's atmosphere. Making more ports electric would reduce the number of large diesel engines that release carbon gases. Also, with electrification, more jobs can be automated.

However, some reports say automation reduces jobs. One labor group that represents port workers in California said in 2020 and 2021, the Long Beach port lost almost 400 jobs that would have existed had it not been automated.

The next step in the process at Long Beach is to use $30 million to buy large electric vehicles that can move heavy containers. The money comes from the U.S. government. The port received the money based on a plan to release no carbon emissions¹⁰ by 2030.

The government money comes with a requirement that the new equipment cannot result in a loss of total jobs or reduce the quality of the jobs. The port workers hope the company that runs the port follows those rules.

The Pacific Maritime¹¹ Association is a non-profit industry group. In a report, it said the number of hours paid to workers at Long Beach and another port in Los Angeles increased by over 30 percent from 2015 to 2021. That was during the period of automation at Long Beach.

Even as port operators look to automate¹ more jobs, two independent reports said that might not be the best idea. One of the reports, by business advisor¹² McKinsey and Co., found that automated ports are not more productive than ports with mainly human workers. That is because when the automated ports get busy, they cannot call in extra workers.

Jaime Hipsher is a member of the workers' group. She said her father worked at the ports but lost his job. He worked at a coal processing center. Hipsher said a change in the way ports use energy resulted in some job losses, and she is worried about more losses because of electrification.

She said, often "electrification is connected with automation." Hipsher added, "That isn't necessarily the way electrification needs to go."

Words in This Story

grid –n. the network of power lines and stations that send electricity to users like businesses, factories and homes

cargo –n. loads of products or goods that are carried by boats, planes, trains or other vehicles to be delivered to whoever ordered them

salary –n. the money paid to a worker for their labor

automated –adj. using robots and machines rather than people to get work done

1 automate   

v.自动化；使自动化

参考例句：

• Many banks have begun to automate.许多银行已开始采用自动化技术。
• To automate the control process of the lathes has become very easy today.使机床的控制过程自动化现已变得很容易了。

2 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

3 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

4 electrification   

n.充电，电气化；起电；电化；带电

参考例句：

• Electrification of the countryside--yes, that, too, is impressive. 是的。农村电气化也是了不起的事。 来自演讲部分
• After electrification, it will readily stick to a wall or a ceiling. 起电后，它立即吸附到墙壁上或天花板上。 来自辞典例句

5 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

6 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

7 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

8 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

10 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

11 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

12 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。