International Longshoremen’s Association members in Hampton Roads were off the picket line Friday and heading back to work.
However, their fight isn’t over.
The ILA union has been pushing for higher wages and restrictions on how automation is used at ports.
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“Automation is a necessary evil,” said Dr. Kuntal Bhattacharyya.
Bhattacharyya is a professor at Old Dominion University and the director of ODU’s Supply Chain, Logistics, and Maritime Operations School. He said there needs to be a balance between humans and machines, which he calls a “cobot environment.”
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“Research has shown that cobot offers the maximum return on investment, both in terms of increased efficiencies as well as retraining the human piece of the equation,” Bhattacharyya explained.