LOS ANGELES — Tech firms are pitching reduced pollution as a key benefit of self-driving vehicles and other controversial autonomous machinery.
Labor unions are trying to dismantle that argument.
In a bid to thwart tough new air quality standards, one of California’s most powerful unions is warning that a shift to cleaner technology would imperil their livelihoods.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union — a major donor to Democratic lawmakers who’ve backed electrification — says the state’s proposed air quality regulations are so burdensome, they could push the sprawling ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to cut labor costs by switching to automated equipment.
It’s a novel attack line against technologies that are rapidly transforming the transportation and industrial sectors — and it could slow the nation’s adoption of zero-emission policies.
“Any discussion on sustainability should be, ‘How do we improve air quality and protect jobs,’” said Rich Dines, a former Long Beach harbor commissioner and ILWU member who contributed to a new report on electrification at the two Southern California ports that handle nearly 40 percent of the country’s imported cargo. “Electrification is an excuse for automation.”