Kevin O’Leary on why port workers should welcome automation

As East and Gulf Coast ports begin to operate as normal again, one of the country’s top entrepreneurs is weighing in on “the trouble” with union workers’ demands.

“The trouble with East Coast ports is they’re very old, they’re very inefficient,” O’Leary Ventures Chairman and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary said on “Varney & Co.” Friday.

“And when you start to compare them against other international ports like Singapore and the other Asian ports,” he continued, “we’re just not holding much up against them. And that’s very bad for productivity.”

US dockworkers returned to work Friday morning after reaching a tentative agreement with employers on an improved wage offer.

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), which represents 45,000 striking workers, said the union and USMX have reached a “tentative agreement on wages and have agreed to extend the Master Contract until January 15, 2025 to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues.”

FOX Business reported that workers accepted a 62% wage increase, effective immediately.

But the ILA’s tentative deal statement mentioned nothing about protection from technology and automation.

A Tuesday statement from the ILA said that it is “steadfastly against any form of automation – full or semi – that replaces jobs or historical work functions. We will not accept the loss of work and livelihood for our members due to automation.”

“There’s been lots of studies on automation in ports domestically and internationally,” O’Leary said. “We just got to let automation go where it goes because there is zero evidence on the East and West Coast that if you automate and make it more efficient, more productive, then it hurts wages at all.”

“Indeed, it may even increase the actual pay you give to employees that know how to use these robotic systems so they become more engineer-oriented,” “Mr. Wonderful” added. “It helps job creation and helps the value of wage growth.”

Eric Hoplin, CEO of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW), echoed O’Leary’s argument and said on “Mornings With Maria” Tuesday that the union’s automation demands are “unrealistic.” 

He noted that major ports around the world like Shanghai, Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Singapore have embraced automated cranes and vehicles in ports, adding, “we’re already three decades behind.”

The port strike, which lasted three days, raised fears of disruptions in the US supply chain.

An analysis by JPMorgan estimated the daily cost of a port strike by East and Gulf Coast port workers would cost the US economy between $3.8 billion and $4.5 billion per day as operations slowed.

FOX Business’ Eric Revell and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.