Technology on the Job

  • Workerless Docks? Automation Threatens Union Power
    Mark Brenner
    Mar 9 2012 - 6:03pm

    Arrests and train blockades may have grabbed the headlines, but automation was at the heart of the year-long conflict between the West Coast Longshore Union (ILWU) and grain terminal operator EGT.

  • Warehousing Gets Lean and Mean
    Mark Brenner
    May 11 2010 - 9:44am

    Taking a page from manufacturing, retailers are driving their vast network of warehouses and distribution centers to get “lean.” Deploying a combination of technology and ratcheting production standards, U.S. retailers are making warehouse jobs stressful and less safe.

  • Fatal D.C. Train Wreck Raises Questions about Automation
    Paul Abowd
    Sep 8 2009 - 3:40pm
  • Hospital Technology Stresses Workers
    Mischa Gaus
    Jul 15 2009 - 1:12pm

    Technology gives health care workers new tools to digitize medical records and locate supplies, but it also gives managers the ability to track workers. Increased monitoring means speed-up, harassment, and worse.