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.
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.
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.