Approximately 100 union delegates from across North America, Australia, and New Zealand unite in Vancouver to oppose DP World’s push to eliminate jobs and weaken organized labour.
VANCOUVER, BC — September 25, 2026 — Approximately 100 dockworker union delegates concluded an international summit in Vancouver with a rally outside DP World this week, launching a joint campaign against the use of automation and artificial intelligence to eliminate secure waterfront jobs and weaken organized labour.
Representatives and leaders from dockworker unions in Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand convened at the Maritime Labour Centre in Vancouver for the International Dockworkers Anti-Automation Summit beginning on September 21st, before marching to the DP World Centerm container terminal at the Port of Vancouver for a rally on September 23rd.
The Summit brought together representatives from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) in Canada and the United States, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) in Canada and the United States, the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), the Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ), the Rail and Maritime Transport Union of New Zealand (RMTU-NZ), the Syndicat des Debardeurs (CUPE Local
375) in Montreal, the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), and the International Dockworkers Council (IDC).
The Unions agree that workers across their respective ports are facing threats of job losses and reductions in pay driven by technologies that fail to benefit workers or society.
The joint campaign specifically rejects:
- Automation used as a tool for union busting,
- The introduction of new technology without a social dividend for workers,
- And job losses or reductions in pay driven by technologies that fail to benefit
workers or society.
“This summit was a landmark achievement bringing together many unions from multiple
jurisdictions who have common employers that are using Automation and Al to destroy jobs — particularly Dubai Ports World (DP World),” said Tom Doran, President of ILWU Canada. “We have resolved around a common statement of principle and a plan of action. The message to employers is simple: dock workers are united and determined to hold the line on destructive automation in our ports, no matter where those ports are. We have
created a structure that will enable us to coordinate and act in unison to support this common struggle. We are standing up to defend good paying jobs that support communities and families. Automation and Al in the workplace is a social issue, it’s a community issue and it’s a human rights issue. We say enough is enough! It’s time to take a stand for all workers against the billionaires who are ramming this technology down our
throats.”
“When you destroy good-paying dockworker jobs, you hurt our families and entire port communities,” said Dennis Daggett, President of the ILA Atlantic Coast District and General Coordinator of the International Dockworkers Council. “You hurt the restaurants, bars, stores, contractors and small businesses supported by the men and women who work these ports.”
The Vancouver summit marked the beginning of a coordinated international campaign by participating unions to defend secure waterfront jobs and fight for justice for dockworkers. The participating unions will coordinate internationally to unite dockworkers facing similar pressures. The unions agree that technology must make work safer and improve port communities; automation must not be a cover for job cuts, outsourcing, surveillance,
union avoidance or weakened safety standards; and workers must have the right to negotiate changes before they happen.
