Editorial: Transportation Industry Suffers Shortage Of Workers

With growing concern in some circles about importing foreign workers and outsourcing business from the United States, the recent Associated Press article about trucking industries looking to Hispanics to drive their industry might have seemed startling. Actually, it is a condition more common than not in the overall transportation industry.

Not too long ago, the railroads faced problems because they "golden parachuted" too many workers right off the payroll. They couldn’t get replacements fast enough.

Within the next five years the aviation industry may face problems because air traffic controllers hired to replace striking workers during the Reagan presidency are becoming old enough to retire.

The towing industry is presently in a state of flux and many changes are taking place that make it difficult for the industry to staff its boats. That is not good news at a time when there is a growing demand for towing. One only has to peruse the classified ads in our Journal to know that the need for more workers is not being met. Some companies are reluctant to say what they pay for skilled personnel, but the shortage of help being what it is leaves us to believe that some are hiring away workers from other companies, which then must go out on their own to find new ones.

The AP reports said that even now one out of seven over-the-road drivers is Hispanic. Responses to ads are coming from Colombia, Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico. People who were making $10,000 a year are now driving big rigs and earning much more money doing jobs that some consider to be infinitely better than the jobs they held previously. After a few years, they are in the range of $60,000 to $70,000 annually.

There is a major difference between filling trucking and maritime jobs. Any job that requires a Coast Guard license also requires U.S. citizenship.

There was a time when captains were making $70,000 a year or so, but demand is such that, as one observer put it, the wages are north of that now. Pay for trip pilots would vary considerably, depending upon the company’s need and the pilot’s skill. Companies apparently have to offer more if they are going to continue to operate their boats.

Deckhands these days don’t do badly either. They can earn in the neighborhood of $30,000 a year, plus receive insurance, room and board. The way they have fed boat crews over the years, the "board" part of their pay is nothing to sneeze at.

Among the various pressures being placed on the towing industry are enhanced security requirements. All individuals applying for original pilot’s licenses, for instance, must undergo thorough background checks. Those who are applying for license renewals will also be closely scrutinized in the future.

There was a time when life was different on the river. Readers of Mark Twain learned that the skills of pilots were handed down to friends and to friends of friends, etc. That it was a "good old boy network" may not be exactly how to describe it, but after undergoing training as a cub pilot for a period of time, the novice was pretty sure of getting a job.

Changes in licensing also are a factor. It now requires 540 eight-hour days of working on the deck to be able to apply to become a steersman. Then the applicant must steer for 360 eight-hour days before he/she can sit for a pilot’s license. It’s anticipated that applicants will take five to eight years to qualify as a pilot. It takes another 540 eight-hour days as a pilot to become a master. Many potential pilots may not want to go through that.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, opened a Pandora’s box. Homeland security popped out. The Coast Guard applies security measures as the law requires, but at present the licensing law does not apply to deckhands. In time it may. That could eliminate many from getting jobs.

The AP reports that there is currently is a trucking-industry driver shortage of 20,000, which will balloon to 110,000 by 2014, a number that does not include 219,000 drivers expected to retire during that period. We are not sure what the shortfall is in the towing industry. But every indication is that companies are going to continue to scramble to meet their needs. The industry has its retirements coming, too, and with all of the publicity about stress behind the sticks, pilots may choose to retire earlier than they once did.

These worker shortages really don’t relate to the issue of importing cheap labor so that more expensive labor can be taken off the books. Yet to cut costs we have noticed that the size of boat crews has been reduced over the years. Was it because of a lack of worker availability?

It will be interesting to see how the towing industry rises up to meet its employment needs.

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