No progress in dispute as PNW port lockout continues

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) filed an unfair labor practice charge on March 11 with the National Labor Relations Board against Mitsui's United Grain terminal for the lockout of dockworkers at the Port of Vancouver since Wednesday, Feb. 27.

The contract dispute involves working conditions between the union and United Grain, Columbia Grain and Louis Dreyfus Commodities. However, United Grain is the only export terminal that has locked out its workers.

On February 27, the company locked out 44 dockworkers after it alleged a union official sabotaged the company's equipment. The company says it fired the person. The union denies any wrongdoing.

Vancouver police continue to investigate the matter.

"Operations have resumed to a certain normality," explains Pat McCormick, a spokesman for the Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association.

McCormick stressed the contract dispute is not over wages and benefits. It is about workplace rules, he said.

McCormick said the last contract offer had hourly wages of $34 to $36 an hour, with $30 in benefits on top of the hourly wage.

The Pacific Northwest has nine grain shipping terminals, with two in Puget Sound and seven along the Columbia River. At issue is a dispute over a new labor contract between the ILWU and three companies — United Grain, Columbia Grain and Louis Dreyfus Commodities — that operate a total of four grain-export terminals in Vancouver, Portland and Seattle.

More than a quarter of all U.S. grain exports, including nearly half the nation's wheat exports, move through Columbia River and Puget Sound grain terminals, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

On average, about 3.2 million metric tons of grain moves through the Port of Vancouver annually. And about 16 percent of U.S. wheat exports comes through the port.

Source: The Columbian