Canada’s West Coast Port Deal Awaits Union Vote
Canadian West Coast port union dockworkers have reached a tentative contract with their maritime employers after the first one recently fell through, but there’s no telling yet if this one’s really a done deal.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) announced the new labor agreement late Sunday in a joint statement, with both sides recommending their members ratify the collective deal.
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The union caucus still has to vote on the deal before it gets sent to a vote by the labor group’s 7,400 members. A deal would officially end the threat of a work stoppage. Dockworkers at the ports stayed off the job from July 1-13 before returning to work after a first tentative agreement was reached.
Both parties rejected an earlier version of the deal, but reached the new deal Sunday with help from the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB).
The move came after the union members voted down the agreement on Friday, and more than a week after ILWU caucus leadership initially rejected the terms on July 18. Workers briefly went back to the picket lines after the first rejection, but that move was deemed illegal by the CIRB since the union didn’t provide notice 72 hours before going on strike. The union issued a new strike notice only to rescind it hours later, saying it would recommend the deal to members in a full vote.
There’s no word on what the new terms involve or when the ILWU caucus and union members will vote on the deal.
In a tweet, Canada’s Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan said the deal would bring “long-term stability” to the country’s ports. On Saturday, O’Regan directed the CIRB to determine if a negotiated agreement was still possible, saying the board would have to “impose final binding arbitration” if they couldn’t agree on terms.
Canadian government authorities were under pressure to intervene in hopes of producing a deal. On July 19, after the ILWU issued its second 72-hour strike notice, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the country’s Incident Response Group to prepare the country’s government for all labor options, but did not get involved in the negotiations.
On Saturday before the tentative new agreement was announced, ILWU Canada president Rob Ashton reiterated concerns that contracting out maintenance work to third-party, non-union employees would erode its workforce and expertise.
The issue “poses a significant threat to job security and the integrity of the ILWU workforce,” Ashton said. “While ILWU Canada recognizes the need for a competitive and efficient maritime industry, this should not displace skilled and experienced workers who have dedicated their careers to ensuring the smooth functioning of Canada’s West Coast ports.”
Outsourcing maintenance work was one of the union’s three major points of contention in the current deal, including the need for higher wages and concerns about more automation at the terminals.
Ashton said work stoppages were the last resort, indicating that worker safety and wellbeing were two critical concerns of the labor organization. The ILWU Canada called for more joint efforts and open feedback to reduce accidents and improve worker wellbeing.
The first tentative deal included a four-year package with a compounded 19.2 percent wage increase over four years, which would result in the median ILWU income moving from $136,000 to $162,000 Canadian dollars ($103,000 to $123,000), not including benefits and pension, according to the BCMEA. It disclosed that the proposed deal also provides an 18.5 percent increase in a retirement lump sum payment in addition to increased tool allowances, benefits and pension contributions.
Both the Ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert are currently operational, but the 13-day work stoppage has taken its toll on the shipments out of the ports into the U.S.
According to The Association of American Railroad’s rail traffic report for the week ending July 22, total rail volume from Canada to the U.S. was down 12 percent to 68,972 intermodal units. This was an improvement from the first full week of the strike, which saw a 46 percent decrease in rail trade from Canada, and the second week’s 36 percent decrease.
The labor strike is impacting the top line of railroad businesses as well. The labor unrest had a negative impact of $80 million on Canadian Pacific Kansas City railroad’s revenue, chief marketing officer John Brooks told analysts on an earnings call Thursday. On a year-over-year basis, Brooks said revenues from container traffic dropped 10 percent in the second quarter.
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