North American Port Status Update

North American Port Status Update

Canadian Port Status Update

Port of Montreal: Union files 72-hour strike notice

Two terminals at the Port of Montreal could be paralyzed next week, as the Port of Montreal Longshoremen’s Union filed a 72-hour strike notice on Friday, September 27 – which could lead to a walkout starting Monday, September 30. In a press release, the union confirmed that it had issued its strike notice at 7:00 a.m. on Friday morning, meaning that its members could stop work as early as 7:00 a.m. on Monday. This strike is expected to last for three days, until 6:59 a.m. next Thursday, October 4. The union also specifies that the strike would affect only Termont Montréal’s two terminals. Dockworkers at the Port of Montreal had approved a strike mandate after more than a year of contract negotiations. Longshore workers voted 97.9 percent in favour of granting their union executive the authority to call a strike if it chooses.

Port of Vancouver Operations Update – September 25

Strike action by the Grain Workers Union Local 333 ILWU (GWU) against Vancouver Terminal Elevator Association (VTEA) is ongoing, impacting Port of Vancouver bulk grain operations. The six impacted bulk grain terminals are all in Burrard Inlet: Alliance Grain Terminal (AGT), Cargill Terminal, Cascadia, G3 Terminal, Pacific Elevators and Richardson International. The Port of Vancouver remains open and operational, and regular operations are in effect for all terminals not directly affected by the GWU labour action.

U.S. Port Status Update

U.S. Ports Seek Order to Force Dockworkers to Bargaining Table

With a strike deadline looming, the group representing East and Gulf Coast ports is asking a federal agency to make the longshoremen’s union come to the bargaining table to negotiate a new contract. The U.S. Maritime Alliance says it filed an unfair labour practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that the International Longshoremen’s Association is not bargaining in good faith. The alliance said in a prepared statement on September 26 that it filed the charge “due to the ILA’s repeated refusal to come to the table and bargain on a new master contract.” The ports are asking for immediate relief, an order requiring the union to resume bargaining. The move comes just four days before the ILA’s six-year contract with the ports expires, and the union representing 45,000 dockworkers from Maine to Texas says it will go on strike at 12:01 a.m. on October 1. The two sides haven’t bargained since June.

Read more in an article from Transport Topics.

Ships Will Have to Wait Out U.S. East Coast Port Strike: ONE CEO

“We’re preparing now for the 30th of September, when we expect that the terminals all along the East Coast will come to a stop,” Jeremy Nixon, CEO of Ocean Network Express (ONE), said on the sidelines of Marine Money Asia in Singapore. Nixon said that the great majority of ONE’s customers had brought forward shipments to minimize risk, while a small number have diverted cargo to move via West Coast ports. However, in the event of a strike from October 1, shipping lines will not be able to divert vessels bound for the U.S. East Coast to West Coast ports, as the ILA has made clear it would picket such a move. “So, the vessels now on their way to the East Coast will have to sit and wait until that industrial disruption is resolved,” Nixon said.

Read more in an article from Seatrade Maritime.

U.S. Ports Extend Delivery Hours as Strike Threat Looms

U.S. ports along the East and Gulf Coasts are extending delivery hours for importers as they rush to clear cargo ahead of a potential strike by dockworkers starting on October 1. Maher and Maersk’s APM, which are members of the employer negotiating group (USMX), said they were keeping their terminals at the Port of New York and New Jersey open for two additional hours to clear cargo.

For more information, please call David Lychek, Director – Ocean & Air Services at (905) 882-4880, ext. 1207.