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PACIFIC NORTHWEST LONGSHOREMEN PREPARE TO STRIKE, AG EXPORTS THREATENED
Oct. 2, 2012
BrownfieldAgNews reports:
Managers of Pacific Northwest grain terminals are bracing for a longshoremen strike. Labor negotiations are going on now, but their contract expires Sunday.
The affected ports handle about a quarter of the United States' corn, soybean and wheat exports.
Soy Transportation Coalition Executive Director Mike Steenhoek says port labor problems at this time of the year, during the peak of harvest season, could harm the U.S. reputation as a reliable supplier.
"For [the soybean] industry that exports over half of what it produces, any kind of choke point or stoppage in the supply chain is really going to hit our radar screen," said Steenhoek, in an interview with Brownfield Ag News on Friday.
Terminal operators want an agreement similar to one made earlier with the Export Grain Terminal in Longview, Washington. That agreement allows the terminal to bypass the union and hire dockworkers directly, workers can be fired without cause and managers can bring in non-union workers during times of labor disagreements.
Members of the International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union oppose that.
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