Workers at six grain terminals in Metro Vancouver walked off their jobs early today in a strike that will have what Canadian grain growers termed a “devastating” impact on the industry.
More than 600 workers represented by Grain Workers Union Local 333 headed to the picket lines after negotiations collapsed with the Vancouver Terminal Elevators Association (VTEA) for a new collective agreement. The union issued the required 72-hour notice on Saturday.
Facilities affected include Viterra’s Cascadia and Pacific Terminals, Richardson International Terminal, Cargill Limited Terminal, G3 Terminal Vancouver and Alliance Grain Terminal.
“Grain farmers in the Prairies rely heavily on the Port of Vancouver to handle and export the majority of the grain they grow,” declared the Grain Growers of Canada. “Following last month’s rail work stoppages, this strike will have an equally devastating impact on grain farmers across the Prairies who are in the midst of harvest.”
More than half of all Canadian-grown grain last year moved through the affected terminals. The industry group said, adding that the strike will halt 100,000 metric tons of commodities arriving at the terminals each day and cost $35 million daily in lost exports.
In a statement Monday, the union urged the Canadian Industrial Relations Board to bring the VTEA back to the table for negotiations.
The union says it provided the employer with a “comprehensive package” last Thursday but on Friday the association indicated it had no counter offer. “Your union will not bargain against itself,” the union said. “We will await their proposal if and when it comes and respond accordingly.”
Federal Labor Minister Steven Mackinnon posted on “X” this morning that at his request both sides have agreed to resume negotiations with federal mediators.
“Grain Workers Union Local 333 members at Vancouver grain terminals went on strike at 7:00 a.m. PT this morning. I spoke with both GWU and the Vancouver Terminal Elevators’ Association yesterday. At my request, parties have agreed to resume negotiations alongside federal mediators. After a bumper crop summer, Canadian farmers and businesses need to get their harvest to market. Parties need to work hard to get a deal.”
Strike vote taking place by Montreal longshoremen
Meanwhile, deadlocked waterfront labour negotiations at the Port of Montreal were moving towards a possible strike as more than 1,000 longshoremen were voting today on a work stoppage mandate of unspecified duration proposed by their union. The results were to be released Wednesday.
The Maritime Employers Association (MEA), which is engaged in negotiations involving federal mediators with the union representing 1,100 longshoremen to renew a contract which expired December 31, 2023, recently was rebuffed by the CIRB in its bid to designate longshore work at Montreal’s container terminals as “an essential service” – which would have barred any strike action.
Wages and job security remain outstanding issues in dispute. The CUPE Local 375 union last April rejected what the MEA described as a final offer.
(Photo of Richardson grain terminal in Vancouver)
