ILWU Local Files Suit Against Grain Terminal

International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 40, which represents dockworkers in Portland, Oregon, has filed a federal lawsuit against exporter Columbia Grain of violating labor law by refusing to arbitrate a grievance.

In its suit, which was filed in Portland on March 26, Local 40 states that back on Jan. 21, it filed a grievance against Columbia Grain challenging lost work under the union’s labor contract.

The lawsuit contends that Columbia Grain, which operates the 40-acre Terminal 5 site at the Port of Portland, wrongfully stopped using union marine clerks. Also according to the complaint, a Columbia Grain attorney told the union on Feb. 7 that the company wouldn’t process the grievance it had filed against the non-usage of clerks.

The union claims the terminal operator’s actions are in violation of the federal Labor Management Relations Act, which requires employers to arbitrate grievances governed by the arbitration provisions of a collective bargaining agreement. The suit asks a judge to order the company into arbitration with the union.

The lawsuit is unrelated to the ongoing lockout of ILWU workers at the United Grain terminal in Vancouver, Washington. United Grain locked out union workers from the terminal on Feb. 27, after accusing a union official who worked there of sabotaging equipment in retaliation for contentious ongoing contract negotiations.

In that case, ILWU Local 4, which represents about 250 workers in Vancouver, Washington, has filed an unfair labor practice charge against Mitsui-United Grain Corp. for the lockout of its workforce at the Port of Vancouver USA.

The lawsuits and grievances are tied to a larger, ongoing dispute between the ILWU and three Pacific Northwest grain handlers – Columbia Grain and LD Commodities in Portland and United Grain in Vancouver, Washington – all of which locked out ILWU workers after the sabotage accusations.

The union has been involved in on-and-off contract negotiations with the grain handlers association since September 2012, but talks broke down earlier this year and no further discussions have been scheduled.

Grain Association, Union Resuming Contract Negotiations

Despite rumors of an impending lockout, contract negotiations were scheduled to resume this week between the Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union, according to a federal mediator.

The parties were slated to resume negotiations Oct. 29 upon the request of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, an independent US government agency whose mission is to preserve and promote labor-management peace and cooperation.

“Due to the sensitivity of this high profile dispute and consistent with the Agency’s longstanding practice, we will not disclose either the location of the meeting or the content of the substantive negotiations that will take place,” the FMCS said in a statement.

The negotiating parties have also agreed to an FMCS request that they refrain from public comments regarding the status of negotiations, according to the federal agency.

The Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association represents four companies: Columbia Grain, which operates a Port of Portland terminal; United Grain Corp., which has an export terminal at the Port of Vancouver in Washington; LD Commodities, operator of facilities in Portland and Seattle; and TEMCO, which has facilities in Kalama, Portland and Tacoma.

The association began negotiations with the union in early September. The owners group has said it wants a contract similar to what was worked out between management and longshore workers at the Port of Longview earlier this year for the port’s EGT grain terminal. The contract includes several cost-saving workplace rules.

The union says it won’t budge on some concessions the owners want, such as 12-hour work shifts, an ability to bypass the union hiring hall, and being given greater control over the ability to fire dockworkers.

Despite the increasingly contentious negotiations, there have been no reported labor disruptions at any of the affected terminals so far. The union says plans are underway to organize boat pickets on the Columbia and Willamette rivers if a lockout occurs.

The FMCS, which was created in 1947, is headquartered in Washington, DC and has 10 district offices and 67 field offices across the US The agency provides mediation and conflict resolution services to industry, government agencies and communities.

Union, Grain Handlers Association Near Possible Lockout

Contract negotiations between the Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union are at an impasse and a lockout could be imminent, according to sources.

The Grain Handlers Association is expected to lock out longshore workers on Oct. 24 at six Northwest grain terminals in Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Tacoma, and Vancouver, Washington, according to the ILWU.

The contract between the groups was set to expire Sept. 30, but the grain handlers group announced Sept. 28 that it had agreed with the union to push the expiration date back two weeks while negotiations continued. However, an agreement was still not reached.

The Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association represents four companies: Columbia Grain, which operates a Port of Portland terminal; United Grain Corp., which has an export terminal at the Port of Vancouver in Washington; LD Commodities, operator of facilities in Portland and Seattle; and TEMCO, which has facilities in Kalama, Portland and Tacoma.

The association began negotiations with the union involving Puget Sound terminals and operations on the Columbia River in early September. The owners group has said it wants a contract similar to what was worked out between management and longshore workers at the Port of Longview earlier this year for the port’s EGT grain terminal. The contract includes several cost-saving workplace rules.

The union says it won’t budge on some concessions the owners want, such as 12-hour work shifts, an ability to bypass the union hiring hall, and being given greater control over the ability to fire dockworkers.

Despite the increasingly contentious negotiations, there have been no reported labor disruptions at any of the affected terminals so far. But plans are underway to organize boat pickets on the Columbia and Willamette rivers if the lockout occurs, according to the union.

Grain Shippers, Union Extend Contract Talks

The Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association, a consortium of Northwest grain shippers, has said it has agreed to temporarily extend its expiring contract with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

The contract between the groups was set to expire Sept. 30, but the grain handlers group announced Sept. 28 that it had agreed with the union to push the expiration date back two weeks.

“The parties have agreed to continue bargaining and have scheduled a number of sessions between now and the middle of October,” according to a Grain Handlers Association statement.

The Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association represents four companies: Columbia Grain, which operates a Port of Portland terminal; United Grain Corp., which has an export terminal at the Port of Vancouver in Washington; LD Commodities, operator of facilities in Portland and Seattle; and TEMCO, which has facilities in Kalama, Portland and Tacoma.

The association began negotiations with the union involving Puget Sound terminals and operations on the Columbia River in early September. The owners group has said it wants a contract similar to what was worked out between management and longshore workers at the Port of Longview earlier this year for the port’s EGT grain terminal. The contract includes several cost-saving workplace rules.

There have been no reported labor disruptions so far, but stakes in the negotiations are high; Pacific Northwest terminals are a major exporter of grain in the US barring a work interruption caused by labor issues, facilities in Oregon and Washington are expected to ship out nearly half of 33 million metric tons of wheat to other countries this year.

Grain Shippers, Union Begin Contract Negotiations

Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association, a consortium of Northwest grain shippers, says it’s optimistic that it will be able to reach a new contract agreement with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

The two sides recently began negotiations involving Puget Sound terminals and operations on the Columbia River. The current contract between the groups expires Sept. 30.

The Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association represents four companies: Columbia Grain, which operates a Port of Portland terminal; United Grain Corp., which has an export terminal at the Port of Vancouver in Washington; LD Commodities, operator of facilities in Portland and Seattle; and TEMCO, which has facilities in Kalama, Portland and Tacoma.

The negotiations come eight months after EGT, operator of a new grain terminal at the Port of Longview, reached a contract deal with the union after a tumultuous battle that led to dozens of arrests of ILWU members and supporters during a series of protests last summer.

During some of those pickets, protesters stormed the facility, cut brake lines on rail cars and dumped grain from the cars, among other things. The dozens of arrests were mostly for trespassing and disorderly conduct.

But in a statement, the Grain Handlers Association said it expects negotiations to go more smoothly than the EGT contract talks, during which the ILWU maintained that its contract with the Port of Longview requires that the 25 to 35 jobs inside the terminal go to ILWU workers.

The two sides came to an agreement and signed a contract in January.

Barring an interruption due to labor issues, Pacific Northwest terminals are expected handle nearly half of 33 million metric tons of wheat expected to be exported from the US this year.