Port Metro Vancouver, Truckers Reach Deal to End Strike

By Mark Edward Nero

Port Metro Vancouver and the hundreds of drayage truck drivers that haul goods to and from the port reached a deal on March 26 to end a strike launched March 10 by members of the Unifor-Vancouver Container Truckers’ Association.

The two sides, with the aid of a federal negotiator, have agreed to accept a revised version of a 14-point plan by the port that had been previously rejected by the truck drivers.

“We are pleased an agreement has been reached for moving forward with the 14-point action plan,” Port Metro Vancouver President & CEO Robin Silvester said in a statement. “The impacts of this ongoing dispute have been significant for Canadian families, businesses and our international customers.”

More that 1,000 non-union truckers also participated in the strike. They are represented by the non-profit United Truckers Association of British Columbia, which began a work stoppage and set up a blockade at Port Metro Vancouver on Feb. 26 in protest of long wait times at port terminals.

Earlier this month, Unifor had stated that the joint action plan, which includes such broadly worded provisions as assessing wage and fuel surcharge rates by mid-2015 and restructuring the trucking licensing system and the additional rolling out of GPS technology for trucks, did meet truckers’ concerns.

However, after rounds of negotiations, the sides came to an agreement, the details of which weren’t immediately available. The union previously said it wanted a wage increase and for fees for wait times to kick in after only one hour, rather than two, and for the fees to increase over time.

The agreement was reached about a week after the port had threatened to begin the process of revoking the licenses to operate at the port of striking truckers if they didn’t return to the job.

An estimated 90 percent of truck traffic was halted during the first several days of the strike, according to the port, although that number eventually dropped to about 60 percent. The economic impact of truckers walking off the job, Silvester said, was about $885 million per week.

“We anticipate it will take some time for our backlogs to clear before the port can return to normal operations,” Silvester said.

Metro Vancouver Threatens to Terminate Striking Truckers’ Permits

By Mark Edward Nero

Port Metro Vancouver, which has dealt with a strike by hundreds of drayage truck drivers for over a week now, is threatening to revoke truckers’ permits to operate at the port if they don’t return to work.

In a March 16 statement, port President and CEO Robin Silvester urged the truckers to immediately get back to the job, and touted a plan the port facilitated by both Transport Canada and British Columbia’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure that was released last week. The plan addressed pay rates and wait times, two of the issues that caused the striking truckers to walk off the job.

“We are ready to move ahead with the 14-point joint action plan released on Thursday, March 13,” Silvester said. “It addresses concerns raised by truckers in areas such as compensation and wait times and is a means to get port operations back to normal.”

However, the Unifor-Vancouver Container Truckers’ Association, the union representing the striking drivers, says the joint action plan, which includes such broadly-worded provisions as assessing wage and fuel surcharge rates by mid-2015 and restructuring the trucking licensing system and the additional rolling out of GPS technology for trucks, does not meet the truckers’ concerns.

In the port’s statement, Silvester warned that truckers not returning to work within an unspecified time would be at risk of losing their licenses to operate at the port.

“The efficient movement of marine containers through Port Metro Vancouver is critical to Canada’s Asia Pacific Gateway and Canada’s economy,” Silvester said. “Truckers have Port Metro Vancouver-issued permits that allow them, through trucking companies, to provide service to terminals at the port. A continued refusal by some truckers to provide such service is likely to result in suspension or termination of their permits by Port Metro Vancouver.”

Picket lines were set up at nine locations around the port on March 10 as a result of a vote earlier in the month by Unifor to authorize a strike. The roughly 400 union truckers joined with several hundred members of the non-union United Truckers Association of British Columbia, which began a work stoppage and set up a blockade at Port Metro Vancouver on Feb. 26 in protest of long wait times at port terminals.

Vince Ready, a mediator appointed by Canadian Transport Minister Lisa Raitt, has thus far been unable to hammer out an agreement between the various parties.

An estimated 90 percent of truck traffic has been halted, according to the port. The economic impact of truckers walking off the job, Silvester said, is about $885 million per week.

Union Truckers Launch Port Metro Vancouver Strike

By Mark Edward Nero

Following in the path of non-unionized truck drivers who began a work stoppage at Port Metro Vancouver in late February, hundreds of union truckers serving Canada’s largest and busiest port have gone on strike.

Starting at 7 am March 10, picket lines were set up at nine locations around the port as a result of a vote earlier this month by the Unifor-Vancouver Container Truckers’ Association to authorize a strike.

The roughly 400 union truckers joined with several hundred members of the non-profit United Truckers Association of British Columbia, which began a work stoppage and set up a blockade at Port Metro Vancouver on Feb. 26 in protest of long wait times at port terminals.

The union’s main gripe is over wages: it says the average pay rate in the British Columbia area is $23 an hour, but that the average pay for truckers moving containers in and out of Port Metro Vancouver is $15.59 an hour.

Vince Ready, a mediator appointed by Canadian Transport Minister Lisa Raitt, has thus far been unable to hammer out an agreement between the various parties.

“The purpose of Mr. Ready’s appointment was to conduct a review of an industry that is clearly not functioning well for all stakeholders,” Port Metro Vancouver President and CEO Robin Silvester said in a statement. “We agree that truckers should be paid a fair wage, but bargaining relating to employment and contract relationships can only be done with the employer or the parties to the contract. Port Metro Vancouver is not the employer and is not party to the contract relationships.”

The non-union truckers’ primary complaint has been long wait times at terminals. The drivers, who are independent owner-operators and paid by the load, say they can sometimes wait two or three hours on port property before being able to pick up or drop off containers.

The strike has already had a “dramatic” effect on container movement, according to the port. An estimated 90 percent of truck traffic has been halted. The economic impact of truckers walking off the job, Silvester said, is about $885 million per week.