American truckers who rely on active ports held their collective breath as longshoremen and dockworker unions were embroiled in testy contract negotiations on both coasts. While the unions were recently able to come to agreements, their Canadian counterparts walked off the job on July 1, stifling two of its three busiest ports — Vancouver and Prince Rupert.
More than 50 ships were stuck in limbo around the Port of Vancouver and two of the seven terminals at Prince Rupert Port Authority were negatively impacted. A reported 20 percent of Canada’s import exports run through the two ports and the strike reportedly left more than $12 billion in cargo stranded on ships.
“About $500 million worth of cargo every day flows through West Coast ports for Alberta, whether that’s perishable food coming in to the province or exports leaving the province. There should have been proactive measures. This should have been on everyone’s radar,” Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen reportedly said. “We’re feeling the effects right now. There are trains parked on the prairies even as we speak. Penalties will be coming later that will transcend backward throughout the supply chain. So, yeah, it’s just going to get materially worse as time goes on.”
The truckers who transport hundreds of millions worth of cargo each day appear to be collateral damage. It’s a scenario CDL holders on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts avoided, following some minor port disruptions.
All told, upwards of 7,400 workers of 49 companies have gone on strike, saying management “refused to negotiate on the main issues,” leaving them “no choice but to take the next step in the process.” Workers are reportedly seeking higher wages and limits on automation that might eliminate jobs, echoing those of U.S. dockworkers.
After five days of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union Canada walkout, freight industry and business leaders have called for legislation that would force union members back to work. The U.S. saw this same scenario unfold when freight railroad workers threatened to strike earlier this year. Canadian officials appear reluctant to use legislative coercion, despite wide-reaching freight transportation industry workers losing paychecks.
Canadian labour minister Seamus O’Regan reportedly said the federal government was “not looking past the bargaining table, as the best deals are struck there.” The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association.
It was this same week in 2022 that truckers at Canada’s ports threatened to strike in response to government mandates banning older diesel rigs.
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