British Columbia
A tentative agreement has been reached in the 4-day strike that threatened to disrupt grain shipments across the country.
6 bulk grain terminals in Vancouver set to reopen as early as 7 a.m. PT, union says
Abby Luciano · CBC News
· Posted: Sep 27, 2024 11:03 PM EDT | Last Updated: September 28
Rail cars are seen on the tracks outside the Viterra Cascadia Terminal that handles grain exports. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)A tentative agreement has been reached in the four-day strike that threatened to disrupt grain shipments across the country.
In a statement, the Western Grain Terminal Elevator Association (WGEA) announced negotiations, which had been stalled, were able to restart Friday under federal mediator Peter Simpson.
It says a tentative deal was reached late in the day between the Grain Workers Union (GWU) and the Vancouver Terminal Elevators’ Association (VTEA). The WGEA says the agreement will run through to Dec. 31, 2027.
Grain Workers Union Local 333 president Douglas Lea-Smith says while he wished there was more in the tentative deal for workers, employees are happy with it.
“Ultimately, in the end you can’t achieve everything. So I still feel really good about it, I think it’s positive,” Lea-Smith said. “Anytime you can reach an agreement at the bargaining table is the best way to do it.”
Workers at several Metro Vancouver grain terminals walked off the job Tuesday morning. Members of the Grain Workers Union Local 333 headed to picket lines at 7 a.m. PT, three days after serving strike notice.
Vote to take place Oct. 4Six facilities were affected, including Viterra’s Cascadia and Pacific Terminals, Richardson International Terminal, Cargill Limited Terminal, G3 Terminal Vancouver and Alliance Grain Terminal.
“There’s always an impact [on] workers in these situations. They lost wages, had many nights out in the cold and rain … and also there’s always hostile people who come to the picket line,” Lea-Smith said.
Federal Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon thanked the two parties on X, formerly known as Twitter, for coming to an agreement.
A statement from WGEA said GWU members will continue work pending the ratification vote, which is scheduled for Oct. 4.
Lea-Smith says the union is very hopeful, and thinks the employer is satisfied.
“The bargaining committee would not sign a memorandum of agreement under the belief that this is going to fail,” he said. “We believe that this is good for our membership.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abby Luciano is an associate producer with CBC British Columbia. She previously worked as a reporter and later editor-in-chief of Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s student newspaper The Runner.
With files from Rafferty Baker
