Operations at Portland’s international container terminal, a workhorse of Oregon’s economy, appear increasingly tenuous as a third labor conflict surfaces and big customers waver.
Little-known contract talks between the Port of Portland and the terminal’s security guards, represented by the longshore union, reenter mediation Friday.
A breakdown in the talks, which have dragged on since July 1, could disable not only the troubled container yard but two other Port terminals.
Separately, contentious contract talks continue with a federal mediator between the longshore union and owners of Northwest grain terminals. The grain talks and the security-guard negotiations are distinct from yet another, better known dispute that broke out last summer involving work with refrigerated containers.
