A Vancouver, Wash. grain terminal owner imposed a lockout on longshoremen after determining a union leader sabotaged company equipment during labor problems in December.
A Vancouver, Wash. grain terminal owner imposed a lockout on longshoremen after determining a union leader sabotaged company equipment during labor problems in December.
United Grain Corp., part of the Japanese conglomerate Mitsui & Co., said nonunion replacement workers will operate its Vancouver, Wash., export terminal for an “indefinite” period. The company said it fired the union leader, whom it described as a member of the bargaining team of Local 4 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union but did not name.
“Deliberate attempts by an ILWU leader to damage equipment, disrupt operations and put co-workers at risk cannot be tolerated,” United Grain CEO Gary Schuld said Wednesday.
The union called the company’s allegations unfounded, and locked-out longshoremen immediately picketed outside the terminal. Local 4 ranks third in membership on the Columbia River with 177 longshoremen and 109 part-time dockworkers, according to its website.
Read more at The Register-Guard.
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