An investigator for the Vancouver, Wash. United Grain terminal accuses a longshore union official of pouring sand into a gearbox as sabotage.
An investigator for the Vancouver, Wash. United Grain terminal accuses a longshore union official of pouring sand into a gearbox as sabotage.
Former federal investigator Norman Transeth Jr. accused Todd Walker, a Local 4 union official and negotiator, of vandalism costing the company more than $91,000, according to a confidential report obtained by The Oregonian Monday from the Vancouver Police Department. Walker did not return phone calls for comment on the accusations, which were termed groundless by Jennifer Sargent, a spokeswoman for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
United Grain managers cited the alleged act of sabotage — and another one, in which Walker is accused of sticking a pipe into a conveyer belt the same day — when they locked out longshore workers Wednesday from the plant. Dockworkers have picketed United Grain since then as company managers and non-union workers operate the export terminal.
Read more at OregonLive.com.
{biztweet}longshore sabotage{/biztweet}
