The BC Maritime Employers Association implemented a lockout of about 730 ship and dock forepersons at ports in British Columbia on Monday afternoon. Members of Local 514 are supervisors of 7,400 workers at the International Longshore & Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU).Jesse Winter /The Globe and Mail
Employers locked out unionized supervisors at British Columbia ports, disrupting international shipping trade on the West Coast and creating upheaval across the supply chain.
The lockout by the BC Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) took effect Monday afternoon and covers about 730 ship and dock forepersons. Members of Local 514 are supervisors of 7,400 workers at the International Longshore & Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU).
The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade is warning that the shutdown of an array of B.C. terminals would disrupt up to $800-million a day in trade and send ripple effects beyond marine facilities, with cancelled train and truck deliveries this week.
Container terminals have halted imports of consumer goods from Asia and exports of Canadian raw materials. Other facilities shut down the transport of everything from auto imports to potash exports.
All container terminals and most other facilities at B.C. ports have closed, with only a handful of operations still open, such as sites for exporting coal, heavy oil and bulk grain.
Union members say they are concerned about semi-automation at DP World Canada’s Centerm container terminal at the Port of Vancouver.
The ILWU’s Local 514 served strike notice on Oct. 31, which prompted the BCMEA to issue its lockout notice in what the employers describe as a necessary defensive move to ensure workplace safety during the process of winding down operations on the waterfront.
The lockout took effect with the night shift that began at 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Monday.
The association of employers represents DP World Canada, whose parent is based in Dubai, and 48 other private-sector companies such as ship owners and terminal operators.
Frank Morena, president of Local 514, said the planned strike action was designed to have only a limited impact, with the union banning overtime and refusing to implement technological change.
He portrayed management’s lockout as an irrational and reckless reaction.
“This is no way to settle an important dispute with the whole country watching,” Mr. Morena said in a statement on Monday afternoon. “The BCMEA should drop its lockout, get back to the bargaining table and negotiate a deal.”
B.C. port employers release details of final offer to foremen union ahead of lockout
The union fears that employers are positioning themselves to make huge cuts to existing staffing levels at B.C. docks.
As well, Mr. Morena said unfair concessions have been threatened, including management seeking to remove a signing bonus and other benefits if unionized supervisors reject the latest offer. Employers counter that no concessions are being sought in that offer.
Supervisors who cast ballots in August voted 96 per cent in favour of a strike mandate, based on a turnout of 76 per cent of eligible voters.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business and other like-minded groups are urging the federal Liberal government to intervene, but the federal NDP wants Ottawa to respect collective bargaining.
Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon said he has asked the employers and union leaders to find common ground. “It is their responsibility and they need to do the work necessary to get an agreement,” he said in Ottawa on Monday.
Work stoppages at B.C. ports in the summer of 2023 led to the disruption of an estimated $10.7-billion worth of goods.
Rank-and-file longshore workers at the ILWU went on strike for 13 days at the beginning of July, 2023, at B.C. ports. Days later, they walked off the job for another 24 hours.
About 6,000 of those ILWU members are in the Vancouver region; 1,000 in the Prince Rupert area in Northern B.C.; and the rest in Nanaimo and Port Alberni on Vancouver Island.
The previous five-year collective agreement for forepersons expired on March 31, 2023. After bargaining stalled last year, negotiations resumed in January with the assistance of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
Mediated talks ended last week without any contract settlement.
The BCMEA is characterizing its “final offer” presented to the union last week as a generous four-year plan. It is proposing to raise the base pay rate annually so that wages reach $76.68 an hour in the final year that starts April 1, 2026. The recent wage offer is the same as what was proposed six months ago.
Employers have offered what amounts to a compounded wage increase of 19.2 per cent over four years, which would result in median compensation for forepersons rising to $293,617 annually, including overtime and shift premiums but excluding benefits and pension. The current median compensation is $246,323 a year, according to the employers.
In addition, the BCMEA said its offer includes an average of $21,000 for a lump-sum payout that includes a signing bonus and retroactive wages for eligible forepersons, and an improved retirement payout of $108,750, which would be on top of pension entitlements.
The retirement payout is aimed at compensating employees for modernization and mechanization, known as M&M payments.
The employers released a letter on Saturday, signed by BCMEA chief executive officer Mike Leonard and sent to Mr. Morena. “The BCMEA truly believes this final offer can help both parties conclude negotiations,” Mr. Leonard said in the letter dated Oct. 30.
The lockout is the latest in a series of recent interruptions in Canada’s supply chain, including at the Port of Montreal.
A railway shutdown delayed deliveries of a wide range of cargo for several days in August, and then employees at six grain terminals at the Port of Vancouver went on strike for four days in September.
