Business owners raise concerns as B.C. port workers return to picket lines

Update, July 19: When CTV News Vancouver cameras visited the port Wednesday morning, picket lines had been taken down again. Read more here. The original story follows.

B.C. port workers are back on strike after the union's leadership rejected a federal mediator's settlement, leaving local business owners worried about supply chain disruptions.

The tentative deal was reached last week following a 13-day labour dispute that stopped billions of dollars' worth of good from flowing through the ports.

News that the settlement had failed was disappointing to Peter Marshall, owner of Sur Lie, a boutique wine and spirits importer.

“It’s not great,” said Marshall, one of many business owners directly impacted by the strike.

“I have about 140 cases of wine in a container that I won’t be able to sell until it gets unloaded and goes into my warehouse."

Marshall added that the quality of his wines might also spoil under the hot summer sun.

Fiona Famulak, president and chief executive of the B.C. Chamber of Commerce, said an ongoing strike could have a major impact on Canada's economy.

“You and I will pay more for food, will pay more for clothes,” she said.

“It also brings Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading partner into question,” she continued.

In a statement Tuesday, the B.C. Maritime Employers Association said the union rejected the proposed four-year agreement, which included considerable wage hikes and benefits above the approximate 10 per cent increase received over the past three years.

Federal Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra issued a joint statement Tuesday hinting at the possibility of imposing back-to-work legislation.

"We have been patient. We have respected the collective bargaining process. But we need our ports operating," they said.

The International Longshore Workers Union Canada has said the four-year term of the collective agreement was "far too long" and that cost of living demands were not met.

“I just ask you to continue to be patient. Let the process work. We will get there,” said union president Willie Adams Tuesday.

Marshall sad he remains cautiously optimistic, given that both parties had reached to some sort of agreement temporarily.

“I’ll believe it’s over when it’s over. And I’ll just have to plan accordingly,” he said, adding that he hopes an agreement is reached soon before supply chain issues worsen.