Union members authorize possible B.C. port strike but no notice issued

Gantry cranes tower above container ships being unloaded and loaded at port, in Vancouver, on Thursday, February 10, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The union representing foremen at British Columbia's ports say members have voted overwhelmingly to authorize strike action if necessary in an ongoing labour dispute with port employers.

International Longshore and Warehouse Union's Ship and Dock Foremen Local 514 says in a statement that members voted 96 per cent "industry-wide" in favour of authorizing a strike.

However, no 72-hour strike or lockout notice has been issued.

The union said previously that it had "no interest in an industry-wide dispute" since it wanted to negotiate with one employer — DP World Canada — directly on the issue of automation.

But the Canada Industrial Relations Board said the union can't bargain with DP World alone, which the union says forced members to take an industry-wide vote.

Local 514 president Frank Morena says in a statement the union "does not seek to negotiate through the media" but members want to fight back against what he describes as DP World's attempt to lower existing minimum manning levels.

The B.C. Maritime Employers Association says in an update that it has made offers "over the last 16 months … that would have resulted in a competitive and balanced deal to ILWU Local 514 members" with "significant gains in wages and benefits without any concession requests from employers."

"We remain committed to bargaining in good faith and seeking a balanced agreement that recognizes the hard work of the 730 forepersons on B.C.’s waterfront while ensuring West Coast ports remain competitive, resilient and affordable for all Canadians," the association says in its update.

Morena says the employers responded to a counter-offer by the union by filing a complaint with the Canada Industrial Relations Board, necessitating the union's vote to authorize strike action.

“Let me be clear on behalf of our membership: there will be no new collective agreements until the outstanding issues at the bargaining table are addressed,” Morena says in his statement. “We do not want a lockout or strike — we want a fair new contract.”

The last agreement expired more than a year ago, in March 2023.

The union with more than 700 members says negotiations last year, this January and this summer all failed to deliver a new deal and the CIRB is now mediating.

Strike action in 2023 by thousands of workers in a separate dispute at B.C.'s ports shut down most operations for 13 days and froze billions in trade at the docks.

Then, in August, work stoppages at both major Canadian railways disrupted port operations again.

The employers' association says the ongoing dispute with port foremen "does little to assure Canadians and global trading partners of supply chain stability."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 4, 2024.