Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
VANCOUVER – Grain terminal workers chose a “high leverage moment” to go on strike in Metro Vancouver as farmers in Western Canada have plenty of produce to move for export, an expert in food and supply chain economics says.
Picket lines went up at six grain terminals in Metro Vancouver on Tuesday as about 600 workers with Grain Workers Union Local 333 began their strike.
University of Guelph food economist Michael von Massow said they represent a small but vital link in the grain export supply chain.
“If you live in Vancouver, you might drive by these big buildings and not understand how integral they are in the supply chain for mostly western grains,” Massow said.
“If those terminals don’t work, you basically shut down the supply chain for export wheat.”
Massow said it was “relatively smart” for the union to go on strike as farmers have a glut of grain and “get stuck with it” if terminals don’t accept shipments for export.
The “immediate pain,” he said, is millions in product not being shipped, then potential reputational damage as customers look elsewhere for wheat.
Canada’s labor minister said Tuesday that he spoke with the employer and union representatives a day earlier, and that they had agreed to resume contract negotiations alongside federal mediators.
Steven MacKinnon posted the message on social media platform X, saying Canadian farmers have a “tremendous crop” they need to get to market.
The president of the union, Douglas Lea-Smith, said that the minister’s involvement was a positive step, and a meeting had been arranged for Wednesday between the union and the employer to try to resolve the “mess” in bargaining.
Lea-Smith said the employer, the Terminal Elevators Association, had not “meaningfully engaged” in a dozen days of bargaining before further negotiations with the help of the federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
He said that the employers’ association had “dragged its feet on bargaining,” giving incomplete answers to proposals to the union, while offering a “bad proposal” that the membership did not accept.
A statement issued by the Canadian Shipping Federation over the weekend said the union and the association had concluded conciliation with the help of the federal service on August 26, but could not reach an agreement on a new contract.
Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association, said Tuesday that the parties have been in talks since last November and that the union is “playing slow” to strike in time for the fall wheat harvest.
“They controlled the clock to bring this all to a head,” he said. “Therefore, we are right in the middle of the harvest, so there is maximum pressure on the employers to put more into the bargaining process.”
Affected operations include Cascadia and Pacific Viterra Terminals, Richardson International Terminal, Cargill Limited Terminal, G3 Vancouver Terminal and Alliance Grain Terminal, all located in Vancouver and North Vancouver.
“But there is no right or wrong in this situation. It’s about leverage and perspective,” Sobkowich said. “We feel that what we are offering in terms of salaries is very fair.”
He added: “The union clearly disagrees or they wouldn’t be on strike.”
The union has said it provided the employer with a “comprehensive package” last Thursday, but the next day, the association indicated they had no counter offer.
But Lea-Smith said the association had released a “full proposal” directly to workers, sidelining the union.
“They walked right around us because they believe we do not represent our members, even though we are elected by our members,” he said.
The big sticking point in the negotiations was about time instead, he said.
“There are some minor financial issues, but overall, it’s more than largely earned days off, which we call lieu days,” he said.
Lea-Smith said the employer was trying to get rid of lieu days, and that the strike would continue in order to put pressure on the bargaining table.
The lieu days stretch back to binding arbitration in 2002, when the workers moved to around-the-clock operation, he said.
“Grain workers in 2002, on a pro rata basis, compared to today, earned more money than we do,” he said.
This is the first time the local union has gone on strike since around 1970, he said.
Sobkowich said the Vancouver Terminal Elevators Association, the bargaining unit for the employers, was “not siding with the union” and they are preparing for mediation on Wednesday “with a focus on reaching a quick resolution.”
Von Massow said the strike highlights “relatively unknown links in a variety of our food supply chains.”
The strike would not disrupt the domestic food supply, he said, but would affect the supply chains of Canadian wheat and canola buyers.
“For many of us, it will remain invisible because we will hear about this strike, but we will not feel the ramifications of that, but grain pickers, grain companies and farmers will feel this almost immediately and feel it quite harshly ,” he said. “So yes, it’s these unknown links in the supply chain that can break things relatively quickly.”
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on September 24, 2024.
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
source link https://canadanewsmedia.ca/what-to-know-about-parkinsons-disease-after-brett-favres-announcement/
