ILWU Local 21 rallies for good jobs in Longview, WA. Picketers held signs reading "Port of Longview Keep Taxpayers Money Local" and "Stop Giveaways to Foreign Companies" with EGT circled and crossed out. Other local unions representing chemical workers, papermakers, construction trades and plumbers attended the rally.
Concerned that 50 jobs at the new Port of Longview grain terminal could go to non-union workers, more than 150 longshoremen and other union supporters staged an informational picket line Friday afternoon at one of Longview’s busiest intersections.
Union President Dan Coffman said EGT Development, which owns the terminal, has not responded for two months to a counteroffer from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union local 21 to work at the grain terminal.
EGT, a Portland company, is jointly owned by St. Louis-based Bunge North America, Japan-based Itochu Corp. and Korean shipper Pan Ocean STX.