EGT Remains Defiant, Constituting a Threat to Stability of the Industry

PORTLAND, OR (October 19, 2011) — The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Locals 4, 8, 19, and 23 voted to ratify the tentative agreement that was reached with the Pacific Northwest Grain Elevator Operators on September 14, 2011.

The 2011-2012 Grain Handers Agreement, which took two days to negotiate, expires on September 30, 2012 and includes a base pay increase of 3.1% for registered grain handlers and 4% increase for non-registered (causal) grain handlers. The Agreement includes full company paid maintenance of health and welfare as well as the defined benefit pension plan contained in the Pacific Coast Longshore Contract Document between the ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association.

All points of jurisdiction and current manning levels were maintained in the 2011-2012 Grain Handers Agreement.

The ILWU represents 4,000 men and women on the docks and in grain terminals in Oregon and Washington. The Pacific Northwest Grain Elevator Operators consists of owners and operators of six grain export terminals in Seattle, Tacoma, and Vancouver, WA, and in Portland, OR, that are owned and/or operated by Cargill, Columbia Grain, Louis Dreyfus Commodities, CLD Pacific Grain, and United Grain Corporation. For decades, the companies have negotiated on a coordinated basis with the ILWU for labor in their grain export terminals.

The Grain Handlers Agreement is also at issue in the ILWU’s dispute with EGT, a multinational grain elevator operator operating a new grain terminal at the Port of Longview, Washington. After negotiating from approximately September 2009 to May 2011 with the ILWU’s Longview local, ILWU Local 21, EGT refused to become a signatory to the Agreement or to sign a separate agreement that is similar to the Grain Handlers Agreement.

ILWU International President Robert McEllrath stated, “The 2011-2012 Grain Handers Agreement represents the continuation of years of collaboration between the ILWU and the Pacific Northwest Grain Elevator Operators. This collaboration ensures the stability of the United States grain export industry and the efficient flow of grain at a time when there is a lot of instability in the world.” He added, “This is the type of stability and collaboration that EGT walked away from after many months of negotiation. EGT’s actions threaten the stability that the ILWU and the other Pacific Northwest Grain Elevator Operators have been building for over 70 years.”

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From a ILWU Coast Longshore Division news release