Roger Werth photo of Full Sources docking at EGT with ILWU Local 21 workers, Feb. 7, 2012.
In an article called “No protest as grain ship docks at EGT terminal,” the Daily News reports:
Union longshore workers docked the merchant vessel Full Sources without incident at the EGT grain terminal Tuesday, marking the first time that union dockworkers have worked at the terminal.
“It’s … a relief for the community. We don’t have to worry about more chaos and mayhem. It’s going to bring money into the community. It brings more jobs into our hall,” Byron Jacobs, secretary/treasurer for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 21, said while watching the ship dock at about 12:30 p.m.
According to Jacobs, four ILWU workers were on the dock tying down the ship, while seven more were working inside the terminal. EGT is hiring from a pre-approved pool of workers dispatched from the ILWU hall, and the company expects to employ about 25 hourly ILWU employees at the terminal working 12-hour shifts, when needed.
Negotiators for both sides continued talks Tuesday to complete a labor agreement, though union officials announced Monday they had resolved the “fundamental” issues of a contract.
EGT expects to load 150 to 200 ships annually bound for Asia, carrying wheat, corn and soybeans, company spokesman Matthew Beck said. EGT owns three silos in Montana and plans to export grain from the nation’s midwestern bread basket.