LDC, Port of Seattle ILWU workers reach deal

From World Grain:https://longshoreshippingnews.com/wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=post

Longshore workers from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 19 who work at the Port of Seattle’s export grain terminal in the North Harbor recently voted in favor by a 93% yes vote to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement with Louis Dreyfus Co. (LDC) following three years of negotiations with the Netherlands-based corporation.

Negotiations for the new agreement began in the spring of 2018, and the previous agreement expired on May 31, 2018. The ILWU said improvements in the new agreement are significant for several reasons.

First, it achieves wage parity and creates a level playing field with the American-owned grain exporter, TEMCO, which was previously paying a higher rate than the foreign-owned LDC. TEMCO, a joint venture of Cargill and CHS, employs ILWU grain handlers at its facilities in the ports of Tacoma and Kalama, Washington, US, and Portland, Oregon, US.

Secondly, the ILWU said the agreement with LDC will pave the way to bring negotiations with other foreign-based grain exporters in line.