The Port of Montreal on the first day of a strike by longshore workers two terminals.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
Dock workers at the Port of Montreal launched a three-day strike on Monday morning, closing two terminals that handle about 40 per cent of the container traffic on the St. Lawrence Seaway.
About 350 workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees are on a strike at the Viau and Maisonneuve Termont terminals that is expected to last until 7 a.m. on Thursday.
The strike closes two of the port’s seven terminals to all vessel, truck and rail traffic, and puts at risk $91-million a day in economic activity, the port said.
Port of Montreal longshore workers begin a three-day strike outside the Viau terminal in Montreal on Sept. 30.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
The stoppage is happening as 45,000 dock workers in the United States threaten to strike on Tuesday, a move that would halt goods at about 36 ports on the East and Gulf coasts. The workers, represented by the International Longshoremen’s Association, are seeking more pay from the employers’ group, the United States Maritime Alliance.
The strike, which could halt container shipments from Maine to Texas, would cost the U.S. economy US$5-billion a day.
In Canada, talks between the union and the Maritime Employers Association have been going on for more than a year.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board held a hearing on Sunday afternoon and ruled the strike legal. On the same day, mediated negotiations failed. Officials with the employer group and union say no talks are scheduled and both sides are waiting for federal mediators to call the next round of negotiations.
“The uncertainty caused by this long delay and the recurrence of labour disputes are affecting the Quebec and Canadian economies, and Canada’s reputation as a reliable and resilient trading partner,” the employers’ group said in a statement. “The MEA had sincerely hoped to find common ground between the parties so that we could maintain operations. We are thus disappointed with this outcome.”
A strike by grain terminal workers at the Port of Vancouver ended on the weekend and shutdowns at Canada’s two largest railways temporarily disrupted a wide range of freight deliveries for several days in August.
Striking Montreal port workers say work schedules are a major issue in the negotiations.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
The Montreal port workers’ union has said schedules are the main hurdles to a deal. “We offered to negotiate through the strike. The employer said no,” union spokeswoman Lisa Djevahirdjian said.
Union official Michel Murray said in a radio interview on Monday that the partial strike is a “warning shot” intended to spur a return to the bargaining table.
“I’m already imagining all the heart attacks that Chamber of Commerce executives would have if we’d walked off the job, accusing us of taking the economy and the population hostage,” Mr. Murray said. “Our strike aims to get things moving at the negotiation table.”
The Montreal Port Authority said in a statement that it’s disappointed the talks have failed to produce an agreement even as imports and exports move through the port ahead of the crucial holiday season. “We continue to hope that the parties will reach an agreement as soon as possible.”
John Corey, president of the Freight Management Association of Canada, said the strike cuts off shipments of a wide range of consumer goods, processed food and other items.
The Montreal port is Canada’s second largest after Vancouver. The docks on the St. Lawrence Seaway have become busier in recent years amid a shift in global supply chains and the rise of manufacturing in such Southeast Asian countries as Vietnam, Bangladesh and India. The flow of goods to that region generally moves eastbound through the seaway.
“Montreal is a very important port,” Mr. Corey said by phone.
A spokesman for Canadian National Railway Co., Jonathan Abecassis, said the freight carrier is monitoring the strike and working with customers to mitigate the impact.
With a report from Nicolas Van Praet in Montreal