VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Port workers on Canada’s West Coast will meet on Tuesday to decide whether to accept a tentative contract agreement, and union leadership said Friday it will recommend members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada accept the deal.
A brief notice from ILWU Canada President Rob Ashton said union members will stop work at 8 a.m. Tuesday, July 25, for a meeting to recommend terms of settlement with the BC Maritime Employers Association to the membership.
The deal could end a labor dispute that closed British Columbia ports for 13 days earlier in the month, dealing a major blow to Canadian rail intermodal traffic, as well as the broader Canadian economy. One of the five locals affected had first informed its members of a tentative agreement on Thursday [see “Deal may be in place …,” Trains News Wire, July 21, 2023].
About 7,400 workers at 30 ports are affected.