Seaway Strike Averted

(Journal of Commerce Online – Courtney Tower)

A strike that threatened to shut down the St. Lawrence Seaway to international traffic has been averted after 445 employees of the Canadian part of the system agreed in principle to a new three-year contract.

"Agreement has been reached subject to ratification by the Canadian Auto Workers union members," Andrew Bogora, spokesman for the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp., said Tuesday.

It had taken the SLSMC and the CAW five days of talks in Montreal through October 10, and then what Bogora called "much of the weekend," to come to agreement. Bogora said he had no details of the agreement, but confirmed the two key issues important to either side involved management's plans to introduce new technology that could replace up to 150 workers. Read more here and here.