Seaway Workers Near Strike Deadline

(American Shipper – Chris Dupin)

Workers who operate Canadian locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway have authorized their union to strike on 72 hours’ notice at any time after October 10 if a new contract is not reached.

The workers, who belong to Canadian Autoworkers Union, operate 13 of the 19 locks on the Seaway – five between Montreal and Lake Ontario as well as the eight locks in the Welland Canal. U.S. workers operate two locks between Montreal and Ontario as well as four locks at Sault Ste. Marie on the St. Mary’s Falls Canal that links Lake Huron to Lake Superior.

The canal is run jointly by the U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. and the Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. (SLSMC).

The Canadian agency is optimistic that a strike can be avoided. Andrew Bogora, communications officer for the Canadian management corporation, said negotiations are to resume Monday. But if a strike did occur, he said it would completely halt movement of “salties” in and out of Lake Ontario as well as ships using the Welland Canal to move between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

Ships operating on the Upper Lakes, such as the carriers that bring iron ore from the Mesabi Range to steel mills along Lake Michigan and Lake Erie, would not be disrupted by a strike. Read the complete article here and more about how it could slow grain exports headed east from Canada’s main Prairie growing region and pressure prices here and here.