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ILWU and TEMCO Reach Grain Agreement for Northwest Terminals

Published Feb 27, 2013 3:34 PM by The Maritime Executive

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Locals 23, 21, 19, 8 and 4 and U.S.-based grain company TEMCO, LLC jointly announced that they have respectively ratified a 5-year interim collective bargaining agreement covering three TEMCO grain export facilities in Portland, Ore., Tacoma, Wash., and Kalama, Wash. The agreement will be signed and implemented on March 9, 2013, and is subject to modification given the details of a final agreement between the ILWU and the Pacific Northwest Grain Elevator Operators.

Robert McEllrath, ILWU International President, thanked the negotiators for their efforts and stated that “the agreement was achieved because American companies, farmers and workers recognize a common interest in our country’s resources and economic well being. That common interest is not reflected in the grain companies that have unilaterally implemented a contract that undermines American working standards at their competing facilities.”

Paul Butters, General Manager of TEMCO, LLC said: “The United States is a major supplier of grains to the world and the export facilities in Portland, Tacoma, and Kalama are important export terminals to serve those markets. We appreciate the constructive approach that the ILWU leadership provided in reaching this agreement, which is good for U.S. farmers and global customers who seek U.S. products.”

TEMCO, LLC is a joint venture between Cargill, Inc and CHS Inc., which are U.S. companies based in Minnesota.

Neither side provided details of the contract, but both said that the agreement was workable for both.

Earlier, the ILWU released this response to today's lockout at Mitsui-United Grain:

United Grain and its Japanese owners at Mitsui have failed to negotiate in good faith with the men and women of the ILWU for months, and instead chose to aggressively prepare for a lockout, spending enormous resources on an out-of-state security firm.  Mitsui-United Grain has fabricated a story as an excuse to do what they’ve wanted to do all along, which is to lock workers out instead of reach a fair agreement with them. It’s no coincidence that Mitsui-United Grain has chosen to throw out unfounded charges by an unnamed “investigator” just days after the union membership ratified an agreement with Mistui-United Grain’s American competitors at Temco in Portland, Kalama and Tacoma.