The west coast port of Seattle, Washington has been closed due to disruptions by unionized labour, a move that could put pressure on ports in neighbouring British Columbia.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is refusing to dispatch workers at the container terminals in Seattle, forcing the port to temporarily close.
Ports along the U.S. west coast, including in California, have faced continuous job actions by workers in recent weeks.
An estimated $5.2 billion U.S. of trade passes through ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland, California alone.
The action in Seattle comes as the Longshore and Warehouse Union bargains for a new contract for its workers.
The Port of Seattle and its twin port in Tacoma, Washington make up what is called the “Northwest Seaport Alliance” (NWSA).
The Port of Seattle is also one of the top maritime ports in North America that U.S. agriculture exporters rely on to ship vegetables and grain to Asian nations such as China, Japan, and India.
The top six U.S. exports out of Seattle, according to the port’s website, are apples, milk, cattle, wheat, potatoes, and hay.
In nearby Vancouver, British Columbia, some 7,000 unionized workers at the city’s ports held a strike vote on June 10, the results of which are not yet known.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada, which represents dock workers, is currently negotiating a new collective agreement with the B.C. Maritime Employers Association.
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