Seattle, WA — Longshore workers from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 19 who work at the Port of Seattle’s export grain terminal in the North Harbor recently voted to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement with Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) following three years of tough negotiations with the Netherlands-based corporation.

According to a Facebook post by ILWU Coast Longshore Division, the agreement passed with 93% in favor.

Negotiations for the new agreement began in the spring of 2018, and the previous agreement expired on May 31, 2018. The union said improvements in this new successor agreement are significant for several reasons.

This agreement achieves wage parity and creates a level playing field with the American-owned grain exporter, TEMCO, which was previously paying a higher rate than the foreign-owned LDC.

TEMCO, a joint venture of Cargill and CHS, employs ILWU grainhandlers at its facilities in the ports of Tacoma and Kalama, WA, and Portland, OR.

“This new grain agreement between the ILWU grainhandlers on the docks and the European employer brings both parties into the future to build upon our decades of successful, profitable movement of grain in the Pacific Northwest," said ILWU Coast Committeeman Cam Williams.

"It includes advanced training programs, workforce stability, and operational improvements that will improve working conditions and productivity for the benefit of America’s farmers and workers,”

The ILWU also said this agreement with LDC will pave the way for negotiations with other foreign-based grain exporters hiring ILWU workers at Pacific Northwest grain terminals. They include:

  • United Grain Corporation (UGC) – owned by Mitsui of Japan, operating at the Port of Vancouver USA, Vancouver, Washington.
  • Columbia Export Terminal (CET) – owned by Marubeni of Japan, operating at the Port of Portland, Oregon.
  • EGT, owned by Korea-based Pan Ocean/Harim and U.S.-based Bunge, operating at the Port of Longview, Washington. This LDC agreement will serve as a benchmark for 2022 negotiations between ILWU and EGT.