The strike shut down all shipping on the St. Lawrence Seaway, disrupting Canadian and U.S. exports of grain and other goods to the rest of the world through the Great Lakes.
About 360 workers at Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union, in Ontario and Quebec went on strike early Sunday over a wage dispute with the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Company. The strike closed 13 locks between Lake Erie and Montreal, leading to the blockade. Ships entering the Great Lakes and preventing more ships from entering.
The St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes are part of a system of locks, canals, rivers, and lakes that stretches more than 2,300 miles (3,700 kilometers) from the Atlantic Ocean to the western end of Lake Superior in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Last year, it carried more than US$12 billion (nearly C$17 billion) worth of cargo. Ships sailing here include ocean-going “salt ships” and “lake ships” attached to the lake.
It was the first time since 1968 that a strike had shut down a vital shipping artery. Earlier on Sunday, the union said that despite months of negotiations they “remain 1,000 nautical miles apart on wages”.
The strike entered its third day on Tuesday, with the Canadian government ordering both sides to return to the negotiating table with federal mediators in Toronto on Friday. U.S. officials are urging the Canadian government and Seaway to reach a settlement.
“We have food to feed the world, but they don’t move. We salt the roads in the winter to be safe, but they don’t move. We have iron ore for steelmaking, but they don’t move,” says Ottawa Two Oceans said Jason Card, a spokesman for the chamber.
Management has asked the Canadian government to invoke a law that would allow ships carrying grain to pass through the system, but so far it has refused to intervene.
Jean Aubry-Morin, vice president of external relations for Seaway management, said Thursday they were disappointed with the delay in negotiations. “We go to Toronto hoping that this situation will change and that we can move forward and reach a fair and reasonable agreement,” he added.
While Unifor recently won a big pay raise from the automaker, Aubrey-Morin said the management company is a nonprofit and doesn’t have the leverage of the auto industry.
Union officials did not respond to messages seeking comment but said in a statement that “Unifor will comply with calls for mediation and will continue to support our members on the picket line during negotiations.”
Aubrey-Moran said management is aware of about 115 ships in trouble on the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. He said they have no data on how many ships at sea may still be heading for waterways and the Great Lakes. But he put the total economic impact of the shutdown at $110 million (C$153 million) per day.
On Thursday, the website MarineTraffic.com showed that many ocean-going vessels were still in the system. One major bottleneck is Ontario’s closed Welland Canal. Approximately 25 boats (salt boats and lake boats) are anchored outside the entrances to Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.
The U.S. Navy littoral combat ship USS Marinette was scheduled to leave Cleveland on Lake Erie on Monday, but it remains stuck.
Other stranded vessels include five anchored at the main grain port of Thunder Bay, Ont., on Lake Superior, and two in the Detroit River between Lakes Huron and Erie. They will not be able to cross Lake Erie until the waterway reopens.
Cargoes such as iron ore and coal can still pass through the Great Lakes from Superior to Erie.
Port of Detroit operations director John Jamian said the strike has affected eight Detroit-bound ships carrying steel coils and slabs for the automotive industry and cement for the construction industry. He said that number is likely to increase.
“Remember, each ship has a lot of tonnage. These ships are not going to enter the system,” Jamian said. “I know one of them is still in Europe with cargo, destined for Detroit. She’s in waiting mode.”
The strike also worries officials at the twin ports of Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin. The Cypriot-flagged, Polish-operated Isadora departed from there on Monday, carrying a cargo of grain to Algeria. MarineTraffic.com shows it arrived in Lake Erie on Thursday, but without a solution, it will be unable to move forward.
“The fourth quarter is peak harvest season and shipping activity is always very high, so this is a unique time of year for any disruption to offshore operations,” said Jason Hron, spokesman for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. Bad times.” “It does have a ripple effect throughout the St. Lawrence Seaway-Great Lakes shipping system.”
More saltwater already in the lake is expected to arrive in the coming days, but what happens after they load and leave remains an open question, Herron said.
“North America’s major inland trade corridors should not be used as pawns in labor disputes,” Herron said. “As a result, Great Lakes ports and unions are urging the Canadian government to directly mediate and expedite a resolution of this dispute to immediately reopen the waterway and make it fully operational.”
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