May 31, 2019

Longshore workers at B.C. ports back to work after half-day lockout

Less than three hours after it began, a lockout affecting thousands of longshore workers in B.C. has ended.

The BC Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) had enforced a lockout of over 6,000 longshore workers represented by the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU), effectively shutting down all Canadian West Coast ports on Thursday morning.

The lockout ended just before 10:45 a.m. PT after a tentative deal was reached, according to a release from the ILWU.

Some ocean carriers had already started re-scheduling or re-routing vessels. Business should get back to normal soon.