Barges travel the St. Lawrence River to connect to the St. Lawrence Seaway, a waterway connecting Montreal, Quebec all the way to the U.S.
Andrej Ivanov /AFP via Getty Images
A key shipping channel bordering the U.S. and Canada is reopening on Monday after shutting down for nearly a week amid a labor strike—a relief for the many businesses and industries whose goods were stuck at ports for days.
On Sunday, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC), the not-for-profit company that manages the waterway, reached an agreement with Unifor, the Canadian union representing 360 striking workers at the firm.
The deal brought to an end the strike that began on Oct. 22 over wage disputes. “We will begin to implement our recovery program immediately and will start passing ships progressively as of Monday Oct. 30, with the return-to-work of employees at 07:00 a.m.,” SLSMC said in a Sunday statement.
The agreement still needs to be ratified by employees, and a vote is expected in the coming days, according to Unifor. The tentative agreement covers Unifor members in Ontario and Quebec that work in supervisory, engineering, maintenance, operations, and clerical positions at SLSMC. Details will be made public once the agreement is ratified.
“I am so proud of the unity of our members along the Seaway as they joined together to secure better wages and working conditions for all,” said Daniel Cloutier, Unifor Quebec director in a Sunday statement.
The St. Lawrence Seaway is a key artery that moves tens of thousands of metric tons of cargo daily between the Great Lakes and the eastern seaports of the U.S. and Canada.
Despite the small number of people on the picket line—compared with the thousands of UAW members of the auto industry—the Seaway workers’ strike had a significant impact on the U.S. and Canada economy as millions of dollars worth of goods were stuck at ports.
Last year, cargo-loaded vessels sailed through the Seaway more than 2,000 times, moving over 36 million metric tons of goods. Those commodities, valued at nearly $13 billion, have brought the SLSMC nearly $78 million in toll revenue, according to the company’s reports.
Last week, Barron’s took a look at the potential economic impact of a prolonged pause at the Seaway, and which industries stood to lose the most.
The strike had shut down 13 Canada-controlled locks between Lake Erie and Montreal. By last Friday, it had affected more than120 vessels carrying over 635,000 metric tons of cargo, according to the SLSMC.
Write to Evie Liu at evie.liu@barrons.com
