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Longshoremen at the Port of Montreal went on strike Monday morning, blocking the Viau and Maisonneuve terminals for 72 hours. Some 41% of containers passing through the port are likely to be delayed. The workers accuse Termont Montreal Inc., which manages the terminals, of not respecting the collective agreement and of maintaining demands they deem unacceptable.
Members of Local 375 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) are thus taking action after months of fruitless negotiations between the union and the Maritime Employers Association (MEA).
Termont is refusing to honour commitments made during the 2021 strike. What's more, the bosses would like to make working hours even tougher by eliminating the one weekend a month when longshoremen are certain not to be called in for work.
At a press conference last Friday, union spokesman Michel Murray had said that if the big bosses of the terminals targeted by the strike agreed to enforce the labour contract and respect their commitments, “the longshoremen's union will be ready to lift the strike notice.” Yet the impasse persists.
Worsening working conditions
North Star journalists were on the picket line from 7 am on Monday. The testimonies gathered reveal an increasingly difficult work environment. Among other things, several workers expressed their frustration at increased surveillance in their workplace.
They report that security guards hired by Termont strictly monitor minor rules. At least one sanction has already been imposed for driving at low speed without a seatbelt, or for crossing a safety line by an inch for a few seconds.
Disciplinary measures taken by Termont against employees deemed “delinquent” do not appear in the collective agreement, and could go as far as a week's suspension without pay. There therefore is a large stack of complaints to resolve between the employer and the union.
However, tensions between the union and Termont are nothing new. According to Murray, at the last arbitration in 2021, employer spokesman Nicolas Golbeck had stated under oath that irregular hours would be used on a limited basis, amounting to only 1% of time.
Following this statement, Termont reportedly made extensive use of irregular working hours, thereby breaching this commitment. “The company started using it, I would tell you, 100%,” Murray explains. “They were very happy to say, 'This is our prerogative, we can use it. If you're not happy, file a grievance'.”
Continental East Coast bosses in disarray
The first strike in nearly 50 years involving U.S. East Coast ports, which began yesterday morning, is limiting the bosses' options for sending ships elsewhere. Their reaction in the media reveals how such a large number of organized workers can affect the economy and put pressure on the ruling class.
On Monday morning, the Montreal Port Authority (MPA) declared that it wanted “an agreement as soon as possible between the parties, while any delay [puts at risk] $90.7 million in economic activity for each day of interruption”.
The MPA fails to mention, however, that this figure refers to all the port's activities, not those concerned by the current strike.
For his part, Michel Leblanc, President of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, declared last week: “Once again, a strike threatens to hold our supply chains hostage, jeopardizing the survival of hundreds of businesses. This is unacceptable”.
North Star was unable to find any example of a company shutting down as a result of a strike lasting a few days at a port. Mr. Leblanc adds: “To maintain our international reputation as a reliable and efficient place to do business, we cannot allow pressure groups, unions or otherwise, to constantly hold the smooth running of the economy hostage.”
For the Chamber of Commerce, government intervention is therefore necessary to guarantee corporate domination and reduce the balance of power held by workers. In the United States, many companies are asking President Biden to intervene.
Michel Murray told a press conference that Montreal workers fully support the unlimited strike on the other side of the border. “We've already told the Americans that, come what may, we won't be doing their work from October 1.” They will therefore refuse to handle ships originally destined for the striking ports.