LONGVIEW — Longshore union workers have handled the first grain ship to dock at the $200 million EGT terminal in Longview.
The arrival of the ship Tuesday was peaceful, in contrast to union demonstrations over the past year.
The Daily News reported that the union and grain terminal operator resolved fundamental issues but are continuing talks on a contract.
After a year of sometimes-violent demonstrations with multiple arrests at the Port of Longview, the EGT terminal and Longshore union jointly announced Monday that they planned to work together for the first time for a grain ship that was to arrive Tuesday.
EGT CEO Larry Clarke said EGT is “open for business.”
International Longshore and Warehouse Union International President Robert McEllrath said, “The men and women of the ILWU are pleased to bring their many decades of grain handling experience to work at EGT.”
The Longshore union had been aggressively protesting the terminal’s plan to use workers from a different union. At one point, sympathy strikes shut down the Seattle and Tacoma ports. A federal judge fined the Longview union $250,000 for its tactics.
The first grain ship will take 57,000 tons of Washington wheat to South Korea. EGT expects to load 150 to 200 ships a year, carrying wheat, corn and soybeans to Asia.
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