Five weeks after United Grain Corp. locked out union dockworkers, the tense situation remained much the same Wednesday.
Union members maintained picket lines, and Pat McCormick, a spokesman for Northwest grain-export terminal operators, said United Grain continued to use managers and non-union employees to operate its terminal at the Port of Vancouver. The company decided on Feb. 27 to lock out 44 local members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
The decision, which the company made after alleging a union official sabotaged equipment and saying it fired the person, followed a monthslong disagreement between the two parties over the terms of a new labor contract. Meanwhile, Vancouver police continue to investigate United Grain’s allegations of sabotage. The union has denied wrongdoing by any of its members.
