Bill Mongelluzzo, Associate Editor | Nov 03, 2011 8:55AM EDT
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union was fined $65,000 for blocking access to a controversial grain terminal in Longview, Wash., bringing the total fines levied against the union to more than $300,000.
Longshoremen demonstrated at the EGT facility on Sept. 21 after the terminal operator broke off contract negotiations with the ILWU and hired a contractor that employs non-ILWU labor.
U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Leighton in Tacoma added a $65,000 fine this week to the $250,000 he had already levied against the union for violating his prior injunction prohibiting unlawful activities at terminal
Leal Sundet, ILWU coast committeeman, said the latest judgment, like the first, “was made without all the facts.” Sundet charged that the ILWU was not allowed the opportunity of discovery into the integrity of the allegations.
The ILWU was granted a stay of the first payment pending appeal, said union spokeswoman Jennifer Sargent. The union has posted a $250,000 bond.
If EGT begins operations employing a union other than the ILWU, it will become the first grain terminal in the Pacific Northwest to operate without using ILWU labor. There are about a half-dozen grain terminals in the region.
-- Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bmongelluzzo@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @billmongelluzzo.