Nine boats with longshore union supporters tried to block a grain ship at the Port of Kalama on Tuesday morning, causing the Coast Guard to board one boat and issue warnings to all the others.
The incident is a spillover of a Vancouver dispute between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and United Grain. Protesters were trying to impede a grain ship that loaded in Vancouver and then headed to Kalama for more grain.
“We’re not ever going to tolerate a scab boat, and it’s going to escalate” if any vessel serviced by non-union workers tries to dock, said Jake Whiteside, president of Longview-based Local 21 of the ILWU. “I’m paying very close attention.”