EGT photo of the Longview facility.

EGT photo of the Longview facility.

Longview, Washington – Today representatives from EGT, LLC and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) signed a collective bargaining agreement covering landside and shipside operations at EGT’s grain terminal at the Port of Longview. The agreement, covering both production and maintenance work, establishes guidelines for a regular Longshore workforce at the facility for day-to-day operations and creates a select pool of employees who will work as needed to service incoming vessels, barges, trains and other operations at the facility.

“This is a positive development for EGT, the ILWU and the Longview community,” said EGT CEO Larry Clarke. “The five year agreement is unique on the West Coast and provides us the dedicated workforce and the flexibility to run this 21st century facility efficiently and safely. We appreciate the efforts of Governor Gregoire and ILWU President McEllrath, who helped make this possible so our operations can expand economic benefits to the local community.”

ILWU President Robert McEllrath said, “The men and women of the ILWU have crafted hundreds of collective bargaining agreements over the past several decades that have made many companies profitable while also providing family wage jobs for communities like Longview. This agreement between EGT and the ILWU was crafted with the goals of safety, productivity, good jobs for the community, and stability for the grain industry in mind.”

“Ever since the ILWU started loading this first ship, a lot of positive conversations have started taking place around town,” said Dan Coffman, ILWU Local 21 president. “People are happy to see we can all move forward now and do what we’re here to do, which is work hard and support our community.”

Background on EGT’s Longview Facility:
EGT, LLC is a joint venture between Bunge North America, the North American operating arm of Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG); ITOCHU International Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Japanese trading company ITOCHU Corp. (TYO: 8001); and South Korea-based STX Pan Ocean (KRX: 028670. KS, SGX: GZ9), one of the top major bulk carriers in the world.

Background on the ILWU:
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union represents 50,000 men and women on the docks, in grain terminals, in warehouses and in other industries in Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii, Alaska, and British Columbia. Formed on the U.S. West Coast in the 1930’s, the union has negotiated hundreds of contracts that promote safe and sustainable working conditions while ensuring the productive operation of facilities handling grain, containers, breakbulk, autos, logs and virtually every other cargo at more than 40 American and Canadian ports. ILWU Local 21 has been handling grain at the Ports of Longview and Kalama since 1927.

For more information, please visit:
www.egtgrain.com or www.ilwu.org

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