Strikes could create havoc in grain markets

Operators of six grain export terminals – including United Grain Corp.’s facility at the Port of Vancouver – struck an aggressive tone last week in giving union dockworkers until December 8 to accept their “last and final offer.”

In a statement emailed to The Columbian by Pat McCormick, spokesman for the Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association, the group said it’s offering the International Longshore and Warehouse Union increases in “an already generous wage and benefit package” in exchange for changes in work rules similar to what the ILWU agreed to in separate contracts hammered out pre...