Montreal port protests begin

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MONTREAL, Que. — Longshoremen at the Montreal Gateway Terminals’ Racine (62) and  Cast (77) facilities walked off the job as expected at 3 p.m. today. The work stoppage is scheduled to last until Saturday, July 4, at 6:59 a.m.

The Quebec Trucking Association (QTA) sent a notice this morning to its members, reminding them to schedule their loads before 2 p.m. today, and the measure seems to have paid off.

Cast 77 Port de Montréal (1)
Cast (77) is one of two locations affected by the job action. (Photo: Port of Montreal)

“We have managed to inform enough members, and enough in advance, that they were able take action quickly. Things have gone well for truckers today,” QTA CEO Marc Cadieux told TruckNews.com. 

The situation is expected to be fairly normal as well, since some fleets and shippers are treating Friday as a holiday, in lieu of working on Canada Day.

Truckers are more concerned about the bottlenecks that will arise when the terminals reopen on Saturday morning, and early next week.

The longshoremen’s union and Montreal Gateway Terminals have agreed to continue negotiations on Friday, July 3. These negotiations relate to the renewal of a collective agreement that expired Dec. 31, 2018.

The Maritime Employers’ Association said in a notice it is disappointed that the union has decided to maintain the pressure despite the ongoing negotiations.

Some 1,000 containers are handled each day at these two terminals.

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Steve Bouchard started writing about trucks over 20 years ago, making him by far the most experienced trucking journalist in Quebec. Steve is the editor of Quebec’s leading French-language trucking magazine, Transport Routier, published by Newcom Média Québec since its creation in 2000. He is also editor of the associated website transportroutier.ca, and a contributor to Today’s Trucking and Trucknews.com.


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