Monday, Oct. 31, 2011 (see update) By Alison Bate Talks between the maritime employers and dock foremen in British Columbia are deadlocked, the organisation representing employers said Friday (Oct.28) “Nothing’s happening. We’re at an impasse, ” said Greg Vurdela, vice president of marketing for the B.C Maritime Employers...

Just heard that the main dockworkers’ union in Vancouver and other B.C. ports have reached a watershed eight-year deal. The contract between the International Longshore Warehouse Union Canada and maritime employers ran out more than a year ago. But that still leaves seven years on the new contract, an impressive length, when you...

By Alison Bate First published in Maritime Magazine, Fall 2009 UPDATE: Eight-year contract approved on Vancouver docks (May 4, 2011): Vancouver longshore worker Karen Crossan (pictured) stood in the ghostly dispatch hall looking vainly for work on tonight’s graveyard shift. “I’m bored and I am broke,” she said, after...