Ports of Indiana CEO applauds end to seaway workers strike
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The CEO of the Ports of Indiana issued a statement Monday commending union workers and Canadian officials for reaching an agreement to end a strike that shutdown a major shipping artery.
The 360 unionized workers of the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. (SLSMC), which manages and operates the Canadian portions of the seaway, returned to work Monday morning after the tentative agreement was announced Sunday.
The workers from Ontario and Quebec are represented by Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union. They walked off the job on Oct. 22. in a dispute over wages with the SLSMC.
Ports of Indiana CEO Jody Peacock sent a letter Friday to Canadian officials urging them to take immediate measures to resolve the dispute. He noted the strike had blocked the international shipping channel that provides ocean access to Indiana and the Great Lakes states and provinces.
He said the blockage created a major problem for customers and the regional economy, including at the Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor in Portage.
In a statement issued Monday, Peacock said they were relieved to hear of the news of the agreement.
“I commend our partners in the Canadian government, the Seaway corporation and UNIFOR for finding common ground and quickly reopening this artery of global commerce,” Peacock said. “Before the locks were reopened, more than 100 ships had queued in just seven days, waiting to pass through the Seaway system. Indiana ranks 12th in the nation for maritime shipping and our Great Lakes customers depend on the Seaway for critical ocean access to world markets.”
The SLSMC says union workers will vote to ratify the agreement within a few days.
It’s the first time that a strike has shut down the vital shipping artery since 1968.
The Chamber of Marine Commerce estimated that the strike, which took place during one of the busiest times of the year for the seaway, caused the loss of up to $100 million per day in economic activity across Canada and the U.S.
The St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes are part of a system of locks, canals, rivers and lakes that stretches more than 2,300 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the western tip of Lake Superior in Minnesota and Wisconsin. It carried over $12 billion worth of cargo last year.
The Ports of Indiana cited a July 2023 study by maritime consultants Martin Associates that found while Indiana only has 43 miles of shoreline on the Great Lakes, the Hoosier State generates 57% of all Great Lakes economic output and 42% of the combined U.S. and Canadian output.
A separate study also found that maritime shipping, including along the Ohio River, adds nearly $30 billion to the Indiana’s economy and supports 158,000 jobs.