Strike Gets Underway for More Than 7,400 Port Workers Across BC

International Longshore and Warehouse Union workers wave at cars driving past while picketing outside of the BC Maritime Employers Association Dispatch Centre after a 72-hour strike notice and no agreement made at the bargaining table, in Vancouver on July 1, 2023. The Canadian Press/Ethan Cairns

Major groups representing businesses across Canada sounded the alarm on Saturday over the potential economic impact of a strike by British Columbia’s port workers.

More than 7,400 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada walked off the job on Saturday morning after days of federally mediated talks with the BC Maritime Employers Association failed to yield a new labour agreement.