This afternoon, a Federal District Court in Tacoma, WA heard oral arguments in EGT’s lawsuit against the Port of Longview regarding the company’s obligations under its lease agreement with the Port. Port counsel vigorously argued that the EGT lease requires EGT to honor the Local 21 Working Agreement with the Port. The judge did not issue a decision today from the bench and stated that a ruling would issue within the week.
The outcome of EGT’s lawsuit against the Port of Longview will not resolve all of the legal issues in the ILWU’s dispute with EGT. Pending before the NLRB are labor law issues as to whether EGT, separate from the lease, voluntarily met with, recognized, and bargained with ILWU Local 21. However, such NLRB proceedings typically take two to three years for final resolution. Any meaningful resolution of the labor dispute must occur on the ground and through the parties themselves.
ILWU Coast Committeeman Leal Sundet said, “One way to resolve the dispute between ILWU Local 21 and EGT is for the EGT’s CEO Larry Clarke and the ILWU International President Robert McEllrath to sit down together across the table and work this out. That meeting needs to happen sooner rather than later.”
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