SEATTLE, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Longshoremen were back at work Friday after a confrontation at a grain terminal and a wildcat strike shut down multiple Seattle-area ports, officials said.
Managers of the Port of Seattle said in a written statement operations had returned to normal, and ships were also being loaded and unloaded in Tacoma and other area harbors.
The scene was a peaceful contrast to earlier in the week when union members squared off with police on Wednesday. On Thursday, a large contingent of longshoreman forced their way into a grain terminal in Longview, dumped grain stored in several rail cars and allegedly held six security guards captive.
Port operations in Seattle and elsewhere came to a halt Thursday when members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union failed to show up for work.
The ILWU and the management of the EGT terminal have been at odds over what the union says was a renege on EGT's pledge to employ ILWU members. The ILWU has jurisdiction in most ports on the U.S. West Coast; however, a subcontractor struck a deal with the Union of Operating Engineers for labor at the EGT facility.
A federal judge in Tacoma Thursday held a hearing on a motion by the National Labor Relations Board and EGT to ban picketing in Longview. U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton said that while the union had a legitimate beef with EGT, he would not tolerate any further confrontations, the Seattle Times said.
The union said in a written statement Leighton's ruling was a rebuff of the NLRB.
"Union members are pleased with the outcome even though they are smarting from false allegations of hostage-taking that were spread in the media throughout the day, an outright lie intended to discredit the union and its struggle for good jobs for the community," said ILWU committeeman Leal Sundet.
