DETROIT (WXYZ) — Docked in Detroit, the Federal Kivalina unloaded it’s haul and will soon head back toward the Atlantic. However, blocking that trip is roughly 360 Canadian union workers on strike.
“Everything has been going up," said Jason Rodgers, president of his local Unifor union chapter. "Prices of gas, insurance rates and mortgage rates. Everything has gone up and our salaries are at a standstill.”
Unifor members working at 13 Canadian locks on the St. Lawrence seaway walked off the job Saturday, making it impossible for ships to cross between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, where the website Marine Traffic shows a backup of ships.
"If it doesn't get resolved soon, its a huge deal,” said Mark Schrupp, executive director of the Detroit Wayne County Port Authority.
Schrupp says 10 ships en route to metro Detroit are stuck, transporting thousands and thousands of tons of material. He says the seaway system contributes $900 million a year to Detroit's economy.
“There’s steel that’s made overseas that we import for auto production, so it's pretty critical to the functioning of the auto industry,” Schrupp said.
The Chamber of Marine Commerce estimates each day of the strike costs $50 million to $80 million to the U.S. and Canadian economies. The seaway transports mostly grain but also iron ore, steel and road salt.
"All of these different commodities travel on the seaway. None of it is moving right now,” the chamber's director of communication Jason Card said. "Essentially, one of the most important trade routes in all of North America has stopped.”
The strike also could have an impact on the auto industry both in the U.S. and Canada.
"We're worried," said Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association based out of Canada, which noted they have not seen any major negative impact yet.
"It would impact directly steel but in some degree, finished product, the cars that move up and down," Volpe said. "As much as this thing potentially stops the movement of steel or cars, it's going to affect the movement of parts.”
Volpe says he worries a prolonged strike could end up putting more material on the roads, which would create more competition for finding trucks to move parts. The chamber estimates material from one ship would require 963 semitrucks.
"The seaway moves such large volumes because of what it is,” Volpe said.
With roughly two months left of shipping season, it's the busiest and most critical time. Without a deal, Card hopes the Canadian government will step in.
“It is our argument that if that (a deal) is not achieved, the Canadian government has powers to step in and intervene and must do so to resume traffic,” Card said. "We're not saying we want to get in the way of union members' ability to negotiate a collective agreement, but that right to negotiate can't trump an entire North American economy.”
Mediators are set to resume negotiations Friday. Card says if and when work resumes, it could take at least 16 hours to get the locks back up and running.
