Unionised port workers and a group of Pacific Northwest grain companies reached a tentative contract agreement, according to an announcement on Tuesday, a deal that will soon ease a backlog of shipments from the biggest US West Coast grain terminal. A federal mediator announced the tentative agreement, and a spokesman for the Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association later confirmed it.
"We're pleased to have a settlement and get back to normal operations," Pat McCormick, a spokesman for the grain handlers, told Reuters on Tuesday. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) was not immediately available for comment.
