Farm Progress America, November 2, 2023

Mike Pearson examines the strike on the St. Lawrence Seaway.

The St. Lawrence River flows northeast through Canada and is the final link in the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Currently, there are 360 Canadian lock workers on strike which began October 26 and it has stopped ag products from shipping through the lock which starts in Duluth, Minnesota and flows northeast.

The strike impacts 13 of the 15 locks on the system.

The union representing the workers, UNIFOR says the workers and St. Lawrence Management Company are "1,000 nautical miles apart on wage."

While, the St. Lawrence Management Company says the workers want a wage increased inspired by the automotive type negotiations.

So the waterway will remain shut down until a deal is reached.

The problem is that fall is the busiest time of the year on the waterway because of harvest in both the USA and Canada.

There are over 100 ships waiting for the strike to end so they can haul goods to their destination.

Farm Progress America is a daily look at key issues in agriculture. It is produced and presented by Mike Pearson, farm broadcaster and host of This Week in Agribusiness .