Sugar strike that prompted ports shutdown ends, longshore union returns to negotiations

After 42 days on the picket line, union warehouse workers at C&H Sugar’s Crockett, California refinery have returned to work under a 60‑day extension of contract negotiations.

The pause in the strike that triggered a brief sympathy walkout at three California ports – International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 6’s first walkout at the plant in nearly a century – comes as the sides return to talks over retiree health benefits, overtime rules, and sick days at one of the largest cane sugar refiners in the United States.

The dispute began when the union’s contract expired on June 1 of this year and negotiations quickly stalled. On June 15, roughly 90–93 unionized warehouse employees began an open‑ended strike. The job action disrupted flows of raw cane sugar into the Crockett refinery, which typically processes about 6 million pounds per day.

In response, C&H kept operations running with replacement workers and rerouted some raw sugar through other terminals, including Richmond, where ILWU Local 10 longshore workers refused to cross Local 6’s picket lines, widening the dispute’s footprint along the Bay.

Tensions escalated on July 22, when a protest outside the refinery turned confrontational and nine protesters were arrested. By late July, federal mediators had entered the picture, and both sides met for marathon bargaining sessions. On July 27, C&H and ILWU Local 6 issued a joint statement announcing a return to work and a 6-day extension of negotiations.

C&H agreed to withdraw its impasse declaration, which had cleared the way for more aggressive use of replacement labor. Under the arrangement, workers resumed their posts beginning Wednesday, July 30, with the understanding that they will remain on the job at least through September 30, 2026, while bargaining continues.

Union leaders say the goal is to bring C&H’s senior executives more directly into the talks and lock in a fair agreement before the extension expires. The involvement of other ILWU locals, particularly Longshore Local 10’s refusal to cross picket lines, also highlights how a single plant dispute can ripple through the regional logistics network.

In a supply chain already sensitive to port and terminal disruptions, the C&H strike underscored the strategic leverage warehouse and dock workers hold at critical nodes. Chips to ships: Nvidia plans new shipbuilding investment with Kawasaki Is pause in new ship orders by South Korean flag carrier a warning?

CMA CGM in new terminal venture with private equity firm War sends Asia-US ocean rates soaring 234% since February New test program puts nuclear container ships on the horizon The post Sugar strike that prompted ports shutdown ends, longshore union returns to negotiations appeared first on FreightWaves.