What the looming longshoremen strike means for Maine shipping

PORTLAND, Maine — A press release the International Longshoremen's Association issued Tuesday states workers from Texas to Maine are united and ready to go on strike when their current contract with a major shipping conglomerate runs out at the end of the month.

"A sleeping giant is ready to roar on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, if a new Master Contract Agreement is not in place," Longshoremen's Association President Harold J. Daggett said. "My members have been preparing for over a year for the possibility of a strike."

But any such strike will probably not affect shipping in or out of Maine's only unionized terminal in Portland, according to Local 861 Vice President Jack Humeniuk.

That's because the Longshoremen's Association's dispute is only with the United States Maritime Alliance, or USMX , a trade group encompassing dozens of smaller national and international shipping interests.

"And none of their ships call here," Humeniuk said. "The strike will not affect Portland. We will be fine."

Instead of USMX, Portland's Local 861 contracts with Icelandic shipping company Eimskip at the city's International Marine Terminal, as well as with several cruise ship companies regularly pulling up to the waterfront.

Portland is Maine's only active, unionized cargo and cruise ship port. The local longshoremen's union represents 50 full-time and about 30 on-call workers. The union was formed independently in 1881 as the Portland Longshoremans Benevolent Society to aid injured workers and the families of members who died. It became affiliated with the International Longshoremen's Association in 1914.

At the marine terminal, near the Casco Bay Bridge, union members operate and maintain cranes and lift trucks, while also handling clerical tasks associated with shipping. At the other end of Commercial Street, Local 861 is in charge of loading and unloading cruise ship freight and food.

"And we tie the cruise ships up and set up the gangways, too," Humeniuk said.

The only scenario in which Humeniuk could foresee a strike affecting Maine is if USMX tries to send one of its ships to Portland instead of a striking port or if any ship comes here with cargo transferred from a USMX ship.

"In that case, we'd honor the strike," Humeniuk said.

But Humeniuk hopes the strike can be averted.

The last longshoremen's strike in Portland was a two-month walkout in 1977, a year after Humeniuk joined the union. He doesn't remember it with fondness.

"Nobody wants to strike," he said.