For as long as there have been ships and ports, they have unloaded goods on the docks.

They have been known by many names: longshoremen, wharfies, dockers, and in Spanish estibadors — the phonetic spelling of which evolved to "stevedores."

"Tough chicks" wasn't traditionally on that list, but then the occupation is changing and Kristina Ernst is not beholden to tradition.

Ernst, who works at the FMT stevedoring terminal on Hamilton Harbour, jokes that she can be a softy in her home life, and not always "the tough chick at the dock."

At that dock, Pier 12, she's also the boss: FMT (Federal Marine Terminals) operations manager. She says that while there are women who do stevedoring work, "it's not a female environment."

Still, while never imagining it would become her career, she loves it and has been with FMT 14 years, recently joining management.

"You have to be a little rugged. It's not for a princess."

She observes a crew on the pier unload massive steel plates and coils with a crane.

"We have a great team," she says, and gestures to operations supervisor Jeremy Rodgers. "Like Jeremy. He's what I like to describe as my right arm."

Rodgers enjoys the work: "Every day is different, a challenge, it keeps you coming back. Plus, I get to work with big stuff. It's like a big sandbox for an adult."

Stevedores handling steel sheets at FMT. | John Rennison, The Hamilton Spectator

Later, Ernst chats over beef and fries with gravy at the rare restaurant on Burlington Street East, called Two Cougars & A Cafe. It has kitschy marine decor, and sign on the door asking customers to "wipe your feet if appropriate."

She greets a worker with FMT, a cargo checker, who is eating at the lunch counter wearing a fluorescent orange vest.

Ernst has no family roots in the business, but her husband used to work for McKeil Marine, which is where she got her start. He's a crane operator.

"The guys, the longshoremen, a lot of them have family ties," she says. "Fathers and brothers and uncles ... it's a long-standing brotherhood."

That goes for Bob Smith, who has worked 46 years stevedoring, just like his father, David, before he passed away. Bob took his father's place in the union, the ILA (International Longshoremen's Association.)

Some of the work, such as loading/unloading at the grain terminals, doesn't require much manpower, but steel loads, for example, require larger gangs. | John Rennison, The Hamilton Spectator

"It's a challenging job and a rewarding one," Smith says. "You take off a 400-ton lift and it lands perfectly and no one got hurt and nothing got damaged; it's a good feeling."

Each day, stevedores that work the harbour report to a labour hall on Burlington Street East. When workers are needed to unload or load a ship, a "gang" from this pool of stevedores — there are about 70 in total and seven are women from two union locals — is called in.

Overnight, the Lake St. Clair arrived with the load of steel coils and steel sheets from Turkey and Greece. Ernst received a call about the delivery, she in turn ordered up two gangs of a dozen stevedores each to begin unloading at daybreak.

"The hatch hours will be a couple of days," she says — meaning the time it takes to unload each hatch on the ship, which dictates how many gangs from the labour pool she needs to hire.

Some of the work, such as loading/unloading at the grain terminals, doesn't require much manpower, but steel loads, for example, require larger gangs.

Stevedoring is an occupation that depends on the ships; sometimes the work comes fast and furious, followed by a few days of nothing.

Decades ago, cargo unloaded by longshoremen down gangplanks in Hamilton Harbour included goods ranging from rum and watches to furniture.

Stevedores at FMT unload huge steel sheets and coiled steel from the Lake St. Clair. | John Rennison, The Hamilton Spectator

But shipping container technology after the Second World War changed the nature of the work, meaning stevedores eventually handling mostly heavy bulk cargo, which in turn dramatically reduced the number of longshore workers required.

The harbour has one other longshore operation: Great Lakes Stevedoring Co. Ltd.

Back in 2000, the Great Lakes terminal was on Pier 8. But not for long, after the pier was obtained by the city for west harbour redevelopment.

Their current home is a squat modular structure on the other side of the harbour, at Pier 26.

Bruce Graham, vice-president of the company, says today's stevedore is health and safety conscious and can navigate machinery necessary for bulk cargo.

"It's not a shovel job today," he says. "Now you need expertise to run cranes, heavy equipment. And warehousing is a big component, hours-wise; the vessel tends to come in and leave quickly, but the product left here generates the majority of the work."

A worker pokes his head in the office door.

"The bridge is up, the ship is coming in," he says.

It's a load of salt from Goderich.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Bruce Graham, vice-president of Great Lakes Stevedoring at Pier 26 on Hamilton Harbour. | Barry Gray, The Hamilton Spectator

Graham's longest-serving employee is Tim Tyo: a gear man, responsible for ensuring they have the best equipment for each load, and that it's up to safety code standards.

Tyo's "office" looks like a home den, cluttered with stuff: a variety of company hats, T-shirts including a Superman and a Deadpool, and until recently wall-to-wall Hot Wheels cars, before the guys had ribbed him about it a few too many times.

A Hamilton native, Tyo, 56, had four uncles who were ILA bosses.

"They told me, 'If you want a job for life, as long as the water is here, you'll have a job.' I've been here ever since."

The skin on his face is sun-soaked and windblown from 22 years working on the pier. He is animated talking gear; chains, Kevlar straps. He keeps notebooks with information on the topic.

"Some say I go overboard with the gear," he says, well aware he's not about to change.

"They take a lot of pride in their work," Graham says, and then he tells a story.

Some of the equipment overseen by Tim Tyo, a gear man with Great Lakes Stevedoring. | Barry Gray, The Hamilton Spectator

Stevedores are rarely told anything specific about where a shipment they handle is headed, or for what purpose.

But just over 18 years ago, some of Graham's longshoremen in Sorel, near Montreal, loaded steel for a project in New York City.

The project was erecting a new tower in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"The client let us know what the steel was being used for," he says. "It was emotional for everyone to be a small part of that process, of rebuilding."

His voice catches.

"A little piece of Canada going in there."

A stevedore at work recently at the G3 grain terminal on Hamilton Harbour. | Kurt Walling, Special to the Hamilton Spectator

• • •

About the series Harbour town: A six-part series examining Hamilton's diverse and evolving waterfront, from its port industries to recreational west harbour.

Part 1: A harbour in full

Part 2: Juggernaut on the Great Lakes

Part 3: West harbour waterworld

Part 4: The last inlet

Part 5: Working the docks

Part 6: Calm in the storm

jwells@thespec.com | 905-526-3515 | @jonjwells

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