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Mark Gordienko and about 6,000 of his colleagues have their collective finger on the pulse of Canada’s economy.

As longshoremen, warehouse staff and others working ports big and small all along the West Coast, they see – and feel – fluctuations in the country’s economic health first-hand.

What Gordienko and others see and touch every day are the very things Canadians use and enjoy in their lives every day. These include imports, such as every consumer product imaginable, from foodstuffs to industrial products, cellphones and cars. And exports, such as forest products and raw materials.

Gordienko, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, and his members are at the economy’s frontline, loading and unloading the ships that connect Canada with the world of trade and commerce.

Distributed among 10 locals, they provide the muscle connecting British Columbia ports such as Stewart and Prince Rupert, Nanaimo and Vancouver to the likes of China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan – although “muscle” may be the wrong word in a age where technology and machines have replaced brawn.