PORTAGE LAKE (AP) – An estimated 210 truckloads of wood fiber did not reach mills on Monday after loggers and truckers working for J.D. Irving’s Maine Woodlands operations stayed off the job.

For the second time in three years, truckers and loggers began a work stoppage in an effort to secure a better contract with Irving. Those involved in the stoppage said 72 trucks were parked and 48 pieces of mechanical wood-harvesting equipment weren’t operating.

The result, they said, was that 8,500 tons of wood fiber, or 210 truckloads, were not delivered to mills that otherwise would have been.

The work stoppage, which continued Tuesday, comes at a time when many mills in Maine are already facing a shortage of wood, forcing some to cut back or halt operations. Louisiana-Pacific shut down its mill in Baileyville last month because of a lack of wood.

Patrick McGowan, commissioner of the Maine Department of Conservation, met with loggers and truckers Monday afternoon at Dean’s Motor Lodge in Portage Lake. After spending nearly 90 minutes with workers, he said he hoped to meet with Irving officials at a mill a few miles south on Route 11.

“This is not just a local issue, but one of statewide impact,” McGowan said. “There is less than four or five days’ (wood) fiber at Maine mills.”

Many truckers arrived Monday in Portage Lake and parked their trucks along Route 11. At one point 45 trucks were parked on the two-lane highway.

More than 95 workers attended a meeting, saying they were willing to stay out indefinitely. The workers said they want a voice in their future, a contract about which they have a say and one that allows them to make a fair living.

“We are prepared to do what we have to do,” said Tony Theriault, a trucker. “We are making less money today than we were five years ago.”

“Even with a 25 percent increase, truckers would have a hard time to make a decent living while hauling legally, working 12 hours a day,” Theriault said.

“I figured two years ago that I was making $8.75 an hour, with no benefits whatsoever.”

Loggers and truckers have said they are seeking increases of 25 percent to 30 percent in logging and trucking rates, and surcharge payments when diesel fuel costs rise above $1.45 per gallon.

Chuck Gadzik, operations manager of J.D. Irving’s Maine Woodlands, said the company has offered a 10 percent increase in logging rates, a 12 percent increase in off-highway trucking rates and a 7 percent increase for highway trucking rates. He said the company has had “indirect talks” with the governor’s office.

“We put up what we believe is a very significant proposal, and we hope this will not be a waiting game between us and workers,” he said.

Gadzik said Irving has 27 logging contractors and 40 to 50 trucking contractors in the Maine woods. He said the company had a good number of people cutting wood Monday, and some trucks were hauling.

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