Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has appointed longshore worker Stuart Strader to serve a second four-year term on the Port of Portland Commission. The Senate confirmed Strader’s reappointment on Feb. 18.
Strader has been an officer of International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 8 for more than a decade.
The Port of Portland’s Terminal 6, home to the state’s only international shipping container terminal, employs roughly 700 workers, including members of ILWU Local 8 and locals 40 and 92. Local 8 also represents workers at the port’s other marine terminals.
Strader worked with the Port of Portland on Terminal 6 operations as a union officer. He was a key player in bringing container service operations back to Terminal 6, the Port of Portland said when Strader was first appointed to the commission.
Terminal 6 operations had largely ended in 2015, with the two main shipping companies blaming a work slowdown by ILWU members. Shipping restarted five years later.
The port announced a plan to end operations in April 2024, but reversed course a month later after Kotek said she would include funding for Terminal 6 in the state budget.
Strader has served on the port commission since March 15, 2021. His first term ends March 14, 2025.
On the nine-seat port commission, one other member has a strong labor background: Meg Niemi, president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 49. Niemi’s term ends Nov. 24, 2027.
Ketan Sampat, a technology executive, was appointed to the commission at the same time as Strader and also nominated for a second term.
