dockworkers
Ship cargo handlers
Dockworkers are laborers who load and unload cargo from ships at ports and harbors.
The work historically involved heavy manual labor—moving crates, operating cranes, securing freight—though containerization has transformed much of it into equipment operation.
Dockworkers have a long history of union organizing, and dock strikes can paralyze international trade.
The dockworkers walked off the job over safety concerns.
The term is sometimes used interchangeably with longshoreman or stevedore.
Dock cargo handler
- lumperDock freight handler
- portDocking place for ships
- wharfShip docking structure
- pierWaterfront landing structure
quayside · waterfront · seaport · berth · jetty · gangway · bollard · mooring
Lifter or wader
- forkliftPowered pallet-hoisting vehicle
- conveyorMechanism that transports items
- derrickMovable boom apparatus
- hoistRaise with tackle
winch · jib · gantry · spreader · chassis · sling · hook · rigging
Objects for holding things
- freightGoods being transported
- cratesSturdy shipping containers
- palletsFlat freight platforms
- bulkMain mass or size
shipment · goods · merchandise · stowage · manifest · consignment · import · export
Joining into one
- strikeForceful impact or stoppage
- wagesPayment for work
- picketingOrganized protest outside workplace
- blue-collarManual labor workforce
workforce · overtime · foreman · shift · teamster · hardhat · arbitration · grievance
Adding weight or cargo
- unloadingRemoving contents from carrier
- stevedoringLoading and unloading ships
- warehousingStoring goods commercially
- receivingAcquiring what's sent
dispatch · scheduling · stacking · sorting · tallying · inspection · turnaround · berthing
wharfie
Dock cargo handler
pier · quayside · waterfront · seaport · berth · jetty · gangway · bollard · mooring · harbormaster
crane
Lifter or wader
- forkliftPowered pallet-hoisting vehicle
- conveyorMechanism that transports items
- derrickMovable boom apparatus
hoist · winch · jib · gantry · spreader · chassis · sling · hook · rigging
containers
Objects for holding things
bulk · shipment · goods · merchandise · stowage · manifest · consignment · import · export · customs
union
Joining into one
blue-collar · workforce · overtime · foreman · shift · teamster · hardhat · arbitration · grievance · seniority
loading
Adding weight or cargo
- unloadingRemoving contents from carrier
- stevedoringLoading and unloading ships
- warehousingStoring goods commercially
receiving · dispatch · scheduling · stacking · sorting · tallying · inspection · turnaround · berthing · ship-to-shore
- maritimeships, ship, boat, boats, anchors
- workersemployee, employees, laborer, laborers, wage earner
- Maritime Industryshipping lines, container ships, merchant ships, steamships, merchant marine
- harborpier, piers, wharf, wharves, quay
- portsport, seaport, harbor, seaports, harbors
- shippingshipping, cargo ships, container ships, freight, package
dockworkerssailors
Maritime vessel crew members
seamen · mariners · ship crews · merchant sailors · deckhands