A cooperative of more than 200 Maine loggers, formed after legislation earlier this year allowed them to collectively bargain, has entered into an agreement with Matériaux Blanchet Inc., a Quebec lumber mill that handles much of Maine’s harvested softwood.

Under the agreement, any lumber harvested from Maine forests will be cut and shipped by Maine loggers and haulers to the Quebec sawmill. One of the company’s two mills, the Saint-Pamphile Sawmill in Chaudière-Appalaches, is on the border of Quebec and Maine, and has an annual production capacity of more than 150 million board feet.

The New England Loggers Cooperative was formed after a law went into effect Sept. 19 that allows Maine loggers and haulers to form cooperatives and collectively bargain the same way lobstermen and farmers do. It was sponsored by Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, a fifth-generation logger.

The cooperative has more than 200 members, and growing, a representative of the organization said Friday morning.

Much of the softwood harvested in northern Maine goes to the Matériaux Blanchet mill, Jackson said in a news release. “If the timber is coming from here, it should be harvested by workers from here,” he said. “This is an agreement that just makes sense, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the cooperative.”

Maine’s forest products industry has an annual economic impact of $8.5 billion, some $882 million of which comes directly from logging, according to an economic impact report by the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine. As of 2018, logging and trucking contractors in Maine employed more than 4,900 people directly and were indirectly responsible for the creation of an additional 3,300 jobs, according to the trade group.

The New England Loggers Cooperative is also partnering with Matériaux Blanchet to pursue an internationally recognized certification that would let consumers know the company is dedicated to paying and treating workers fairly, and adheres to environmentally sustainable business practices.

“Pursuing such a certification would be good business on top of being socially conscientious,” said Tim Varney, a partner at Matériaux Blanchet. “It would benefit landowners and consumers alike, and let buyers know our practices are responsible and our products are high-quality. We’re excited to work with the New England Loggers Cooperative.

“For too long, the wood products industry has been missing the voices of hardworking harvesters and haulers. This new path forward is welcome and long overdue,” Varney said.