The Fishermen’s Union Organizing Meeting
A representative from the Columbia River Protective Union arrives in Seattle to organize local fishermen, leading to a clash over labor inclusion and the definition of a 'good man.'
Pursuant to a bill posted by one Thomas Quinn, who claimed to be a member of the Columbia River Fishermen's Union, requesting all persons who make their living by fishing to assemble at Company D’s Armory, about sixty persons congregated at the place named last evening. Among those present were Theo. Cunningham, thirty-one and others. Quinn then called the meeting to order and said: 'Brother fishermen, I am sent over here to organize a branch of the Columbia River Protective Union, and all you fellows who wish to join will please step up and put your names down.' The few who could write their names did so, and the others made their marks. One Indian signed his name as 'James McNaught,' and another as 'Colonel Hamilton.' When No Good, the Chinaman, stepped up to sign, he was put off, but he protested, and declared: 'Me fisherman; all same Mr. Quinn, me fisherman, me belly good man, all same union. Me heap likes join union; heap likes ketchum, heap money for fish, all same Columbia River fishermen!' This speech, however, had no effect, and No Good was refused admission to the union.
“Me fisherman; all same Mr. Quinn, me fisherman, me belly good man, all same union. Me heap likes join union.”
The exclusion of Chinese laborers from organized labor groups in the 1880s was a defining, discriminatory feature of Pacific Northwest history, echoing broader anti-Asian sentiment that defined the era's labor struggles. Today, the labor movement in the Pacific Northwest reflects on these exclusionary histories as it navigates modern debates over gig-work, immigrant worker rights, and the inclusivity of unions.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.