Salmon War on the Waterfront
Seattle fishermen organize a new union to challenge cannery owners over falling fish prices.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Seattle fishermen are on a strike and refuse to sell silver or jack salmon for less than set prices. They claim these are reasonable rates, and unless the fish dealers agree to them, they will sell their own fish on the market. The proprietors of the canneries and fish dealers insist on buying at whatever supply and demand dictates. The fishermen held a meeting at the Western Central Labor Union hall yesterday, where 223 of them were organized into a union by Organizer J. L. Murphy. The union is now affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. The new price list includes demands for silver and jack salmon and fall salmon, with specific rates based on whether the fisherman or the cannery provides the gear. E. E. Ainsworth, of the firm Ainsworth & Dunn, stated that prices in the East are currently cheap and high local costs would shut them out of the market. He argued that if fishermen are unwilling to sell at offered rates, they have no other options for their perishable catch.
“The proprietors of the cannery and the fish dealers insist on buying at whatever the supply and demand fixes, and no more.”
Labor disputes over commodity pricing and the power of wholesale buyers remain a cornerstone of Seattle’s maritime economy. This 1892 strike highlights the early tension between individual harvesters and the industrial canning giants that once dominated the region.
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