The Fishermen’s Fight for Dignity
Seattle fishermen organize a new union to resist exploitation by fish dealers, challenging their precarious economic state.
At the meeting of the Western Central Labor Union last night, about 150 fishermen held a meeting for the purpose of taking preliminary steps to form a union. They claim that the lack of an understanding among themselves has heretofore left them at the mercy of the fish dealers. The net owners have entered into an agreement, binding themselves under penalty of a forfeit of $500, not to sell silver or jack salmon for less than 2 1/4 cents per pound, nor fall salmon for less than 10 cents each.
“They claim that the lack of an understanding among themselves has heretofore left them at the mercy of the fish dealers.”
This 1892 push for organized labor in the fishing industry is a precursor to the deep-seated labor history of the Pacific Northwest. It highlights the recurring struggle of independent workers forming cartels or unions to combat the pricing power of monopolistic middlemen.
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