The Salmon Strike on the Sound
Local fishermen take a stand against cannery owners over piece-work wages.
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 principal topic of interest among the labor organizations during the past week has been the fight between the Fishermen's Union and George T. Myers, proprietor of the salmon cannery. Mr. Myers has flatly and steadily declined to pay the union scale, which is 7 cents apiece for silversides and 15 cents for jacks, and offers to pay 5 cents for silvers and 10 cents for jacks. His position caused the fishermen to cease fishing for a week, losing valuable time and a good deal of money. Meantime they made arrangements with D. Drysdale, proprietor of the cannery at Point Roberts, to take their fish. The union is now in the position of demanding 7 cents for salmon from Mr. Myers and at the same time selling them to Mr. Drysdale for 5 cents apiece.
“His position caused the fishermen to cease fishing for a week, losing valuable time and a good deal of money.”
The tension between organized labor and large-scale industrial owners over resource extraction and fair wages remains a defining struggle in the Pacific Northwest, mirroring contemporary labor debates in the regional fishing and food processing industries.
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