A Sea Captain's Seattle Grievance
Captain Jorgensen of the Alexander McNeill learns a hard lesson about maritime labor laws after attempting to deny his crew their pay in Seattle.
The story, cleaned up
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Capt. Jorgensen of the bark Alexander McNeill, currently loading coal, is nursing a grievance after being fined $100 and forced to pay his sailors for back wages. The crew had been shipped in San Francisco for a voyage that did not ultimately follow the planned route, and when the sailors demanded to be paid off in Seattle, Jorgensen refused, claiming he would spend $1,000 before he would pay them. Upon consulting an attorney, he learned that United States courts had established that if a ship varies its voyage, sailors are legally entitled to be paid off in port. Jorgensen paid the men and the attorney’s fees, stating that he felt abused by the process and would avoid returning to Seattle in the future.
“The captain thinks he has been abused here and says he will not come to Seattle again if he can help it.”
This case illustrates the shift in the late 1800s toward recognizing the rights of sailors against arbitrary control by shipmasters. It captures the transition from a period where maritime labor was seen as entirely disposable to one where legal precedent began to protect a worker's right to their pay upon contract breach.
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