First Fishermen’s Union Formed

by Mike Crowe

Midcoast Maine lobstermen have formed the nation’s first fishermen’s union. Market conditions in the summer of 2012 brought many issues to a head said fisherman Justin Dyer of Vinalhaven.

Lobstermen involved in the effort to unionize said they have known for a long time that fishermen need to be more organized in order to better represent their interests and those of their industry. “We’re doing it now because the current issues confronting fishermen are the same up and down the coast’, said Dyer.

Last summer was the tipping point, said Dyer. “We tied up last summer, but it was a disaster. There was no communication amongst us. We realized we were not organized, not sure how many were tied up, or if there was a plan. Therefore we were not strong. We were tied up and dealers were telling us not to haul.” He said if they had been organized last summer the tie up would have been more effective. “On Vinalhaven 99% of the fishermen on were for tying up. We don’t want to tie up again. We want to organize and work together to better the industry,” Dyer said.

Dyer said there is a misconception that they are rich lobstermen. “But”, Dyer said, “in Maine lobstermen’s average income is $38,000. We’re not in it to get rich. We love what we do. Last summer we were frustrated and confused about all that was going on. There was fear that we could lose the ability to fish. The dealers were saying don’t fish, lobster was $1.80 lb., it was frustrating, and there was the fear of arrest for tying up or talking about price. There was a meeting last summer that I didn’t go to for fear of arrest”.

That fear is founded on a federal consent decree from 1958. Justin Dyer’s great grandfather, Leslie Dyer, was actively involved in organizing a tie up over lobster prices at the time. The long-standing struggle between lobstermen and dealers over lobster prices boiled over into a tie up that year. (See Fishermen’s Voice archives-“Feds Indict MLA- January 2010 at: fishermensvoice.com )

Lobster dealers in response filed a federal lawsuit charging lobstermen with price fixing and restraint of trade for tying up. An act they charged was an illegal strike. The lobstermen lost the case and one of the results was a consent decree that is still in place. It prohibits lobstermen from discussing price in any organized way and they can still be arrested for doing so. There is an exception under the Marine Fisheries Coop Act of June 1934. That exception gives anyone in a coop the right to discuss prices, etc., which the consent decree says others cannot do.

After the 2012 tie up Vinalhaven fishermen telephoned the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) union. After calling the IAMAW, nine fishermen traveled to Maryland to attend a union school to learn how the union works and how they could use it. Some said they we’re skeptical at first, until“we saw the professionalism and the resources available. It instilled in us the belief that we can be active in making changes” another fisherman said. The fishermen’s union will be a spin-off of the IAMAW, but will be it’s own group.

Joel Pitcher, business representative and organizer for the IAMAW said, “It is important in our minds that these discussions (regarding value) are a part of our future. We expect that through collective power they will be”.

Justin Dyer said one of the ways unionization would help them is in the right to discuss catch value. But he said, “Price is the last thing on our minds. Price is a symptom of the overall problem.”

Vinalhaven fisherman James Knowlton said, ”We will be affiliated with the IAMAW but we will be creating our own local. We’ll start at Vinalhaven and organize fishermen from Eastport to Kittery. All our interests are the same – whale rope, legislative issues, retirement plans, benefits like health insurance, dragged lobster, zone issues, etc. These problems are common to fishermen the length of the coast”.

The fishermen who met informally at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum in March said they believe the resources of the IAMAW will help them develop the skills and abilities they need to move forward solutions to the problems all Maine fishermen are facing today.

Dyer said he respects the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. “They work hard and they are good at what they do, but they are not effective enough,” said Dyer.

Knowlton said the 1,200 members of the MLA do not represent a large enough percentage of the fishermen. He thought the number of members at the recent MLA annual meeting at the Fishermen’s Forum in March was too low. “There are 5,700 licensed lobstermen in Maine. If they were unionized they would be expected to be active. We have to unite all the fishermen from Eastport to Kittery,” said Knowlton.

Dyer said it is difficult to get fishermen to act on their own behalf. He said that as a group they can do something, but alone they can’t do anything. Organizing from scratch would be impossible he said. The exiting structure and resources of the union are seen as a foundation for their own union.

The fishermen’s union will vote in a president. The union will have subdivisions along the coast based on the zones, with each lobster zone having an elected representative. Regarding a commitment to this decision Dyer said if it looks like unionization is not delivering the expected solutions fishermen can back out. In early March there was no binding contract in place.
Union representative Jim Alexander said “There is a misconception that lobstermen are too few to be represented. But union members can go to the legislature and the union will provide guidance for them. The resources of the union lobbying mechanism are already in place. There are 5,000 IAMAW members in Maine. Issues can be brought to the state and to Washington, D.C.”

Fishermen interviewed at the Forum complained that they do not have a voice. They pointed to the recent proposal to spend $3 million dollars raised from lobstermen to develop lobster markets. “We don’t know if anything will come of it and we have no say in how it will be spent”, said Dyer.

Unions typically represent employees in a company or in an industry. Pitcher was asked how the union would interface between a group of lobstermen who are independent small businessmen and the regulatory process and other institutions. Pitcher used a March 5th legislative meeting at the statehouse in Augusta as an example. LD486 - An act to fund marketing of Maine lobster- is a bill that would raise $3 million dollars for marketing lobster - 75% paid by lobstermen and 25% by others including processors. Pitcher said, “Some lobstermen have objected to paying 75% over the next 3 years when it doesn’t change their position at the dock. They would still be relying on trickle down and good faith”. A group of fishermen from Vinalhaven went to Augusta with Pitcher to the meeting on LD486 where union representatives introduced them to the legislative process and met with key players in this particular issue.

“There are real dangers that fishermen are facing and we are not organized to do anything about them”, said Dyer.

Meetings to discuss unionization plans with fishermen are being planned in towns along the coast.