TfiefiJherm&n
Representing The Organized Fishermen And Shoreworkers of Brit ish Columbia
Vol. VII, No. 32
(311)
VANCOUVER, B.C., TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1945
East End Printers. 2303 E. Hastings St. PRICE: 5c
Herring Price Talks Continue
Eighth Man In All Areas Will Be Paid By Operators
Negotiations for the conclusion of this year's herring fishing agreement have narrowed the differences between fishermen and operators following meetings held last Saturday.
Herring operators at a Sat-
urday morning meeting with the negotiating- committee of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union, agreed that an eighth man would be paid for by the companies in all areas on all seiners participating in the Union pools. Last year the eighth man was paid by the companies only in the Gulf of Georgia.
When boats moved from the Lower East Coast to the West Coast or North the eighth man's share was transferred to the account of the fishermen.
The new proposal will mean that whether a boat starts fishing on the West or East coasts, the eighth man's share will be to the account of the company. It thus constitutes a 65c per ton increase in the price of herring caught in areas outside the Gulf.
Outstanding remaining difference beween fishermen and operators concerns prices to be paid for herring. Proposal by the fishermen for a straight price for all herring of $5.00 per ton has been rejected by the operators. An alternative offer put forward by the UFAWU committee for retention of the present dual price of $4.50 and $5.50 with all herring canned to be paid for at the higher price was also not acceptable to the operators, who argued that costs on the West Coast and in the North in relation to returns were higher and the $4.50 price for herring caught outside the Gulf was not a straight reduction price, but took into consideration when first established the fact that a proportion would be canned.
The fishermen's negotiating committee then suggested that even if canning costs were higher on the West Coast fish from that area canned at Fraser River plants and at Esquimalt should come under the $5.50 per ton price.
Operators conceded some merit
hand claimed that in this case packing costs were higher.
They therefore proposed that a new price of $5.00 per ton be established for fish caught outside the Lower East Coast and canned on the lower mainland or at Esquimalt.
A full report on negotiations to date was given to a special union meeting held Saturday afternoon.
The meeting voted to continue negotiations and went on record in favor of dropping the 'previous demand for a straight $5.00 a ton price. Instead the negotiating committee was instructed to ask $5.50 per ton for all herring caught outside' the Lower East Coast and canned. The $4.50 price would remain for herring caught for reduction in outside areas.
Union members now out on the West Coast will be informed of the result of negotiations to date and a further special herring meeting will ibe held next Saturday afternoon.
On the negotiating committee for the Union last week were: Alex Main, Jim Guthro, Jack Pet-terson, George Seymour, Union president George Miller and secretary William Rigby. Kurt Lar-een and Steve Stavenes agreed to act on the negotiating committee that is expected to meet the operators next Saturday morning.
Other matters agreed upon as a result of Saturday's negotiating meeting were:
• All companies will make weekly reports to all crews, both seiners and tendermen, engaged in pooling arrangements;
• Weight adjustments found necessary as a result of tests on capacity of tons to be conducted by the departments in October will be retroactive to the beginning of this season;
• Herring fishing will stop by mutual agreement between fishermen and companies whenever in any area conditions indicate that spawning has begun.
The Union's request that for regular tendermen on a monthly wage basis board be to the account of the companies was not
. SPECIAL HERRING MEETING SATURDAY
Herring negotiating committee report will be presented Saturday afternoon at 2 o'clock to a special herring fishermen and tendermen's meeting in The Fishermen's Hall, 138 East Cordova.
All union members of the herring fleet who are in town Saturday must attend this important meeting.
___- —« ... «r„_,„„„j Pictured here are six members
Namil's Nygaard Family of the Ny^^amily at N«nii. They are, in front row, from left to right, Marjorie, Doris, Gladys, and Ruth. At the back, also reading from left to right, are Julian and Alf. With the exception of Gladys, who is Julian's wife, they are all sisters and brothers.
to this argument but on the other I accepted by the operators.
UFAWU Metlakatla Chose Site For Prince Rupert
A staunch member of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers' Union is Peter Ryan, seventy-four-year-old elder of the Metlakatla tribe who is a charge hand at the Inverness cannery.
Met by Alex Gordon and Fred Olsen on their way down from Prince Rupert, Ryan told the UFAWU business agent
and organizer the story of his personal role in the founding of the northern city.
In 1905, Ryan recounted, he had served as guide for Josiah Coote, a real estate investor, who was interested in starting a town at Port Simpson. This locality was surveyed for a townsite with many speculators purchasing parcels of lots.
The town, however, never did materialize to fit the visions of Coote and his associates. The lack of a sufficient water supply made this development scheme impractical. Ryan, knqwing this, proposed to the real estate "prospectors" the present location of Prince Rupert as well suited to become a city from the drinking-water supply point of view.
This, according to Ryan, is the story of Prince Rupert's founding—a city established as the result of his recommendation.
Trades Council Protests Civilian, Servicemen Disfranchisement
Indignant over the provincial government's disfranchisement of service men and women arriving in British Columbia since September 17 and civilian groups such as those at Namu, delegates at the Trades and Labor Council meeting last Tuesday night voted to send a delegation to Victoria to demand that steps be taken to permit these citizens to vote.
Cormack
• Pictured above is pretty Marie La Pointe, women's delegate at Goose Bay.
The seven stalwarts in the picture adjoining Marie's are, from left to right, Ernie Good-all, Peter Peterson, Bill Hale, James Baldwin, James Hay, Tom McTurk, and T. McGart-land. All union, member5, they were snapped at Wales Island by UFAWU business agent Alex Gordon during his recent trip, as were all other photos on this page.
Introduced by R of the 'Street Railwaymen's Union, the resolution proposed that two delegates each from the Trades Council, the Vancouver Labor Council, Victoria and Prince Rupert Councils and the Canadian Legion interview the cabinet in an attempt to permit men and women returning from overseas to vote.
The resolution was amended by Bill Rigby, secretary-treasurer of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers' Union, to cover such groups as those workers at Namu reported in last week's Fisherman who have been disfranchised despite seeking every possible avenue to be placed on the voters' list.
Rigby quoted from the letter written by E. J. Avery which outlined the steps taken by the Namu UFAWU members to get on the list. Delegates speaking later expressed their astonishment at such unfair action on the pajt of the government. Dave Reese, Civic Employees' Union delegate, stated that "it was about time" we realized what these parties (Liberals and Conservatives) are doing.
Delegate Sam Shearer declared that the government was afraid of the working man's vote. "They know," he stated, "that the workers' votes are going to the LPP and the CCF and .that's why they are preventing them from voting."
Cormack, sponsor of the motion, pointed out that hundreds of servicemen too young to vote at the last election would now be of age but unable to vote.
"What does it profit the Canadian worker if he saves democracy for the people of Europe, and loses it at home?" he asked.
Council elected a six-man committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding expulsion of
Courtenay Ward, president of a large U.S. Painters' local, as a delegate to the Cleveland Federation of Labor.
A resolution passed some weeks ago. condemning AFL international president William Green for Ward's expulsion drew from Green the reply that he had been expelled by the membership of the Federation.
Cormack, who proposed estab lishment of the committee to check into the truth of Green's statement, produced a letter received by himself from Ward
which placed onus for his expulsion on Green's shoulders.
Ward, it will be remembered, attended the inaugural meetjng of the World Federation of Trade Unions this spring as the only AFL observer despite strong opposition from the AFL executive council. On his return to America, Ward spoke before many AFL locals, reporting on the world meet ing and showing the need for the AFL to take part in the world labor organization.
Cormack placed in the hands of —Continued on page 4
QCI WATERS CLOSED TO SALMON FISHING
All salmon fishing with any kind of gear will be closed for the season in the Queen Charlotte Islands area on October 12, according to an announcement last Thursday by Major J. A. Motherwell.
Waters along the west coast of the Queen Charlottes, between the south shore of the entrance to Taso Inlet, Moresby Island and Cape Knox on Graham Island were closed to salmon fishing on September 14. This closure included the waters of Skidegate Inlet west of a live drawn across the westerly entrance to Skidegate Narrows.
Reason given for discontinuing fishing is the extremely light showing of chums.
"Anogant" Story Corrected
In last week's issue of The Fisherman, we reported that Captain Gordon Gibbon's tuna vessel the Arrogant, was missing with him and three crew members aboard.
In reporting the vessel missing it was stated that "the Arrogant, though well-ballasted, was not popular. Two or three crew members made only one trip after ex
HERRING SHOW AT SEVERAL POINTS
During the past week, herring fishermen, according to The Fisheries Department, caught a few hundred tons at each of the following places — Deepwater Bay, Porlier Pass and Nanoese Bay.
Pilchard are showing in increasing numbers on the west coast. It has been announced that the reduction plant at Hecate is being reopened.
FAIR PINK CATCHES ON FRASER RIVER
Fair catches of Dink salmon were reported during the past week on the Fraser rivet.
pressing the opinion that she was dangerously top-heavy."
These statements were made in good faith on the basis of information given to The Fisherman by several people. However, we have since be?n informed that this information was nothing more than unfortunate rumor, unfounded in fact.
Mrs. Gordon Gibbons, wife of skipper and owner, Gordon Gibbons, told The Fisherman last Friday that the Arrogant was fully insured and that in order to obtain this insurance, a thorough stability test was taken.
She states that no fisherman ever left the Arrogant because it was top-heavy and that the vessel was far from unpopular.
The Fisherman wishes to correct the errors which Mrs. Gibbons has drawn to our attention and to apologize for any harm they may have caused.
We share the hope of Mrs. Gibbons and the wives of Olav Lar-sen, Greg Nagle, and Leo Boyer, crew members of the craft, that the vessel and crew are safe and express our keen sorrow if any statement carried in The Fisherman has tended to dim that hope.
Fish Prices
VANCOUVER
Following wholesale fish prices obtained at Campbell Ave. Dock at Vancouver on October 6.
White Spring Salmon ........10c lb.
Red Spring Salmon ............20c lb.
Small.................................14c n,.
Flounders, (dressed,
headless) ........................2>/2c lb.
Soles (dressed, headless) . . 6c lb.
Dogfish Livers ....................30c lb.
Grey Cod Livers ....................4C lb.
Fresh Grey Cod (dressed,
headless) ..............................6c lb.
Ling Cod (live) ....................I0c lb.
Gillnet Herring ........... 6c lb
SEATTLE
Wholesale prices obtaining on Friday, October S.Salmon (King), coast troll,
dressed, heads on, large ..22c lb.
Sma" ..................................18'4c lb.
White ......................................14c lb.
Salmon, Silver, coast troll 16(/2c lb.
Petrate Sole ............................6c )b.
LinS Cod ......................_........10c lb.
Rock Cod ..............................4£c ft.
True Cod........................_......8%c lb.
Albacore ...........................l9t/2 ]b.
RETAIL PRICES '
Retail prices obtaining Friday, October 5 in New Westminster city market:
Ceiling Price
g°|e .....................15
Sole, filleted .....42
Ling cod.............25
Cod, filleted .. .42
Halibut ................/
Herring, 2 lbs. \. White salmon, lb. Spring salmon, lb.
Steelhead, lb.......
Clams, 3-lbs.......
Crabs, each..........
Crabmeat, lb.
Shad, lb...............
Shrimps, lb.........
Smelts, lb......
Market Price .15 .35 .25 .35 .35 .25 .30 .25 .30 .25 .15 .60 .20 .50 .20