The Wrangell sentinel., 1938-09-09
WORKERS vs. RACKETEERs
By FRANK + FOSTER

employees of the cannery outside of a few technical men, have been Che Indian residents of the reservation, about three hundred in number. Two organizers of an outside Un1on arrived in Metlakatla about the first of May and informed the pe0- pie of that community that unless they took out membership in the outside Union at an expense of $l5 each or about S4.50O for the Indian workers. the affiliated Seaman's Union would declare the cannery to be unfair and would refuse to handle the pack.
 At Yakutat this spring, Indians were informed by the office of she San Francisco Union that they would not be allowed to work or fish for the cannery at that place unless they paid $25,O0 each to the outside grafters for membership n their Union.
 The two Larson boys from Ketch- ikan, students at the University of Washington, desiring summers work in the cannery in their home district, approached the Seattle of flee for jobs. They were told that they should join the Union. They were told at the Seattle office of the Union that they could make appli- cation for membership on payment of $I5 each but that they would have to take their chances by get ting in line before a job could be given them. They tUok a look at the line mentioned, about half a block long and composed of Filipinos, Japs, Mexieans, Puerto Ricans and riff-ratf, and decided that the chance was not worth S15. These boys were born in Ketchikan.
 Two brothers from Seldoyia, als students at U. w., tried to get jobs in the Bristol Bay section. They were told also, that they must join the Union. On application they were told that the books were closed. These lads were born and raised in Alaska.
 Numbers of experienced fisher men in Southeast Alaska have been refused the right to fish for the canneries unless they join one or another of the various Unions. Some have joined one Union only to be told that they must also pay tri- bute to the rival Union or be barred from working.
 A canneryman brought skeleton crew of Union men, foreman, mech anics and technicians, with the eX- pectation of opening up a cannery at Hoonah this spring. He had planned to depend entirely on the Hoonah Indians as fishermen and cannery help. Shortly after he ar rived at Hoonah he was visited by the agents of the cannery racke- teer's Union and was informed that he would have to pay $15 apiece as dues for his employees which he could repay to himself by holding it out of their wages.
 We have recently heard a lot about Jap fishing in Bristol Bay. Our Delegate has striven valiantly to keep the Japs out of our fisheries and we are just as anxious as any one to see that they are kept out. But outside of the revenue the ter ritory obtains from cannery oper- ations, just what difference would it make to residents of Alaska If the Japs caught all the fish and carried them off to Japan, there to be resold to the people of the United States; the canning industry is owned and operated by outsiders and the outside racketeers prevent Alaskans from fishing in their home waters. And the territorial treasury had a narrow escape this year even in the absence of the Japs, by req son of a row between rival outside Unions each of whom claimed the right to fill all the cannery jobs in Alaska with residents of Seattle, cortland and San Francisco.
 About a hundred and sixty years