UFAWU-Unifor calls for Federal and Provincial assistance for disaster of a fishing season

A letter writing campaign is underway out of the Prince Rupert
Fisherman's Hall as UFAWU-Unifor looks to get financial help for its
members from what it calls ad disastrous fishing season

With a string of closures now the norm for the North Coast fishery, UFAWU-Unifor the union which represents workers in the fishing industry in the region has declared the salmon season a Disaster. 

In order to raise awareness of the dire situation for its members, the the union has posted Open Letters to both the provincial and federal ministers of fisheries to its Facebook page, requesting financial assistance for workers in the region.

The union notes in a Facebook post from last week that accompanies the letter, that they would like both its members to fill out and return to Fisherman's Hall, with the union then to forward them to the respective ministers.

Those that prefer to pick up a copy and fill it out at the union hall can drop by the Fraser Street offices to join the campaign for assistance.

The letter as seen below calls for Disaster relief for those involved in the local fishery, highlighting how the current state of affairs on the North Coast has left those in the industry without the financial resources to support their family.

So far, four days in, the UFAWU-Unifor campaign has not caught the attention of any municipal political officials with no mention of their call for action (or indication of any larger community engagement) to be seen from the social media accounts of the Mayor or council members with such platforms.

MLA Jennifer Rice, who represents the North Coast at the Legislature, so far has also not taken note of the local UFAWU-Unifor campaign through her social media stream, nor it appears has NDP MP Nathan Cullen caught up with the local concerns over the fishery.

Local members of UFAWU-Unifor will have an opportunity to take their concerns over the troubled fishery up with MP tomorrow however, when he hosts a Community BBQ Wednesday at 4PM at Prince Rupert's Wheelhouse Brewing Company.

Last week, the ongoing difficulties of the forestry industry across Northern British Columbia caught the attention of both Mr. Cullen and a number of Northern BC mayors who have all called on Ottawa to take action on the issues impacting their communities from the forest sector difficulties.

Those working in the local fishery will no doubt be hoping to seem similar efforts get underway from their elected representatives in this region of the Northwest.

You can review some of the troubles of the 2019 fishery from our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.