FFAW — Frigging fishermen and Alienating Workers
Good morning NL, all ships at sea, and inshore fish harvesters far and wide. Just so you know, the FFAW-Unifor’s sole right as your union is to negotiate the price of fish, and administer the collective agreement. That’s it. Period. End of FFAW story. When it comes to negotiating fish quotas with Ottawa or compensation packages with Nalcor, the FFAW-Unifor needs your permission. Case in point, the recent Supreme Court of NL case that found the FFAW-Unifor deceived scallop fishermen in the Strait of Belle Isle. The union had to get harvesters to sign consent forms to negotiate with Nalcor over compensation for the power line laid across the Strait, and its impact on scallop fishing in the decades to come. The problem was the FFAW-Unifor only got the consent forms signed AFTER the union had negotiated a deal, and a deal that most scallop fishermen didn’t want. ••• What makes this point relevant is a letter the FFAW-Unifor has written to the Labour Relations Board in reacti