Business and Development

American Samoa's Unionists

Confront The Big Canneries

From FELISE VA’A in Pago Pago

The introduction of unionism into American Samoa is one of those aspects of so-called progress which the people of the territory are find ing difficult to accept.

For centuries, Samoans have been trained not to challenge the authority of their elders and society. The sys tem has been based on consensus.

With the coming of unionism, how ever, there is the inherent desire by union members to criticise the system as represented here by the ultra wealthy canning companies of Van Camp and Star Kist.

This tendency to criticise, in a constructive and objective way, is novel to Samoan society and so it is no surprise that there is a lot of opposition to the establishment of unions in American Samoa.

The biggest culprit, from the establishment’s point of view, is the United Cannery and Industrial Workers of the Pacific Union, which is based in Los Angeles, USA. This union, which boasts thousands of members, is affiliated to the Ameri can Federation of Labour and the Congress of Industrial Organisations

(Afl-Cio).

Most of its members are cannery workers in the United States as well as seamen and other industrial workers.

It is headed by Steve Edney, a well-educated negro, who not only has a sharp, retentive mind, but possesses that hard drive and winning personality typical of successful American business executives.

When Standard Oil lost an import ant case involving its monopoly of the oil industry in American Samoa, an important principle was discovered in American law. This was that that even though American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States, this does not exclude American Samoa from the jurisdic tion of the American courts nor from United States law.

With this decision as its precedent, United Cannery embarked on an in

vasion of the Van Camp and Star Kist canneries located in the terri tory. Van Camp was first established here in 1954, and Star Kist in the early 19605. Both took advantage of the generous incentives offered by the territorial government which was interested primarily in provid ing employment for Samoans and expanding the economy.

The canneries have fulfilled these purposes well. They remain the prin cipal employers in the territory em ploying 1,500 employees between them and the chief sources for government revenue. Most of the government’s current financial prob lems are due to a drastic reduction in the revenues from the canneries.

This, in turn, was due to a drought in late 1974, and to a reduction in the fish catch.

Despite those setbacks, recent sta tistics reveal that the two canneries seem to be doing pretty well.

Between them, they exported pro ducts such as frozen fish, shark fin, fish meal, tuna and pet food worth $60,714,470 in 1973, and similar products worth $77,724,773 in 1974.

The foregoing are government figures, yet, according to Edney, the canneries payroll in 1973 was not above $2 million and their payroll in 1974 was not above $4 million.

Edney claims his estimates were made on the most generous calcu lations possible. If his estimates were true, then the canneries are guilty of exploiting the Samoans by leaving only a minute percentage of their total earnings in the country, he said.

Last May, hundreds of workers went to the polls at Van Camp to decide whether they would be repre sented by the United Cannery. The workers voted overwhelmingly against it.

United Cannery retaliated by filing 11 charges against Van Camp’s tac tics during the election, accusing Van Camp of unfair election practices.

The National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) sent an investigator.

The evidence appeared to be heavily in favour of the union and Van Camp was prodded to agree to an other election.

This election was held on October 23, and United Cannery was

thoroughly vindicated when the earlier result was reversed in almost the same proportion; 383 voted to join the union, and only 187 were against.

The union election at Star Kist was held on November 13, resulting in a major victory for the company when 366 workers voted against the union, and only 130 voted for it.

It was a big setback for United Cannery which had hoped that a victory at the Star Kist would strengthen its bargaining power in contract negotiations with the can neries.

As an aftermath. Van Camp has filed charges with the NLRB accus ing the union of unfair election prac tices. NLRB ordered a preliminary investigation which was carried out by Ed Parnell, who also supervised the Star Kist election.

As a matter of opinion only, it is not likely that the result of the October union election at Van Camp will be nullified.

Van Camp will find it hard to sub stantiate its charges of bribery and intimidation.

True, a union worker had almost broken the jaw of a palagi, who had been distributing anti-union leaflets.

The assault was not in connection with the distribution of leaflets, but because of inflammatory remarks made by the palagi who is reported to have said that Samoans are fools and would believe anything. The assault was purely a personal matter and was not part of the union’s cam

paign methods.

Van Camp fired Titipa, a security guard, for pro-union sentiments. It is reported that Vern Wright, general manager at Van Camp, personally did the firing. United Cannery took up Titipa’s cause and the NLRB ordered Titipa’s reinstatement. In addition. Van Camp was ordered to pay four months back pay to Titipa, amounting to $1,187.

Before Edney returned to the United States after the Star Kist election, he made it clear that United Cannery is going to contest the result of the Star Kist election. This time, United Cannery is not going to move for the nullification of the result and the holding of another election.

“We are going to ask that Star Kist be ordered to bargain with us”, Edney said. This, in effect, will amount to the same thing as if the union had won the election.

Edney said he won’t ask for an other election because there is no longer any “free atmosphere” for holding another election. Also, if another election is to be held in a year’s time, as provided by law, the union will not likely win the election

because Star Kist will see to it that its salaries and benefits are on a par with those enjoyed by union mem bers at Van Camp.

The legal grounds for Edney’s request to the NLRB to order Star Kist to bargain with the union are based on the effect of third parties on the Star Kist election. The third parties complained of by Edney are Van Camp and the Economic Liber ation Movement.

Edney complained that Van Camp laid off a lot of workers during the last few days before the Star Kist election. This had the effect of scar ing the Star Kist voters. He thinks that Van Camp deliberately did this to affect the Star Kist election.

The Economic Liberation Move ment was formed by a group of locals who do not want the unions to come to American Samoa. Its leader is Fonoti P. Reid, a small businessman, and, reportedly, a shareholder in G. H. Reid Co which is involved in retailing, wholesaling and shipping.

The group distributed leaflets and posters urging the voters to save the country’s economy by voting against the union. Their principal message is that the unions should be kept out of Samoa because they will make unreasonable demands on an already ailing economy.

However, Edney maintains that the union’s presence here will boost the economy by giving the workers more wages, hence more money for them to buy goods from local stores.

Better than more money be left be hind than that the companies should send most of it to their parent com panies on the mainland.

As it stands, therefore, it is not absolutely certain whose economy is being liberated, the economy as con trolled by certain elite groups, or the economy in which everyone parti cipates.

As things now stand, the issues on unionism are still confused in the minds of many people. Perhaps time will change that.