Tag Archives: International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
Bankruptcy filing by former CEO latest twist in Lobster 207 legal saga
Former Lobster 207 CEO Warren Pettegrow filed for bankruptcy in the Southern District of Florida, one day before he was court-ordered to forfeit money, properties, business interests and guns to Lobster 207 toward a $1 million judgment awarded after arbitration in June 2020. U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker had ordered the forfeiture after nearly five years of court proceedings in federal court in Bangor. The judgment arose from a civil lawsuit Lobster 207 filed in December 2019 alleging Pettegrow, as CEO of Lobster 207, embezzled nearly $2 million over roughly two years in a price-fixing arrangement. The Maine Lobstering Union Local 207, part of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, opened the Lobster 207 co-op in 2017 and hired Pettegrow as CEO, an arrangement that was part of the sale to Lobster 207 of the wholesale side of Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:41
Maine Lobster Union Points the Way for Organizing Gig Economy Workers
Lobstering is an inherently individualistic pursuit. Most boats are crewed by just two or three people, and some captains go it alone. They leave harbor before dawn, spend the day hauling traps up from the seafloor, then motor back to the dock to sell the creatures for the best price they can get. It’s hard work that draws rugged, self-reliant people, in other words, not your typical union members. That’s what makes Local 207, the only lobstering union in the US so unusual. The decade-old group in Maine represents about 200 lobstermen. The union more often referred to as “Lobster 207”, got its start after a crash in prices 10 years ago. >Video, click to read< 11:05
On The Ropes – Federal court rules against lobster industry in appeal of whale protection regulations
“Obviously, it’s devastating to the lobster industry,” Stonington Town Manager Kathleen Billings told the Islander. Stonington lands by far the most lobsters in the state. In total, Maine lobstermen added an estimated $724,949,426 worth of lobster landings to the state commercial fishery in 2021. “We have a lot at stake,” Billings continued. “[Lobstering] makes up $60 [million] to $70 million to our economy and to have this recent ruling, and also too with the Seafood Watch list designation, they pretty much put a torch to our industry and burnt it to the ground for us.” >click to read< 08:55
Lobster fishing cooperative wins more than $1 million in dispute with former CEO
A federal arbitrator has awarded a fishing cooperative more than $1 million in the cooperative’s lawsuit against its former CEO, whom the co-op accuses of defrauding and stealing from the group. The arbitrator’s award allows the cooperative’s federal lawsuit to go forward against the former CEO and his parents, who own a Hancock County lobster pound. Lobster 207 LLC sued Warren Pettegrow and his parents, who own and operate the Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound, in December 2019 in U.S. District Court in Bangor. The lawsuit alleged that the family members defrauded and stole from the group after they sold their wholesale lobster business to it in 2017. >click to read< 11:54
Arbitrator upholds firing of Lobster 207 co-op CEO, clearing way for racketeering lawsuit
The former CEO of Lobster 207, a fishing cooperative owned by the Maine Lobstering Union, on Monday lost in an arbitration proceeding over his firing in 2020. The decision against Warren B. Pettegrow of Trenton upholds his dismissal and is expected to allow a federal racketeering lawsuit, pending before the U.S. District Court in Bangor, to continue toward trial, according to a news release from the co-op. Named as defendants in the suit brought by Lobster 207 are Pettegrow, his company, Poseidon Charters Inc., Anthony D. and Josette G. Pettegrow of Trenton, and their company Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound Inc. >click to read< 18:56
Ex-Head of Maine Union Co-op Named in Racketeering Suit
The annual Maine lobster catch might not be in trouble, but certain people who sell it are. On December 5, Lobster 207, a wholesale marketing cooperative owned by the Maine Lobstering Union, an affiliate of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, filed a civil racketeering complaint in Bangor federal court against its former head, Warren Pettegrow, his company Poseidon Charters Inc., and three other persons. The suit alleges the defendants engaged in a two-year scheme to loot the co-op. >click to read< 11:20
Maine Lobstering Union that’s suing its former CEO, hires a new management team
A lobster fishing cooperative that is suing its former CEO in federal court has hired two people to round out its new management team. Lobster 207 LLC, also known as the Maine Lobstering Union, has appointed Carmen Look as its chief financial officer and Brian Hemingway as its director of business development, the organization said Thursday.,,, The cooperative is alleging in a lawsuit that Pettegrow and his parents defrauded and stole from the union after selling it their wholesale lobster business for $4 million in 2017. The lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court in Bangor. >click to read< 12:39
Lobster union fires co-op CEO
The Maine Lobster Union, Lobster 207, has fired longtime lobster dealer Warren Pettegrow as chief executive officer of its wholesale lobster co-op.
The firing was announced in an April 13 letter,,, According to the letter, Pettegrow’s employment as chief executive officer was “terminated” after “an internal investigation prompted by red flags reported by the company’s auditing team.” Reached for comment, Pettegrow emailed the following statement: “Lobster 207 circulated an announcement on April 13 that contains numerous false and defamatory statements about me and my conduct and loyalty to the lobstermen that I have worked with for many years. >click to read<
Maine lobstermen’s union votes to buy Hancock County lobster business
The Maine Lobstering Union voted Saturday to buy a wholesale lobster business near Mount Desert Island to help its fishermen net a bigger share of the profit in the booming, $1.5 billion-a-year industry. At a closed-door meeting in Rockport, members voted 63-1 to buy the wholesale side of the Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound, which includes a tank that can hold up to 180,000 pounds of lobster, for $4 million, said Local 207 President Rocky Alley. “We can’t wait to start buying and selling our own lobsters,” Alley said. “Right now, fishermen sell at the dock, and we get what we get, with no control. But there is lots of money made off lobsters after they leave the dock, and some ought to stay with us fishermen.” The vote enables the Maine union to borrow money from a Kansas City bank and to borrow $1.1 million from fellow locals in the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers as far south as Maryland to purchase the Lamoine-based wholesale business. continue reading the story here 21:36
A Maine lobstermen union?
Maine lobstermen may not initially strike you as the type of workers who would join a union. Yet as of this past fall, approximately 600 lobstermen from up and down the coast had done just that. Why would lobstermen join a union, and what does this say about the state of organized labor in today’s economy? Read more here blr.com 15:12
Lobstermen union meets for 1st time Sunday at the Portland Regency
Fishermen who are forming the Maine Lobstering Union are gathering Sunday at the Portland Regency. Opening remarks will be open to the public, then the meeting will be closed to begin the process of nominating officers and beginning a process for nominating officers. more@seacoastonline
Seeking stability, some Maine lobstermen join union – The Maine Lobstermen’s Association voices concerns
With promises to fight bad legislation and negotiate prices for their catch, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers has been recruiting fishermen in some of Maine’s most lobster-reliant communities, including Vinalhaven, Stonington and Jonesport. So far, more than 250 fishermen have signed up for what will be called the IAM Maine Lobstering Union. continued
