Tag Archives: Lobster 207
Maine Unions Lead on the Green Energy Transition
Maine’s fifteen years long OSW policy debates have been hobbled by entrenched opposition from Maine’s lobstermen. It would also be impossible to convince politicians to pass an OSW law that was oblivious to the interests of Maine’s lobstermen. Governor Mills and her team reached out to Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA), but they did not break through the impasse. The MLA continues to oppose OSW by arguing about potential impacts “on the marine environment, commercial fishermen and our fishing heritage.” MLA’s opposition has grown stronger in the past few years under the influence of New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA), which is orchestrating conservative anti-OSW campaigns across the East Coast. To break this logjam, the MLCC worked with the country’s only lobstering union, Lobster 207. Though a small fraction of Maine lobster fishers are unionized, the lobstering union has a crucial role in advocating for improved working conditions within the lobstering industry. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:50
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 lobstermen say electronic trackers required by federal regulators violate privacy
Some Maine lobstermen say that new electronic monitoring requirements are violating their constitutional right to privacy. As of Dec. 15, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission requires that lobstermen with federal permits install a monitor tracking their boat’s location each minute that it’s moving. But the Sustainable Maine Fishing Foundation — a nonprofit arm of the Maine Lobstering Union — is now asking the state to delay the requirements until the next fishing season. The foundation outlined its concerns in a letter sent to the Maine Department of Marine Resources earlier this month. more>>click to read<< 09:03
Fishing foundation pushes back against electronic tracking
Three days before a federal electronic tracking requirement took effect for all lobster boats fishing in federal waters, the Sustainable Maine Fishing Foundation (SMFF), a nonprofit that shares headquarters on Bar Harbor Road with the Maine Lobstermen’s Union and Lobster 207, sent a letter through its attorneys to Patrick Keliher, commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources. The Dec. 15 deadline to start using electronic “black box” tracking devices has come and gone, but the Foundation is busy raising funds for legal expenses, raising more than $46,000 in its first week toward a goal of $250,000. more, >>click to read<< 10:39
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 Lobstermen Skeptical Of Proposal To Tie ‘Whale-Safe’ Seafood Label To Use Of New Fishing Gear. They should be.
A movement is emerging among conservation groups to create a “whale-safe” seal of approval for lobster caught with new types of gear designed to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales. But it could be a tough sell in Maine, where some say the iconic fishery is already sustainable.,, “That’s really important, that fishermen willing to test this gear, and certainly those fishermen fishing with ropeless gear should be rewarded,” says Erica Fuller, a lawyer at the Conservation Law Foundation, one of several organizations suing the federal government for stronger protections of the roughly 400 North Atlantic right whales remaining on the planet. >click to read< 10:36
The Maine Lobstering Union says the CEO of Lobster 207 and his parents embarked ‘on a systematic scheme’ to enrich themselves.
A federal lawsuit is alleging that the former owners of a Trenton lobster wholesaler violated an agreement to leave the business and instead stole $1.94 million from the new owners. The suit, filed in Bangor federal district court, said that the Maine Lobstering Union bought a wholesaling business in Trenton from Anthony and Josette Pettegrow in early 2017. >click to read< 09:14
Lobstermen’s union says former CEO and his parents embezzled funds, committed fraud – >click to read< 11:06
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<
Why the U.S. Needs More Worker-Owned Companies
The gap in wealth in the United States between the ultrawealthy and everyone else has reached its widest point in decades. One way to narrow the divide is through the use of worker buyouts, in which ownership of a company transfers from a single person or a small number of people to the workers of the company. Currently, about 10% of Americans hold equity stakes in their workplaces.,,, Worker buyouts are particularly likely to blossom in industries with organized workers who transition to union cooperatives. Last year 400 members of IAM Maine Lobstering Union bought the wholesale operation of Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound and turned it into a worker-owned cooperative called Lobster 207. >click to read<07:59
