Tag Archives: Protest leader John Efford Jr.
Crab harvesters will lose out on $30M because price-setting panel sided with processors, says Efford
With the time-sensitive snow crab season set to begin in a few days, fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador are once again talking about tying up their boats due to the price of crab. One vocal critic says the new decision will cost harvesters as much as $30 million from a lucrative fishery that has become the economic mainstay in the industry since the cod collapse of the early 1990s. The province’s price-setting panel sided with the Association of Seafood Producers on Monday evening, setting a price floor of $2.60 per pound with the ability go up as market factors change. John Efford, the Port de Grave fisherman who led protests throughout March, said when he heard the price setting panel had chosen the ASP formula his first reaction was one of disbelief. Photos, Video, more, >>click to read<< 16:35
Union and Province Come to Agreement on ‘Free Enterprise’
Today, the Provincial Government has released a letter detailing the provincial changes taking place to increase provincial processing capacity and give harvesters more opportunities to sell their catch. The agreement, which stemmed from protests held last month in St. John’s and around the province, responds to harvesters’ demands for free enterprise. “We are pleased with the amount of collaboration and consultation that has taken place to produce the letter from Minister Loveless today. The Minister took the concerns of harvesters seriously and has made tangible changes that will have positive impacts for fish harvesters all over the province,” says FFAW-Unifor President Greg Pretty. “Importantly, I want our plant worker members to know you are not forgotten about, and these changes are expected to have minimal-to-no impact on existing jobs,” Pretty says. more, >>click to read<< 16:19
Fisheries protests give rise to a new John Efford — but what’s next for the unofficial leader?
Until this month, the general public would have associated Efford’s name with his late father — the former fisheries minister who was a firebrand in his own right. But here was the younger Efford, a fisherman from Port de Grave, standing in the back of a pickup truck with a group of followers gathered in front of him. He had led them through two days of intense protests outside the house of government, and now he was the one holding the megaphone — not Fish, Food and Allied Workers union president Greg Pretty, nor FFAW treasury-secretary Jason Spingle. “Thank Jesus we’ve finally got some leadership!” a fisherman yelled from the crowd. “Isn’t it about time?” Efford quipped, garnering cheers. photos, video, more, >>click to read<< 06:16
N.L. protest cause rooted in price-setting systems for fishers and processors
The protest that erupted Wednesday outside the legislature in Newfoundland and Labrador has its roots in a complex, years-long struggle between independent fish harvesters and processors over the price-setting system, industry observers say. Sean Cadigan, a professor of history at Memorial University, said in an interview Thursday that one underlying factor in the tensions is the plunge in prices for snow crab, the province’s most valuable seafood export. From highs of over seven dollars per pound during the pandemic, the price fell to about two dollars per pound last year, creating hardships for harvesters at a time harvesters’ expenses are rising. He said that has combined with long-standing suspicions that harvesters have toward the small group of companies that dominate fish processing in the province. more, >>click to read<< 07:40
Snow crab price talks have broken off, FFAW says
Protest leader John Efford Jr. grabbed a megaphone Thursday to told the crowd that negotiations for a new crab price-setting formula had broken off ahead of the upcoming season. “There’s no agreement to be made,” he told the cheering crowd. “And how can you make an agreement when you’re trying to make an agreement with a colluded cartel that has the support of the government?” While the price-setting process has been controversial in the past, it hasn’t been at the core of the protests outside the province’s legislature this week. The Fish, Food & Allied Workers union and the Association of Seafood Processors have been working with the provincial government to establish a new formula to determine the price. more, >>click to read<< 17:12
Police don riot gear as Furey’s Liberals make 2nd attempt at budget amid protests
It’s deja vu at Confederation Building in St. John’s on Thursday morning, as police and protesters have shown up in large numbers ahead of the Newfoundland and Labrador government’s plans to introduce the 2024 budget. By 6 a.m. NT, dozens of Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers — some in riot gear — were standing guard in front of the main entrances to the building and a growing number of fish harvesters were arriving on scene. Police were seen having a cordial conversation with protest leaders, urging them to avoid a repeat of Wednesday’s raucous events — particularly with a court-ordered injunction now in place that prohibits protesters from blocking safe access to Confederation Building, which is both home to the legislature and the main government complex. Protest leader John Efford Jr. addressed the crowd a few minutes later. Photos, Video, more, >>click to read<< 06:24
