"Lobster 207": How Self-Employed Workers Found their Voice and Improved their Livelihoods through the Maine Lobstering Union

As Dave "Sully" Sullivan looked across the waterfront from a popular pizza place in Portland, Maine, he contemplated what the day meant. This year, 2018, marked his thirtieth anniversary with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers ("IAM" or "Machinists"). He had started his career in 1986 as a shipbuilder at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. Two years later, Sully took his first leadership role as shop steward, elected by other IAM members to monitor the collective bargaining agreement. He filled many roles in his career, from local lodge officer for IAM District 4 staff, to directing business representative of IAM District 4. Throughout, he had witnessed the variety of fields in which the Machinists represented workers - legal professionals, aerospace engineers, Air Force One maintenance staff, service contract members, and more - through collective bargaining contracts. In his most recent role as special representative in the IAM Eastern Territory, he had taken on a project to lead an unusual organizing campaign. He smiled with relief as he thought about the roller coaster ride he had presided over for the last five years to support the newest additions to the Machinist community: Maine lobstermen.

Lobster 207, formally known as the Maine Lobstering Union (MLU), was both a local lodge of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers ("IAM" or "Machinists") and a cooperative business. It was officially formed as both a co-op and a union in 2013. By November 2017, Lobster 207 represented approximately 550 lobstermen, of which 250 were in good dues-paying standing.2 In the course of five years, Lobster 207 had influenced major legislative victories, purchased a wholesale lobster business, and given new voice to lobstermen.

Lobster 207's organizing efforts were in response to pressures and changes felt across Maine's lobster industry. The $500 million industry by annual direct sales of boat catches was an important part of Maine's economy. In fact, the state accounted for 83% of the lobster landings - the volume of lobsters caught and brought ashore - in the United States. In an economy that remained weakened by the Great Recession of 2008 and with rural GDP growth negative through 2013, what happened in the lobster industry mattered.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources regulated the lobster industry. It established lobster management zones (mostly rural coastal areas and small islands) and managed lobster licensees. The number of licensees was limited and in 2016 there were 5,664 licensees across classes and apprentice categories. In Maine, only licensed lobsterman could own and operate a lobster boat. In addition to licensed lobstermen, there were also unlicensed sternmen who were allowed to fish with a licensed captain. State and national regulations not only limited who could fish for lobster but also specified where fishing could take place, set limits on types of equipment used, and restricted which lobsters could be harvested based on size and if egg-bearing.

Looking ahead, Sully would be responsible for shepherding the IAM's relationship with the unusual organizing campaign of Lobster 207, its co-op, and its wholesale business. He contemplated the lessons learned from Lobster 207's journey. In particular he wondered:

In what ways did self-employed and independent workers, as well as organized labor as a whole, benefit from the outcome of Lobster 207's experience ???????????