The Fish, Food, and Allied Workers Union (FFAW) – which represents roughly 14,000 workers in the seafood industry in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada – has elected Greg Pretty to serve as the organization’s president.
The election came after the previous president, Keith Sullivan, stepped down in early January after eight years in the role. Sullivan presided over the recent intense debate over snow crab prices – which the union negotiates between the Association of Seafood Producers and a price-setting panel in the Canadian province.
“News of Keith’s departure this morning certainly came as a surprise, but we respect his choice and appreciate all he’s done for this organization during his eight years as president and the nearly 20 spent working with the union,” FFAW Inshore Vice President Tony Doyle said soon after Sullivan delivered the news he was leaving in early December.
Pretty’s name was immediately put forward as a candidate for president of the union, and on 5 January, the FFAW Joint Council elected him in a 43-11 vote. Pretty has served as the director of the industrial-retail-offshore sector since 2003, and has negotiated over 100 collective agreements over his career with the union. He brings 40 years of experience to the job, according to FFAW.
The election was not without controversy, however. Another union in the region, the Seaward Enterprise Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL), condemned the election and claimed that two other candidates for the presidency – Dave Callahan and Jason Sullivan – were deemed ineligible for the election and were only told such days before the election took place.