Photo courtesy of National Sea Products

Nat Sea was a union plant right from the start. Seniority was a big thing. Right off the bat they would go by seniority. I was third on the senior list because I went there as soon as it started. So when new packers were hired and they needed training, I was always asked. The other two ladies that was first and second didn't want to get involved in that.

I was never involved with the union. I felt some of it was okay, more of it I didn't. They come down riling people up and starting strikes and walkouts and they didn't care if you could afford to be locked out for a number of months. One strike went on in May and didn't end until December. That's a long time for people. That plant was made up of a lot of husbands and wives, a lot of families too. So one couldn't help another. You couldn't go to a brother or sister for a loan of a few dollars because their families was in the same situation. The good part about unions was they kept the plant running so that no one could outfox the other person or anything like that. But lots of times I just paid my dues and I knew they were there if I needed them.