Migrant Fishers and Allies to Rally at Boston Seafood Expo, Calling for Industry Action on Safety and Labor Rights

03/14/25

 

Media Advisory for: Monday, March 17 at 4:30 pm 

What: Migrant Fishers Rally and Vigil for Fishers’ Safety and Labor Rights at the Boston Seafood Expo 

Who:  Migrant fishers, The Massachusetts AFL-CIO, Greater Boston Labor Council, Mass Nurses Association, UFCW 1445, SEIU 509, Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH), Boston Teachers Union, AFT, Chinese Progressive Association

When: Sunday, March 17 at 4:30 pm

Where: Entrance to the Boston Exposition and Convention Center, 415 Summer Street

Visuals: Fishers and supporters with signs and banners

Boston – As thousands gather for the Boston Seafood Expo—the largest seafood convention in North America—migrant fishers and their allies will rally outside to demand urgent action from the seafood industry.

Migrant fishers from Indonesia with the Wi-Fi NOW for Fisher’s Rights Campaign  are at the expo calling for mandatory access to Wi-Fi for workers to protect themselves against the forced labor conditions they endure, including:

  • Health and safety violations
  • Physical abuse
  • Lack of sanitation, clean water, and food
  • Deaths and disappearances at sea
  • No communication with the outside world while at sea

On average, currently one migrant fisher in Taiwan’s distant-water fleet dies every week, and over 100,000 fishers worldwide die each year.

As seafood industry leaders enter the expo, fishers and their supporters will hold a vigil outside to honor those lost at sea. Adrian Dogdodo Basar, an Indonesian fisher, has traveled to Boston to attend this event and demand industry action. In 2024, his crewmate Sikry Almadem Subu died following months of illness onboard the vessel, after the captain refused to return to port for Sikry to receive medical treatment. With no access to Wi-Fi, Sikry could not communicate with his family or union to raise the alarm. After Sikry passed away, his body remained in the ship’s freezer for two months while the crew was forced to continue working.

Adrian and his crewmates took action—including a strike to demand that Sikry’s body be returned to land. They faced retaliation, wage withholding, and threats, but their fight continues. Adrian is in Boston to hold the industry accountable and push for real change.

Migrant fishers like Adrian and their supporters in the Wi-Fi NOW for Fisher’s Rights Campaign have been organizing for years and are demanding urgent action from the seafood industry. Despite industry claims of progress, workers remain deliberately disconnected while working on the high seas.   They call for the industry to uphold their labor rights, including Wi-Fi on every fishing vessel. This access will allow them to communicate at sea, seek medical care, and report health and safety violations.

Wi-Fi NOW for Fisher’s Rights Campaign is an international campaign with U.S., Taiwanese, Japanese and Indonesian allies, including the Indonesian Seafarers’ Gathering Forum - Pingtung Migrant Fishers’ Union (FOSPI-PMFU), or Forum Silaturahmi Pelaut Indonesia (FOSPI), Global Labor Justice,  Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR), Stella Maris Kaohsiung, Serve the People Association (SPA), and the Pacific Asia Resource Center (PARC).

Contact: Julie Blust 215-713-6777, julieblust [at] globallaborjustice.org

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