November 20, 2020 — Hundreds of Alaska-based seafood employees were forced to endure filthy, unsafe working conditions — including rat-infested bunkhouses — and stiffed on wages daily, according to a class-action lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle in October.
North Pacific Seafoods, Inc. shorted workers of wages owed last summer by requiring they punch a timeclock only after they donned and doffed protective gear, a lengthy process that involves rubber aprons, boots, multiples sets of gloves, hairnets, earplugs and other safety equipment, the lawsuit alleges.
Headquartered in Seattle, North Pacific Seafoods is a subsidiary of Marubeni Corp, a multi-billion-dollar Japanese conglomerate. The company will not comment on pending litigation, said Leauri Moore, vice president of human resources and administration. North Pacific Seafoods operates multiple processing plants in key Alaska fishing communities including Kodiak, Sitka, Togiak and Naknek. The company controls about 10 percent of the Alaska fisheries market, according to the lawsuit.