A Dirty Job, But They Want To Do It Despite Warnings About Hardships, 125 Apply For Jobs On Fishing Boats

Jim White would never make it as a used-car salesman.

You don’t want that Chevy, he’d tell people. It’s overpriced, gets lousy mileage and the brakes are bad. You’ll be miserable with it.

Instead, White recruits workers for The Fishing Company of Alaska. His bluntness is perfect for the task.

He describes the company as “one of the toughest” in a tough industry.

“There’s nothing enjoyable about it, unless you like being cold and wet, and seeing the same faces all the time,” he said. “We used to be the most dangerous job in the country until the post office passed us last year.”

In a tradition that ebbs and flows with the profits of Alaska’s commercial fishing fleet, White came to Spokane on Monday to recruit people who want to earn quick money and don’t mind awful conditions.

Seventy-five percent of the workers in the state’s fishing industry come from the lower 48, according to the Alaska Department of Labor.

About 125 people who hope to join those ranks came to White’s two recruiting sessions at the Shilo Inn on East Third. A handful will get jobs.

White’s company guarantees workers at least $1,500 a month, plus room and board. Considering the 18-hour shifts and seven-day weeks, that’s $2.77 an hour.

But wages are tied to the ship’s catch and “I’ve never seen anybody make less than $10,000” in 90 days, White said.

New employees sign 60-day contracts. The company pays their airfare back to Seattle if they stick it out for at least 90 days. Otherwise, they find their own way back.

And workers who wash out in the first two months earn nothing for the days they’ve worked.

“If you quit (when the ship is at sea), then we charge you $30 a day for room and board, you eat last and you can’t leave your room” except to go to the bathroom, White said.

There are plenty of reasons a worker might quit, White said.

Workers spend weeks aboard 200-foot trawlers or long-liners, ships that drag nets or baited fish hooks. The workers stand in fish slime, gutting Pacific cod, sole, perch and other bottom fish, or they load fish into containers.

Bunks are too short for anyone more than 5-foot-11, and newcomers sleep in cramped rooms with seven other workers - most of whom snore thunderously, to hear White tell it.

One plus: Cigarettes in the ship’s stores cost only $11 a carton because there’s no sales tax.

White’s stark description of working conditions did nothing to deter the roomful of men and handful of women looking for jobs Monday.

“I’m not ashamed of hard work. I’ve done hard work all my life,” said Marty Vincelli, 47, who gave himself a 9.5 when White asked him to rate his physical condition on a scale of 1 to 10.

“I’m not educated for the computer world, the modern high-tech world,” Vincelli said.

“I lost my driver’s license for 90 days, and I figure I might as well go to Alaska for 90 days,” said a cabdriver who wouldn’t give his name.

Ransom Bentley of Asotin, Wash., wants to earn enough money to pay off debts and play the stock market.

“The bunks are only 3 inches too short for me. I’ll just prop up my head,” said Bentley, 24.

Most of the people who showed up Monday will get letters saying “thanks, but no thanks” because White doesn’t think they can handle the job.

In two-minute interviews, the recruiter asked candidates why they would want to work on a fishing boat. The only acceptable response is “for the money.”

“For the adventure” or “because it sounds interesting” shows they don’t understand the job, he said.

White, who recruits throughout Washington, asked 35 promising candidates to come back today to fill out “gobs of paperwork.” If the group is typical, 10 will fail drug tests and another five will get bad reports from past employers.

The remaining 20 will be hired as other people quit.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: Net profits The company pays workers at least $1,500 a month, plus room and board. But wages are tied to the catch and “I’ve never seen anybody make less than $10,000” in 90 days, Jim White said.