How Canned Salmon Became Big Business in San Francisco

San Francisco functioned as the primary logistical hub for the salmon canning industry, connecting the city’s seaport to remote Alaskan waters through the Alaska Packers Association. This industry relied on a steady stream of immigrant labor—initially Chinese, followed by Japanese and Filipino workers—who performed grueling, low-paid work under exploitative conditions. Workers endured cramped, segregated living quarters on ships like the *Balclutha* and faced long, dangerous seasons in isolated canneries. While the introduction of automated butchering machines in the early 1900s sought to displace this workforce, the subsequent rise of labor unions in the 1930s provided a mechanism for workers to secure better treatment. Today, the remnants of this era, such as the *Star of Alaska*, serve as physical reminders of the systemic labor practices that fueled the global distribution of canned salmon.