March 12, 2025
Bumble Bee Seafood was sued Wednesday by four Indonesian men who allege horrific treatment and forced labor aboard boats that supply the San Diego-based tuna company.
Citing violations of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act in 2000, the men seek unspecified monetary damages in San Diego federal court. The four are represented by lawyers led by Washington-based Cohen Milstein aided by Greenpeace and a San Diego attorney.
Their 48-page complaint, calling for a jury trial, also wants Bumble Bee to ensure pay and improved working conditions for fishers, including 10 minimum rest hours in any 24-hour period.
The suit also demands that each vessel provide “free, accessible and secure WiFi to allow fishers to access grievance mechanisms, authorities or other sources of assistance.”
. . .
Agnieszka Fryszman, partner at Cohen Milstein and chair of its Human Rights practice, said in a statement: “These men were looking for good jobs so they could provide for their families and build a future. Instead, they allege, they were trapped — isolated at sea, beaten with metal hooks, not getting enough food, working around the clock — and facing financial penalties if they tried to leave.
“The complaint outlines how each of them asked to be released, but were kept on board against their will — and in some cases didn’t take home a single penny for their labor.”
Fryszman added:
“As part of its effort to stamp out human trafficking and forced labor, U.S. law authorizes survivors to bring claims in the United States against the persons who benefitted from those abuses, recognizing that forced labor overseas harms U.S. companies that obey the law. Our clients are seeking justice not only for themselves but to implement changes that will protect other fishers, including men at sea right now on those same boats.”
. . .
Besides Fryszman and Nicholas Jacques of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, other lawyers helping in the suit include Paul Hoffman and downtown San Diego attorney Helen Zeldes of Shonbrun Seplow Harris Hoffman & Zeldes LLP and Asia Arminio of Greenpeace Inc.
Read 4 Indonesians Sue San Diego’s Bumble Bee Seafood, Alleging Forced Labor.