Sailor's Union

The Sailor's Union was a syndicate of fishermen in the planet Lamaredd. Founded c. 517 BBY, it helped the original settlers to improve their slave-like conditions; in further years, the community was free and the Union helped them improve their conditions &mdash; however, there were some accusations of corruption and harassment against the Union. From a headquarters in the city of Farsands in Little Mon Cal, although with seats in most of the cities of the planet, the Union thrived for at least five centuries.

History
Entrepreneur Hugo Bartyn created the city of Bartyn's Landing in Lamaredd c. 529 BBY. He populated it with amphibious aliens who worked for him as indentured servants, both in a seafood processing plant and in trawlers for Bartyn Gourmet Delicacies. A speciesist, Bartyn kept his employees in harsh living conditions, with scarce food and little living space in the area known as The Ring. However, he promoted his best sailors to captains of their own trawlers. As Lamaredd was remote, the Galactic Republic held little power there.

C. 517 BBY, seventeen trawlers were under alien captains. One of these, the Chagrian Sirrik Olyeg, organized the others &mdash; and several Humans too &mdash; to rebel against Bartyn. The trawlers suddenly disappeared in the open sea, in a work stoppage. When the workers of the plant discovered it, they joined the strike, not yielding even when Bartyn resorted to violence.

Knowing that Bartyn could not maintain the situation for longer, Sirrik Olyeg gave her movement a name, the Sailor's Union, and she became the "first chair" of it. Once this had been done, Olyeg asked Bartyn for a meeting to negotiate his concessions.

Bartyn agreed to open unused areas of the Ring to be used as living space. He also accepted to lease acres of terrain around Bartyn's Landing to be used as farms, as long as the leaser be also responsible of cleaning the area of natural dangers and predators &mdash; a movement that reduced Bartyn's expenses in security. Bartyn was forced to cede the second largest continent of the planet to be used as alien homeland, later known as Little Mon Cal, and he thought to himself that, after all, he wanted to create a second seaport.

Bartyn had Olyeg killed, but he admitted that, thanks to Union, he obtained more money than before. After this meeting, the Sailor's Union demonstrated its power, which would only grow in power and influence during the following years. The Union organized its main headquarters, the Landing union chapter, in the capital city of Little Mon Cal, Farsands.

Bartyn's daughter and successor, Tria Bartyn, prompted the Union to expand and create a hall in every city and town of the planet, which in time were dozens. She also emancipated the indentured servants. During the five centuries after Bartyn, the Union became a powerful entity, and a real pain for BGD.

C. 29 BBY, the Landing union chapter was ran by Kurline, a well-liked, crafty Quarren shipping manager who was known to fight for the rights of the Union, to find time to listen any member and to interview potential new members sometimes &mdash; although he also accepted bribes. Around that time, due to the sudden loss of power of the Bartyn family, the town council of Bartyn's Landing seized Bartyn Gourmet Delicacies. In that political moment, the Sailor's Union hoped to take control of BGD in little time.

Policies
Once the Union stabilized, it became an open organization to anyone of any organic species that had a job in the seas of Lamaredd. Almost every sailor in the planet was a member of the Union.

The Union fought for the sailors, improving their conditions. Thanks to their negotiations, every sailor received a share for his or her catch, and later a percentage of the incomes BGD earned by selling this.

The power in the Union was not achieved through either ellections or appointments.

Members of the Union could not work for the Outer Rim Oreworks in any capacity.

There was some corruption in the Union. C. 29 BBY, waiters in Farsands complained about threats made on them by Union members.

Behind the scenes
The Sailor's Union was created by writer Cory J. Herndon and featured in the article Bartyn's Landing and in the role-playing adventure Reckonings, both of them published in the magazine Star Wars Gamer #7 (2001).

Alternate ending
The article assumes that the player characters of Reckonings achieve the best possible ending but, should they fail, the adventure offers an alternative path that takes place during an open war between the Menahuun and the citizens of Bartyn's Landing. In that case, the Sailor's Union becomes a syndicate of organized crime and Administrator Guther Bartyn hires the player characters to infiltrate in the Union and "neutralize" it.