-
http://seafarerslog.org/archives/files/original/427c975260aec00c5b61d66e26af899b.pdf
01c174fa767ac019ac85173ee5864aad
PDF Text
Text
.***** .?'
:~-* *
---
•i ~~f I
Gmcial Publication ol the Seafarers International Union • Atlantic, Gull, Lakes and Inland Waters District• AFL·CIO Vol. 49, No. 11November198?
A Need for Healthy Merchant Fleet
Defense Report Finds 'Alarming' Sealift Decline
The United States has barely enough
ships or crews to meet military sealift
requirements today. And it's only going
to get worse.
The only way to remedy that is to
maintain a healthy, private U.S. merchant marine, according to a recently
released report by the presidentiallyappointed Commission on Merchant
Marine and Defense.
The seven-member panel, which
conducted hearings and research
throughout this year, presented its 24
''findings'' to President Reagan earlier
this month.
The commission's purpose is to study
U.S. military sealift needs, to determine if those needs can be met and to
Salvage Effort Fails
See Page 7
recommend ways to meet those requirements.
''The principal significance of the
commission's findings is that there is
a clear and growing danger to the
national security in the deteriorating
condition of America's maritime industries. The United States simply
cannot consider itself secure, much
less the leader of the Free World,
without reversing the decline of the
maritime industrial base," wrote former Sen. Jeremiah Denton, commission chairman, in a letter to Reagan.
Denton said that after meeting with
the president for 10 minutes, Reagan
said ''he would do what he could.''
SIU President Frank Drozak said
the findings ''came as no surprise to
anyone who has followed the maritime
industry for the past years. We have
pointed out the national security problems due to a declining fleet for years,
all the maritime industry has. Maybe
because this commission was appointed by the president it will have a
little more clout in policy making decisions, maybe not."
While the merchant marine has
shrunk quite a bit in the past decade
or more, since the Reagan administration came to office the decline has
accelerated. Since 1981 the administration ended ship construction subsidies, placed a moratorium on operating subsidies, opposed expansion of
cargo preference and boosted the buildup of a reserve force run by the Navy.
The commission stated repeatedly
in its report that a private U.S. merchant fleet is the best way to maintain
security. One of the major problems
of the reserve fleet is a lack of adequate
manpower to crew those ships. In a
single theater sealift operation, the
commission predicted a shortfall of
12,500 seamen by the year 2000.
''Of course there will be a lack of
crews, because there is a lack of jobs
today. Where are these people going
to get their training and earn their
livelihoods," Drozak asked.
"A major government effort is urgently required, indeed overdue," to
build the merchant fleet to a level
where it can meet national security
needs, the report said.
''There is no more militarily efficient, cost-effective and reliable way
to provide the majority of the military
sealift requirement now and in the
future than through an active United
States-flag merchant marine," the
commission found.
The commission is due to report
recommendations to the president by
the end of this year.
Following is the list of 24 findings
the commission reported.
1. The commission has found clear and
growing danger to the national security in
the deteriorating condition of America's
maritime industry. The United States cannot consider its own interests or freedoms
secure, much less retain a position of
leadership in the Free World, without
reversing the decline of the maritime industries of this nation, which would de-
(Continued on Page 10.)
Manning Conference
More than three dozen labor, industry and government maritime leaders
gathered at the Merchant Marine Academy to exchange ideas on innovative manning systems for the U.S. merchant marine.
SIU President Frank Drozak said effective manning systems should be
the objective and that competitive manning does not mean simply slashing
crew sizes. He also noted that the U.S. merchant fleet serves two
purposes, commercial, and as a national security asset. The requirements
of the roles are not always compatible.
A series of articles beginning next month will examine the questions
and trends of future manning, innovations and crew training for the U.S.
merchant marine.
The conference established five committees to study the following
areas.
1. Effective Use of Current Manning-Chaired by Arthur Haskell
2. U.S. Legislative and Regulatory Reform-Co-chaired by Frank
Iarossi, Frank Drozak and Admiral William Kime
3. Multiple Unions-Chaired by Stephen Schmidt
4. Cargo Opportunities-Chaired by Robert Elsensohn
5. Ship of the Future-Co-chaired by Richard Soper and Jordan
Truchan
Evan Bayh, secretary of state of Indiana and son of former Sen. Birch Bayh, told the
Maritime Trades Department convention that it is time to "revitalize" politics by electing
men and women who share the concerns of working people around the country. For
complete coverage of the convention, see pages 3-6.
Inside:
Special Report by Drozak
Page 2
Unity Key in Inland Beefs
P.R.O.M. at SHLSS?
Pages 12 & 13
Last Run for Galveston
Pages 15-19
Page 30
�---~------------------· ---- --
-
A SPECIAL REPORT
TO THE MEMBERSHIP
Since its beginning in 1938, the Seafarers
International Union has had one overwhelming
priority: the job security of our membership.
Anyone who's been around maritime for any
length of time knows that the industry is like a
roller coaster. It's either boom or bust, and
nothing in between. Either there are too many
ships or not enough.
Companies come and go. And when they go,
they're gone forever. Many of our younger
members think that they can count on one
company-Sea-Land, APL, Waterman-to take
care of their job security. Well, the maritime
industry just doesn't work that way.
It never has. Just ask any old-timer about
Isthmian or Cities Service, two SIU companies
that no longer exist.
Of course, this kind of thinking is not confined
to our younger members. There were plenty of
NMU seamen who thought that they could
always rely on U.S. Lines, which was known
as the Rolls Royce of the American-flag merchant marine. But to the surprise of almost no
one in the maritime industry, U.S. Lines filed
for bankruptcy last year.
The difference between the SIU and most
other maritime unions is that we are willing to
give our members the hard facts so that we can
work together to protect their job security.
We've found from experience that it doesn't
pay to sugarcoat the facts. The truth of the
matter is that the maritime industry today is
experiencing rough times. Things have never
been worse.
Since 1980, seamen, like millions of other
industrial workers, have seen their jobs exported
overseas. It is no longer possible for anyone to
talk about "business as usual."
Some unions believe that it's enough to sit
back and complain about conditions in the industry. We don't happen to agree with them.
While we didn't cause the present decline in
the industry (unlike the NMU or District 1, we
didn't give money to help elect the Reagan
administration which has gutted every single
maritime program on the books), we feel that
we owe it to our members to confront these
conditions in the best way that we can.
The strongest and most committed unions in
America are looking at non-traditional ways of
protecting the job security of their members.
Examples of this are the contracts that the
United Auto workers recently negotiated with
General Motors and Ford.
Rather than demand large wage increases or
Some German and Japanese shipping companies are experimenting with ships that have
even smaller crews. Manning cuts have come
mainly in the unlicensed berths.
·
That is not to say that unlicensed seamen
have to go the way of the dinosaur. In the past,
the SIU has pioneered new concepts like the
QMED rating which have created new jobs for
our members. And we can do it again.
The decline of America's merchant marine is
part of a larger decline in this country's industrial
base. During the past few years, while some
segments of the American economy have been
doing quite well, industries like auto, steel and
maritime have experienced sharp declines.
While Wall Street was awash in paper profits,
once prosperous communities in the middle west
insist on inflexible work rules, negotiators for
the UAW concentrated on pinning down job
security for their members.
Auto workers went along with this approach
because they were aware of conditions in the
auto industry.
Conditions in maritime are as bad or worse
than those in the domestic auto industry. If you
don't believe it, then here are a few of the facts.
In 1980 there were more than 600 vessels
documented under the American registry. Today, there are fewer than 360 in the active deepsea fleet.
The number of deep-sea billets has dropped
from 18,000 in 1980 to 12,000 today.
Jobs on our rivers and in the harbors are down
30 percent.
"We began to make changes . . •
to prepare for the 21st century"
America's fleet is one of the oldest in the
world. The average age of an American vessel
is more than 25 years. In order for the Americanftag merchant marine to survive, new vessels
will have to be built.
Yet because of the promotional cuts that the
Reagan administration has made over the past
six years, there is no guarantee that the new
vessels needed to keep this industry afloat will
be built.
On Nov. 9, 1987, for the first time in the entire
history of the maritime industry, not one new
merchant vessel was being built in an American
shipyard.
Yet for argument's sake, let's assume that
new vessels will be built, if not in an American
shipyard, then in a foreign one (which is the
preference of the administration and even some
other unions).
Thanks to technological advances in the industry, each new vessel that is built will replace
two or three active ones. So even if the operational end of the industry is able to modernize
and adapt to new conditions, the number of
active deep-sea jobs will continue to drop.
Automation means that fewer seamen are
needed to keep a vessel running. Twenty years
ago, most ships had 48-man crews. Now they
can run with 21 people. The Norwegians are
running ships with crews of 18, top to bottom.
America's next round of new ships will probably
be crewed by less than 21 men, and they will be
all purpose crews at that.
ovem r 1987
became impoverished overnight as American
companies relocated their factories overseas to
take advantage of low wages, minimum safety
standards and non-existent taxes.
Now that the stock market has crashed, and
this country faces a recession, these conditions,
as bad as they are, are going to get worse, not
better.
The maritime industry is a capital intensive
industry. In order to build and operate ships,
you need lots of money. Unfortunately, the stock
market crash threatens to drive foreign investors
away and dry up domestic sources of capital.
For the past few years, the SIU has taken a
lot of heat for our relentless drive to sign up
new military vessels. We began to make changes,
and to prepare for the 21st century.
We apologize to no one for the actions we
have taken to ensure the job security of our
membership in the years to come.
We've had the guts to face the truth: These
military vessels represent the only new jobs
being created in the maritime industry.
Even the most innovative, best-run commercial companies have experienced sharp declines.
At a time when the maritime industry has
shrunk by more than one-third, we have been
able to sign up 70 new vessels representing 1,300
jobs.
We were able to get these jobs even though
licensed unions like District . 1-MEBA and the
MM&P had set up top-to-bottom organizations
(Continued on Page 3.)
Off
Pub!
on of e Seafarers International Un!Oll of
rth Amenca Atlantic Gulf, Lakes and I nd Waters District,
n..r.o
Vol. 49, No 11
Executive Board
Frank Drozak
President
Charles Svenson
Editor
Mike Hall
Managing Editor
Max Hall
Deborah Greene
Associate Editor
Associate Editor
2 I LOG I November 1987
Angus "Red" Campbell
Joe DiGiorgio
Vice President
Secretary
Joe Sacco
Mike Sacco
Leon Hall
Vice President
Vice President
Vice President
George McCartney
Roy Mercer
Steve Edney
Vice President
Vice President
Vice President
The LOG (ISSN 0160-2047) is published monthly by Seafarers International Union , Atlantic, Gulf ,
lakes and Inland Waters District, AFL-CIO, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs , Md. 20746, Tel. 8990675. Second-class postage paid at M.S .C. Prince Georges, Md . 20790-9998 and at additional
mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the LOG, 5201 Auth Way , Camp Springs ,
Md. 20746.
�·-~- "·\
Maritime Trades Department President Frank Drozak opens the MTD's convention with a stinging attack on the
"devastating economic policies of the Reagan administration," and with a call for "a new unity of purpose within
maritime labor.''
End of 'Disastrous' Reagan ~ra Nears
MTD Maps United Program to Rebuild
U.S. Shipping, Shipbuilding Industries
AFL-CIO Maritime Trades
Department President Frank
Drozak appointed a special
committee to develop a unified
legislative program ''which will
effectively confront the common problems that affect all
workers in American industry
today." That action was taken
during the biennial convention
of the Maritime Trades Department held last month in Miami
Beach.
Despite continued assaults on
the maritime industry and on
the rights of American workers
everywhere, the delegates expressed optimism that the effective end of the Reagan era, the
enhanced role of the Congress
and a new sense of unity within
America's labor movement can
put the U.S. maritime and shipbuilding industries on the road
to recovery.
Drozak made clear in remarks
to the delegates and in the appointment of the special committee that the department is
concerned at the closing of shipyards and the loss of shipbuilding capacity as well as the decline in ships genuinely entitled
to fly the American flag.
AFL-CI 0 Secretary/Treasurer Thomas R. D9nahue addressed both issues in a speech
to the convention.
The United States foolishly
scuttled its once-great merchant
fleet and shut down its shipyards, Donahue noted. It al-
lowed other countries to deliver
its goods "and collect the wages
and profits that once belonged
to Americans.''
Now ''the chickens have come
home to roost'' for those who
argued that the United States
can depend on the ships of other
countries, he said. "Having sold
the ships, they have now been
reduced to selling the flag itself
in order to get other countries'
tankers through the mine fields
of the Persian Gulf.''
A convention resolution protested the reflagging policy and
pointed out that under-used U.S.
tankers, genuinely entitled to fly
the American flag, are available
for Persian Gulf service. It said
all vessels under the American
flag should comply with safety
requirements and have U.S.
crews.
Drozak took the lead in a
sharply critical convention discussion of the maritime '' giveaway" provisions of the proposed free trade agreement
between the United States and
Canada.
The president of the Seafarers
said the pact is strongly opposed
by union members on both sides
of the border.
As the unions affected see it,
laws and bilateral agreements
that the United States and Canada have enacted to keep their
merchant fleets afloat are threatened by provisions that will allow low-wage nations to take
over trade routes served by U.S.
and Canadian vessels.
Drozak termed the treaty proposal ''a calculated attempt by
free trade ideologues to systematically dismantle the maritime
industries of both nations.''
Runaway shipping, sailing
under so-called flags of convenience, is causing unemployment
in all of the world's traditional
maritime nations, a convention
report declared. In both ships
and tonnage, the fleets of North
America, Western Europe and
Japan have diminished substantially while open-registry shipping continues to grow.
One bright spot, the report
cited, was the long-overdue
closing of a U.S. tax loophole
that had enabled American citizens and U.S. companies to
(Continued on Page 5.)
A SPECIAL REPORT TO THE MEMBERSHIP
(Continued from Page 2.)
which bypassed unlicensed hiring halls.
These licensed organizations were willing to
use strangers off the street rather than provide
employment opportunities for members of the
SIU, the NMU, the Marine Firemen or the
Sailors Union.
·
Some of our members didn't want to take
these jobs because they said that they didn't pay
as well as comparable jobs onboard Sea-Land
vessels.
But the number of Sea-Land vessels has been
declining every year. Ten years ago, the company had more than 50 vessels registered under
the American flag. Now it has about 30.
Moreover, some of Sea-Land's top management people have threatened to reflag if Congress
and the administration can't come up with a plan
to restructure the liner subsidy program.
It is now 10 months into the lOOth session of
Congress, and no one-not the administration,
the industry or Congress-has been able to come
up with a liner subsidy plan that meets everyone's expectations.
You put two and two together.
Maritime' s decline has been exacerbated by
the Reagan administration. Not content with the
cuts it has made in federal funding for maritime,
Reagan now wants to hock the industry's future.
The administration recently signed a free trade
agreement with Canada. If the maritime industry
is not somehow excluded from the provisions of
this agreement, then Canadian shipping firms,
which enjoy a competitive advantage because
of Canadian promotional programs, exchange
rates and tax rates, will be able to compete for
any new work generated by changes in this
country's promotional laws. But worse, so will
other countries. This won't help Canada or the
United States, but it will allow third-world nations to compete unfairly against both the U.S.
and Canada.
In effect, this would freeze commercial work
at its present, depressed levels.
So you see, that is why military work is so
important. Because the fact of the matter is that
this country needs some kind of merchant fleet,
whether it depends on military or commercial
work for its survival. And every generation of
Americans has had to learn the hard way that
this country needs an American-flag merchant
marine capable of meeting this nation's sealift
needs.
Twice before in this century, the American
maritime industry was allowed to deteriorate to
the point of near-extinction. And twice before,
the American people were forced to confront
the issue head on.
The American people are beginning to wake
up to the fact that the hundreds of billions of
dollars that they've spent beefing up the defense
budget will be useless unless they have a reliable
way of transporting troops and supplies overseas. And that's where we come in.
We're Americans, and we're seamen. We're
not some hired hands-We can be counted on
m an emergency.
The companies that we work for did not reflag
their operations overseas. They've demonstrated their commitment to this country in the
only ways that count-by paying taxes, by
adhering to internationally guaranteed health and
safety standards, and by employing American
workers.
So you see, there is a future for this industry.
The trick is to hang on long enough to cash in.
The old ways are gone. We have to deal with
the realities of today.
In the short-term, that means making hard
decisions about remaining competitive. With the
help of this membership, we intend to do it.
November 1987 I LOG I 3
�A New Maritime Agenda
TD Is United for
ction
Maritime Policy
In the past 10 years, there has been a 31 percent decline in the
active commercial oceangoing U.S. -flag fleet. The reduction in
the number of U.S.-flag vessels has been accompanied by a sharp
decline in the number of shipboard jobs. The Navy has indicated
that there is now a critical shortage of trained mariners, a shortage
that will continue to grow.
Unlike America, other developed countries that depend on a
strong merchant fleet have ensured that their merchant fleets
expand. Many countries reserve 100 percent of commercial cargo
for national-flag vessels. France reserves 66 percent of oil imports
and 40 percent of coal imports for French-flag vessels. Indonesia
requires 45 percent of all cargoes to be carried on Indonesianflag vessels. Additionally, the United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development Code recommends reserving 40 percent
of international commercial cargo for the national-flag line. America has no similar provisions; as a result, U.S.-flag vessels carry
less than 4 percent of America's waterborne international trade.
Coupled with the lack of support for the U.S.-flag fleet in
international commerce is a failure to support U.S. operators with
financial assistance. One important program which has assisted
American liner companies competing against low-cost foreign
carriers in America's international commerce is the operating
differential subsidy program.
Beginning with this administration, no new subsidy contracts
have been authorized. During this same time, some of the rules
governing existing operating subsidies have been changed unilaterally by the federal bureaucracy. However, none of the changes
has yielded significant benefits for the entire fleet. This ad hoc
approach to an important program has resulted in an inconsistent
and ineffective policy, and is witnessed by the loss of one-half of
America's liner companies since the early 1970s. There is now a
critical need for the renewal of an operating-subsidy program to
encourage the long-term revitalization of the U .S.-flag fleet.
President Reagan's failure to fund the construction differential
subsidy program in 1981 and subsequent years represented the
beginning of the end for a viable domestic shipyard mobilization
base.
It is clear that America's present maritime policy is failing
because of changes in international trade and cutbacks in support
programs for the U.S. maritime industry. This failure must be
reversed quickly, and a comprehensive and well-balanced maritime policy must be implemented. Such a policy would guarantee
America's national security, and would allow the maritime industry to again make substantial contributions to the national
economy.
AFL-CIO Legislative Director Robert McGlotten urged delegates representing 43 national labor organizations to "present a united front" in
seeking congressional support for programs which will protect the job
security of their members.
4 I LOG I November 1987
AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Thomas R. Donahue charged that the U.S.
"foolishly scuttled its once great merchant marine and shut down its
shipyards,'' and he lamented that our once great maritime nation is
"reduced to selling the flag itself in order to get other countries' tankers
through the mine fields of the Persian Gulf."
The Jones Act
American cabotage policy is as old as the United States. The
Jones Act provides cost effective domestic transportation for
shippers and productive employment for hundreds of thousands
of U.S. workers. In addition, the Jones Act fleet and seafaring
workforce provide an indispensable national security asset vital
to U.S. interests.
The MTD supports U.S. domestic maritime policy and any
efforts to strengthen or expand its coverage while vigorously
opposing any intrusion into our domestic trades.
U.S.-Canada Free Trade
The trading relationship between the United States and Canada
is the largest in the world. Their bilateral merchandise trade in
1985 totaled $125 billion, compared to $88 billion between the
United States and Japan. President Ronald Reagan and Prime
Minister Brian Mulroney agreed, in March 1985, "to give the
highest priority to finding mutually acceptable means to reduce
and eliminate existing barriers to trade in order to secure and
facilitate trade and investment flows.'' Currently, both nations
are involved in the closed negotiations of what is referred to as
the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Area Agreement (FTA).
The outcome of this bilateral negotiation may significantly affect
future multilateral talks in terms of both its overall prospects for
success and on key individual issues such as rules governing trade
in services and government procurement practices. Furthermore,
the combination of the two markets will have a significant impact
on the labor forces in ooth countries. In particular, the maritime
industries in both the U.S. and Canada will suffer if maritime
services are included in the free trade negotiations.
The Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO, believes that both
U.S. and Canadian maritime policies and promotional programs
serve national security and domestic commerce needs and should
not be a matter of international negotiation. Existing maritime
policies and promotional programs were implemented to serve
national interests and do not impinge on the rights of other nations
to act similarly in their own interests. Therefore, current or future
maritime policies and programs should not be considered as
impediments to international commerce nor subject to free trade
negotiations.
The possible compromise of both nations' maritime policies
and programs could prove extremely detrimental to existing
operations. U .S.-flag and Canadian-flag vessel operators have
invested substantial sums of money and time into the maritime
industry under the assumption that their business environment
would remain relatively stable regarding the legality of operations.
Therefore, the MTD believes that a free trade agreement between
the United States and Canada that includes maritime services
would work only to disrupt current maritime operations on both
sides of the border and result in a negative impact on U.S. and
Canadian maritime industries.
�MTD Plans to Rebuild
U.S. Shipping, Shipbuilding
(Continued from Page 3.)
establish foreign corporations to
register ships in tax-free havens
such as Panama and Liberia,
thus paying no taxes to any
country.
Delegates acted on dozens of
resolutions submitted by the department's 43 affiliated unions
and 30 port maritime councils.
The thrust of the policy statements was reflected in a call on
Congress and the executive
branch to assure that Americanflag carriers transport a significant share of the international
commerce developed by the
American economy, and to restore programs necessary for
the survival of shipyards.
The 200 delegates unanimously reelected the MTD's top
officers-Drozak, Vice President William F. Zenga and Executive Secretary!freasurer Jean
lngrao.
International Trade
The Great Lakes Maritime Industry
There are a wide variety of unfair trade practices restricting
the access of U.S.-flag carriers to international cargo. These
practices take a number of forms including regulatory schemes,
state-owned and operated fleets and the refusal of companies in
some countries to use U.S.-flag vessels for the carriage of imports
or exports.
As a result of the failure to secure cargo, U.S. seafaring jobs
are lost. Unfortunately, the U.S. government has failed to provide
the assistance necessary to prevent those jobs from being lost.
The Maritime Trades Department supports efforts to strengthen
America's trade laws governing international shipping, and asserts
that denial of worker rights in international shipping should
constitute an unfair trade practice.
The Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway system represents a
significant natural resource that facilitates efficient waterborne
commerce and provides numerous maritime employment opportunities. Despite the appearance of an upswing in Great Lakes
cargo movements, many problems still exist.
The MTD supports all efforts to increase U .S.-flag service by
reducing steel imports and expanding exports from the Great
Lakes region.
Additionally, the MTD believes the United States and Canada
should work to minimize and, when necessary, equitably apply
all user fees on the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway to encourage
continued and increasing growth in the area.
Flags of Convenience
The proliferation of opportunistic flags of convenience has led
to the wholesale abandonment of national-flag fleets by traditional
maritime nations. Such actions have accelerated the already rapid
decline in vessels and reliable, qualified crews available to the
Western Alliance in a time of crisis.
The U.S. government continues to accord reciprocal tax or
other privileges to nations which, through flags of convenience
and other tax havens, deny the U.S. legitimate tax revenues.
The MTD urges the U.S. government to refrain from granting
reciprocal tax or other privileges to flags-of-convenience registries,
which use these registries as tax havens.
The MTD calls upon the government not to turn the Stars and
Stripes into an opportunistic, dishonorable .flag of convenience.
Citizenship Requirements for U.S.-Flag Vessels
SIU of Canada President Roman Gralewicz, left, and SIU Vice President
Mike Sacco were concerned about the impact of the maritime provisions
in the proposed U.S./Canada Free Trade pact.
Insurance Crisis in the Fishing Industry
One of the most serious problems facing the U.S. · fishing
industry is the availability, affordability and adequacy of fishing
vessel insurance.
Consequently, in the event of an accident and without adequate
coverage, owners or operators of vessels are left with the prospect
of losing everything they own, and injured seamen aboard such
vessels may not be adequately compensated for injuries incurred.
Management and investment policies of insurance companies in
tandem with the high casualty rate in the fishing industry resulting
from an ·absence of stringent safety standards combine to substantially contribute to the ongoing crisis.
The MTD urges enactment of legislation which will address the
safety problem plaguing the fishing industry, with an eye toward
reducing the incidents of accidents and, in tum, lowering premiums
for insurance coverage.
The administration, in allowing the reflagging of Kuwaiti vessels,
effectively ignored longstanding maritime law~ and policies that
require U.S. citizen crews on U.S.-ftag vessels.
The administration's refusal to adequately enforce existing laws
on citizenship manning requires legislation to insure U.S. citizens
on U .S.-flag vessels.
Therefore, the MTD resolves that the laws should be amended
to require that U.S. citizens comprise the crew on U.S.-flag
vessels.
UNCTAD and Bilaterals
The cargo available in international shipping is becoming increasingly controlled through bilateral agreements in accordance
with the UNCTAD Code of Conduct for Liner Conferences and
cargo reservation schemes.
The Reagan administration opposes agreements which would
provide cargo to U .S.-ftag carriers and has failed to enter into
meaningful bilateral agreements.
The MTD believes that legislation should be enacted which
would require the administration to enter into meaningful bilateral
agreements.
(Continued on Page 6.)
November 1987 I LOG I 5
�~New
Maritime Agenda
Port and Inland Waterways Development
The passage of the Water Resources and Port Development
Act of 1987 is the first legislation of its kind in over 15 years,
authorizing the rehabilitation of the nation's waterways. The Act
authorizes construction of 262 Army Corps of Engineer projects
and contains a federal/non-federal cost sharing formula. These
projects, totaling over $16 billion, offer enormous employment
opportunities. The MTD urges the Congress to quickly appropriate
the monies for these projects and eliminate the double taxation
problem that originates from the collection of user fees.
Offshore/Onshore Activities
The exploration and development of our nation's offshore
energy resources is a significant industry that is anticipated to
expand in the coming years.
The MTD, in conjunction with the general presidents' offshoreonshore fabrication and construction unions council chaired by
President Frank Drozak, is of the position that any economic
benefits resulting from offshore exploration and development
projects should be reserved for U.S. citizens.
As such, this resolution supports the establishment of a domestic
built and crewed requirement for all oil and gas exploration and
development projects.
Government-Impelled Cargo
Since the enactment of the Military Transport Act of 1904 and
the Cargo Preference Act of 1954, these cargo promotion policies
have come under attack by federal agency personnel and various
exporting industries which choose to view this policy in a very
narrow sense.
In recent years these attacks have been stepped up and have
required the constant attention of maritime operators and seagoing
unions to insure that the industry receives its fair share of the
cargoes to which it is entitled. The maritime community has had
to battle agriculture interests and most recently the defense
agencies.
The Maritime Trades Department opposes any attempts to
circumvent the cargo reservation statutes. We support positive
efforts to clarify and expand cargo reservation policies.
Deregulation of the Maritime Industry
Deregulation of the maritime industry under the Reagan administration has meant a policy of abandonment, an end to most of
the federal promotional programs. The damage to the industry by
this approach is clear.
Since Jan. 1, 1987, the privately owned active oceangoing fleet
has dropped by nearly one-third, the Great Lakes fleet is 29
percent smaller, and oceangoing shipboard jobs have dropped by
44 percent. Instead of getting out of the shipping business, the
government has been forced to get deeper into it through the
acquisition and maintenance of vessels in the Ready Reserve
Force.
The Maritime Trades Department calls on the administration
and the Congress to review maritime policy as part of a comprehensive approach-one that has as its objective a merchant fleet
capable of meeting commercial and defense needs.
Shipbuilding
The MTD urges the administration to abandon its misguided
policies which have substantially contributed to the depressed
condition of the domestic shipbuilding industry.
The MTD urges the administration to support extension of the
Jones Act to the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone ; a government-sponsored build-and-charter program; fully fund the Title
XI ship construction loan and mortgage insurance program; and
expand regulations requiring Navy ship repair work be performed
in U.S. shipyards.
6 I LOG I November 1987
Civil Rights
Despite the progress attained since the passage of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 toward racial justice and social unity, efforts
to halt and reverse the gains acquired in the areas of equal
opportunity in jobs, housing and education have surfaced.
Through the narrow interpretation and subsequent weakening
of civil rights laws and regulations, budgetary limitations, cutbacks
on social programs, and appointments to key agency and judicial
positions of conservative nominees, the Reagan administration
has contributed to the tide of renewed discriminatory practices
in housing, employment and education in this country as well as
the diminution of workers' rights.
The MTD reaffirms its commitment to all Americans whose
civil rights have been placed on the back burner during the last
six years of the Reagan administration of equal opportunity in
every phase of American life for all our citizens .
Veterans' Benefits
During World War II, the U.S. Merchant Marine suffered
proportionately greater casualties than any uniformed group
except the Marine Corps. Despite this, there has been no G.I.
bill, no honors, and no recognition for their sacrifices.
The MTD applauds a recent U.S. District Court ruling criticizing
the Department of Defense Civilian/Military Review Board's
denial of veterans' status to World War II merchant seamen.
The MTD supports legislation to provide merchant seamen who
have risked their lives for the welfare of this country with the
veterans' benefits they deserve.
Reflagging of Kuwaiti Tankers
The reflagging of Kuwaiti tankers is a questionable strategy
that was handled in a questionable manner. Despite the availability
of U .S.-flag tankers and crews, chartering these vessels was
disregarded. During the process of reflagging the Kuwaiti vessels,
important safety and inspection requirements were waived. The
U.S. government has also allowed the Kuwaitis to ignore longstanding laws and policies that require U.S. citizens on U.S.-ftag
vessels.
The MTD objects to reftagging vessels to the U.S.-ftag that
have not complied with established safety and inspection requirements and that are not 100 percent crewed with U.S. citizens.
The MTD supports full compliance with U.S. maritime law and
urges the U.S. government to require the use of U.S. vessels by
Kuwait.
Reflagging Fish Processing Vessels
To assure continued access to the lucrativ~ U.S. fisheries.,
foreign interests are seeking to reftag their processing vessels
under the American flag.
Certain loopholes exist in current law which permit this reftagging to occur, detrimentally impacting U.S. fishing interests in
the trades and thwarting th~ full Americanization of commercial
fishing, processing and marketing of the available fishery resources
within the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone of the United
States.
The MTD urges immediate congressional action to close these
loopholes, impeding foreign interests from their reflagging efforts
and restricting a preferential allocation for U.S. fishery resources
exclusively to U.S. processors and harvesters , as envisioned by
the Magnuson Act.
AFL-CIO Acts on MTD Agenda
The AFL-CIO , meeting in convention last month following
the Maritime Trades Department convention, adopted as its
own a number of the resolutions which were acted on by the
200 delegates attending the MTD biennial meeting. Prime among
those AFL-CIO actions were strong resolutions attacking the
Kuwaiti tanker refiagging, and calling for a positive U.S.
Maritime policy.
�SIU Tug on the Scene
Foggy Collision Sinks Liberian Ore Freighter
The crew of the Crowley tug Arthur S came upon the kind of scene all
Seafarers dread. About 15 miles from California's Point Conception, a Liberian
ore freighter was settling from the stem.
The 564-foot Pacbaroness had collided with the auto carrier Atlantic Wing
in dense fog early Sept. 21. No injuries were reported from either ship, and
the Atlantic Wing was able to make it to port under her own power, with a
large gash in her bow.
The Arthur S, captained by W.F. Hunter, arrived on the scene about 8:30
a.m. as the Pacbaroness was listing about 15 degrees with the stem awash on
the starboard side. During the morning some crewmembers of the damaged
ship remained aboard, sealing hatches above the waterline in an effort to keep
her afloat. The last of crew abandoned the ship a little after noon.
The hope had been that the Pacbaroness could be towed and saved, so the
SIU crew put a line to the ship and began towing. By then, Capt. Masters
said, the Pacbaronness' stem and number five hatch was under water, and
the ship was sinking at about a foot an hour.
Finally after three hours of towing, and with the ship sinking rapidly, the
Arthur S slipped the tow line and watched the Pacbaroness sink under 3,000
feet of water.
These dramatic pictures were submitted by SIU member Mike Cresci.
Arthur S. crewmembers work the double braided 8" line before
bringing the Pacbaroness under tow.
The tug Arthur S. with the Pacbaroness under tow.
November 1987 I LOG I 7
�Opposition Mounts to U.S./Canada Trade Pact
Opposition to the Canadian Free
Trade Agreement signed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Canadian
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney on
Oct. 4 has brought about the seemingly
impossible: unity in the maritime industry.
A coalition of more than 200 maritime unions and businesses has come
together under one umbrella organization, the Maritime Coalition on the
U.S.-Canadian Free Trade Agree. ment. These organizations have put
aside their differences because they
believe that the Canadian Free Trade
Agreement threatens the survival of
the American-flag merchant marine.
In a letter to the Reagan administration and Congress, the coalition
said, 'This agreement trades away the
maritime industry for advantages in
other commercial sectors, such as financial transactions, that bear no relation to national defense, and it gives
no assurance whatsoever that Canadian vessels and shipyards will fulfill
U.S. defense requirements when
needed."
The coalition is seeking to have the
maritime industry exempt from the
provisions of the Canadian Free Trade
Agreement, much like aviation is.
The coalition berated the agree-
ment's "grandfather" clause, which
would keep existing maritime programs and Jones Act restrictions, but
would include the Canadians in new
or amended programs.
Given the current exchange rates
and the Canadians' generous maritime
subsidies, this would be "disastrous"
for the maritime industry. "[This] will
bring all future maritime programs to
a halt and dry up financing in every
segment of our industry.''
Other provisions in the Canadian
Free Trade agreement were opposed.
According to the coalition, a provision
granting 50,000 barrels of Alaskan oil
to Canada ''would diminish our tanker
fleet. [This] flies in the face of intense
and longstanding congressional opposition to Alaskan oil exports."
The provisions concerning Alaskan
oil make no sense whatsoever, said
the coalition, because America has to
import 40 percent of its oil and Canada
is self-sufficient in that area.
Another provision that bothers the
coalition members is the agreement's
mechanism for annual review and future 'rollbacks' of existing programs.
''This,'' said the coalition members,
"may even jeopardize maritime promotional programs now in existence
and would leave all maritime programs
Work as Art
Joe Vliek of Mentor, Ohio, who sails the Great Lakes, recently boarded the MN Belle
River as a temporary wiper. To keep busy in his spare time, Joe painted a picture of the
1,000-footer on the wall in the paint locker. Here is the artist and his work.
entirely in the hands of U.S. trade
negotiators and the U.S.-Canada Free
Trade commission ... Congress and
responsible executive branch departments will, in effect, become mere
spectators, able to observe but unable
to act.''
Opposition to the Canadian Free
Trade Agreement goes far beyond the
confines of the maritime industry.
Opposition to the Free Trade Agreement in Canada is intense and growing.
According to a poll, only 49 percent of
the Canadian public favors such a treaty,
down from 75 percent a year ago.
While the issue has aroused much
less notice in this country than in
Canada where it is front page news,
there are signs that opposition to the
agreement is growing.
In addition to the maritime industry,
opposition to the Canadian FTA has
been strongest in the energy producing
areas of the Midwest and the West.
Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said he
could not support the agreement "unless it is amended to give better treatment to North Dakota and other states
rich in natural resources."
Sen. Wendell Ford (D-Ky.) also indicated that he would not be able to
support the treaty if he finds that it is
harmful to coal industry interests.
SIU President Frank Drozak has
spoken out at great length on this
issue. In addition to sending letters to
the various members of Congress, he
talked about this issue at both the New
York Port Council Dinner and the
Maritime Trades Department Convention last month.
"The agreement," he said, "would
deprive elected officials in both countries of the right to formulate maritime
policies appropriate to meet industrial
and national security demands of the
future."
One of the biggest threats, said Drozak, is that the Canadian Free Trade
Agreement would be used as a model
for the upcoming GAIT talks. If that
happens, then Canadian and American
seamen would find therr jobs exported
overseas because "the United States
and Canada are signatories to multilateral and bilateral trade compacts
and are obligated to provide most
favored nation status to numerous third
world countries.''
"Canadian seamen don't want this
agreement any more than we do,''
said Drozak, who earlier this year
issued a joint letter with SIU of Canada
President Roman Gralewicz urging that
maritime be exempt from the Free
Trade Agreement.
Vets' Case Postponed
After more than 40 years and a court decision declaring the government had
erre.d in not granting veterans' status to World War II merchant seamen,
survivors will have to wait a few more weeks to find out what will be done in
their case.
The judge in the recent successful court decision became ill before he could
rule on the government's process for redressing its action in denying benefits.
Federal appeals court Judge Louis Oberdorfer had ordered the government to
provide a timetable for a rehearing of the merchant seamen's case.
The case involved two groups of seamen. The first was the seamen who
participated in invasions during the war. The judge's ruling indicated that those
seamen had a very strong claim to veterans' status. There was some speculation
that Oberdorfer might have ordered the government to grant those merchant
sailors veterans' status.
The second set of seamen were those who sailed in war zones but did not
take part in any invasions. A rehearing of their case was expected.
The secretary of the Air Force is the head of the Civilian/Military Service
Review Board which has the power to grant veterans' status to civilian workers
who participated in wars. That board denied the claims of both invasion and
war zone seamen. However, it has granted benefits to a wide range of other
workers, including telephone operators and dieticiari·s.
The judge said that the invasion force seamen met the qualifications for
veterans' status and that the other group did not receive a fair hearing because
the review board's guidelines were not followed.
No date has been set for another meeting between the case's participants.
DON'T DRIFT
INTO OBLIVION
WITM
BOOZE I
GET
HELP!!
CONTACT YOUR
PORT AGENT
OR YOUR UNION
AT
PINEY POINT
8 I LOG I November 1987
�In its monthly series of interviews and reports, "PROFILES" will
highlight key government officials instrumental in shaping national
and maritime policy.
Sen.
Barbara Mikulski
Elton Gallegly
B
C
ARBARA Mikulski (D-Md.) is a
woman of "firsts." The first democratic woman to hold a Senate seat
not previously held by her husband,
the first Democratic woman ever to
have served in both Houses of Congress, and the first woman ever to win
a statewide election in Maryland, Sen.
Mikulski was elected to the Senate in
November 1986, winning 61 percent
of the vote against her Republican
challenger. After being sworn in on
Jan. 6, 1987, Mikulski became the 16th
woman to serve in the Senate.
Born in a Polish neighborhood of
East Baltimore, Mikulski trained as a
social worker at Mount St. Agnes
College in Baltimore and the U niversity of Maryland. Following school,
she went to work for Associated Catholic Charities and then the Baltimore
Department of Social Services.
By 1966, Mikulski was an assistant
chief of community organizing for the
city social services department , working on a plan to decentralize welfare
programs. As a social worker, she
gradually was drawn to the civil rights
movement and a fight over efforts to
desegregate Baltimore neighborhoods. But her first political battle
came in 1968 when the city of Baltimore announced plans to locate a 16lane highway through the city's historic Fells Point neighborhood. She
got involved in the efforts to stop the
proposed highway and soon became
one of its key leaders and spokespersons.
By 1970, the anti-road forces had
won their fight, and Mikulski announced her candidacy for the Baltimore City Council. In her five years
on the Council, Mikulski was known
as an effective representative of the
people. In 1976 she entered the race
for the U.S. House of Representatives
where she remained for 10 years. During her House terms, she served on
Rep.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski
the Merchant Marine and Fisheries
Committee, working on legislation that
would affect the port of Baltimore.
She also left her mark on many important pieces of legislation, including
funding of shelters for battered spouses,
funding for the deep dredging of the
Baltimore harbor to make it internationally competitive, and amendments
to an anti-terrorism bill which improved passenger safety on the high
seas.
In 1985 she announced her intention
to run for the U.S. Senate seat being
vacated by retiring Senator Charles
McC. Mathias Jr., stating that it was
an opportunity to "do more good for
more people.'' And she has already
made a start.
Mikulski urged President Reagan to
pass the Water Quality Act, and she
introduced legislation which will keep
thousands of American couples from
forced poverty if the husband or wife
is placed in a nursing home for longterm care.
As a freshman senator, Mikulski' s
assignments include the prestigious
Appropriations Committee, the Labor
and Human Resources Committee, the
Environment and Public Works Committee and the Small Business Committee.
A force to reckon with in the Senate,
Barbara Mikulski has, however, never
lost sight of her roots.
Rep. Jim Bates (D-Calif.) told the MTD convention that he was "embarrassed and
ashamed of what this country has let happen" to the U.S.-ftag merchant marine.
ALIFORNIA's 21st district, a
collection of far-removed Los
Angeles suburbs encompassing northwestern Los Angeles County and eastern Ventura County is the kind of
territory where the Republican candidate with the strongest conservative
credentials normally wins.
Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) was such
a candidate. His election to the lOOth
Congress on Nov. 4, 1986, came with
68 percent of the popular vote from
this region.
Gallegly was born in Huntington
Park and was raised in the southcentral suburbs of Los Angeles. After
attending Los Angeles State College
(now Cal State LA) in the 1960s, he
worked hard to become a successful
businessman and real estate broker.
Gallegly's initiation into public life
came in 1979 with his decision to run
for the Simi Valley City Council. Following his election that August, he
was then chosen by his Council colleagues to serve two terms as mayor,
a position he held from April 1980 to
November 1986.
During his tenure as mayor, Gallegly
maintained the city's tradition of low
taxes (Simi Valley remains one of only
35 cities in California without a general-fund property tax). Over the cour e
of his 6V2 years as mayor, he worked
to expand the city's police depart-
Rep. Elton Gallegly
ment, build and equip a new senior
citizens' center and city hall, and purchase a fleet of buses for local rapid
transit. Through his efforts, Simi Valley gained more than 10,000 privatesector jobs from 1980 to 1986.
Prior to his election to the U.S.
House of Representatives, Gallegly
also served as vice chairman and later
chairman of the Ventura (Calif.) County
Association of Governments, a group
whose task it is to coordinate the work
oflocal municipalities and county government.
Rep. Gallegly was named to serve
as vice chairman of the California
Republican Delegation in the House.
As a representatives, he serves on the
Interior and Insular Affairs Committee
and on the Small Business Committee.
Addressing the issue of reftagging Kuwaiti tankers, Sen. John Breaux (D-La.) told the
convention, ''I support freedom of the .high seas. But I do not support foreign oil from a
foreign country, going in a foreign ship that's foreign crewed, that's selling it to a foreign
country to be used by foreign citizens. That's not an American policy."
November 1987 I LOG I 9
�Defense Report Finds 'Alarming' Sealift Decline
(Continued from Page 1.)
pend so heavily in a protracted war upon
adequate use of oceans for its military
defense and for its economic survival.
2. The commission has addressed itself
to defense aspects alone, but in its studies
and analyses has come unavoidably to
recognize that, although the maritime defense implications are urgent, the decline
of the maritime industries is part of a more
general problem as the United States shifts
increasingly from an industrial toward a
services based economy. The commission
concludes that the United States government
has not yet adequately assessed the developing
and massive defense implications of the shift.
3. The commissioners, at this point,
unanimously agree that major governmental
effort is urgently required, indeed overdue,
to revise our national objectives, policies,
and commitments in order to reverse the
decline of the maritime industries.
4. During recent years, substantial
questions have been raised in some official
quarters about whether the United States
flag merchant marine still fulfills an essential defense role. The commission finds
that, as a matter of fact, the maritime
industries, including the merchant marine,
are and will be for the foreseeable future
an essential component of America's national security capability for the transportation of cargo and personnel for national
defense purposes. The United States flag
merchant marine is an essentia.l direct military asset because, to meet the sealift requirements of the national strategy in time
of war or national emergency, many or
most privately-owned, commercial, United
States-flag merchant ships and their American crews would of necessity be used for
military sealift purposes and integrated
directly into the national military command
structure. Similarly, the shipbuilding and
repair industry and its associated shipyard
suppliers are and will continue to be an
essential national mobilization resource.
5. There is today insufficient strategic sealift, both ships and trained personnel, for the
United States, using only its own resources
as required by defense planning assumptions, to execute a major deployment in a
contingency operation in a single distant
theater such as Southwest Asia. Without
decisive action, the situation will worsen
substantially by the year 2000.
6. Based on its study and analysis, the
commission has concluded that there is no
more militarily efficient, cost effective, and
reliable way to provide the majority of the
military sealift requirement now and in the
future than through an active United Statesflag merchant marine. The ships should be
militarily useful and operating, engaged in
peacetime in carrying commercial cargo,
and manned by United States crews.
7. The maritime industries have been in a
state of decline for many years, but the rate
of decline is now incresing at an ala.rming
rate. Some of the largest ship operators,
shipyards, and shipyard suppliers have
gone out of business, and most of those
that remain face serious financial hardship.
The commission's analysis shows that,
unless actions are taken to reverse the downward trend, the number of merchant ships
and seamen will be reduced by one-half by
the year 2000. Similarly, the shipbuilding
and repair industry will continue to shrink
and will be almost totally dependent on
Navy work for its very existence.
8. The precipitous decline in the size of
the United States merchant marine has
been paralleled by a similar decline in the
size of the merchant fleets of some of our
most important allies, particularly those in
Europe, upon whom we have planned to
rely for provision of sealift to support
United States forces that would be engaged
in their theaters.
9. Maintaining the shipbuilding and repair segment of the industrial base required
to sustain a protracted general war is
essential to deterring or winning such a
war. The base of shipyards and repair facilities, and their industrial suppliers, is currently inadequate in that sense and is continuing to deteriorate at an alarmingly progressive
rate.
10 I LOG I November 1987
10. As with other industries vital to the
national defense, the government should
provide an environment free of artificial,
non-economic, or discriminatory obstacles
that impair the ability of American maritime businesses to compete on a fair basis,
both among themselves and with their
foreign competitors, and to have the opportunity to earn a profit.
11. Much of the challenge for effective
actions to reverse the decline of the American
maritime industries lies with the industries
themselves.
12. Congress and the Executive Branch
have enacted and implemented procurement
policies that have emphasized bid price rather
than value, with uncceptably harmful effects
for both the merchant marine and the shipbuilding and repair industries in the form of
the erosion of industrial capacity and capability, some losses in our traditional lead
in technological and service innovation,
and growing dependence on foreign sources
of goods and services.
13. If the privately-owned merchant fleet
is to be of a size and composition to fill
the requirements of the national strategy,
commercial operators must be able to
acquire vessels on terms that do not impair
their ability to compete in the commercial
trade, and must have access to cargo on
fair economic terms without being disadvantaged by unfair or non-economic policies and practices.
14. "Free trade" in reality does not exist
today because of the prevalence of discrimination and protectionism in internatinal commerce, sometimes involving our
closest trading partners and sometimes in
violation of the spirit and letter of existing
agreements. The United States government has not done as much as it could to
deal with that situation by efforts to provide American flag ship operators with
free access to international markets through
all means, including international trade
negotiations.
15. In today's international business environment, United States ship operators
inherently have higher operating costs than
many of their foreign competitors. If American operators are to be able to compete in
terms of price, some form of the Operational
Differential Subsidy (ODS) program or some
other measure to address some or all of the
difference appears essential.
16. Continuation of and strict adherence
to existing statutory programs to reserve cargo
for United States flag carriers, including the
Military Cargo Preference Act of 1904, the
Cargo Preference Act of 1954, and the Jones
Act, are essentia.l. However important those
programs are, reliance on them alone will
not provide sufficient cargo to support a
United States-flag merchant marine and a
shipbuilding and repair industry of the size
and composition needed for national defense.
17. To ensure the availa.bility of sufficient
trained personnel to man sealift ships in time
of war or national emergency, there is a need
to support and preserve the capability to train
licensed and unlicensed personnel in the
government, state, and industry-la.bor training facilities.
18. The total colla.pse of commercial ship
construction has been a major factor in the
decline of United States shipbuilding capability. Government construction alone,
mostly Navy and concentrated in a small
number of shipyards, is insufficient to
maintain a diversified shipbuilding and repair industry, including shipyard suppliers,
sufficient to meet mobilization requirements in time of war or national emergency.
19. The United States has become
alarmingly dependent upon foreign sources
of critical equipment, ranging from major
propulsion system components to precision bearings, for Navy as well as for
commercial ships. In some cases, the newest, most technologically advanced, and
most important Navy weapons systems
rely upon foreign manufactured components.
20. The decline of the maritime industries has been continuous over the long
term in spite of a number and variety of
"business as usual" fixes and marginal
adjustments. Heroic measures will be necessary if the decline is to be reversed and the
industries restored to the minimum capacity
projected by the Department of Defense
and the Department of Transportation as
necessary to fulfill the requirements of our
current national policy.
21. In the past, many government programs have addressed only parts of the problem. The situation is now so bad that coordinated action is essential. To provide for
the national security, to avoid wasting
private and public funds, and to address
the situation effectively, government leadership is required to ensure the earli~st
possible active, serious, and constructive
public and private cooperation among government, business, and labor to make the
United States merchant marine more productive and competitive in world trade.
22. No government policy or system of
government assistance should guarantee a
profit to the maritime industries or to any
other industries, but the opportunity should
be available. In a capitalistic economy,
profit is the driving force that is essential
for an expanding and improving commercial merchant marine, equipped with modern and efficient ships, and for a healthy
shipbuilding industry capable of competing
effectively in world markets.
23. The rapidly deteriorating situation
cannot be addressed without real costs in
terms of national resources allocated to
pay for the defense aspects of the maritime
industries. Any successful course of action
will have costs; the challenge is to develop
and implement policies that meet the requirements in the most cost-effective manner possible.
24. The needed affirmation and restatement of our national maritime policy should
include seven major points:
• The United States must develop the
sealift resources it needs to meet its national defense requirements and to ensure
its economic security during times of war
or national emergency.
• The United States must take the measures necessary to ensure an adequacy of
ships and seamen and of sufficient shipbuilding and repair capability to meet the
requirements.
• There should be a balance between
the active commercial fleet and inactive
reserve forces, but pla.ns and policies must
emphasize active sealift capabilities.
• Reserve sealift forces ideally should
include only those highly specialized ships
with unique military capabilities that cannot be provided from commercial sources.
• Although United States policy is to
rely on allied shipping to meet that part of
its strategic requirement committed to the
support of our established alliances, nonetheless the United States must be prepared
to "go it alone" if required in geographic
areas not covered by those alliance commitments.
• The shipbuilding mobilization base
must be maintained to ensure that the
demands of the national strategy can be
met.
• New initia.tives requiring expenditures
of federal funds for the maritime industries
should be justified by and directed toward the
acquiring and maintaining of sufficient sealift
and shipyard capability to meet defense and
economic support requirements in time of
war or national emergency, and the costs of
those expenditures should be borne by the
nation as a whole.
Sea-Land and NMU's Wall
Receive AOTOS Awards
One steamship company and a union president were awarded the annual
of the Ocean Sea Award earlier this month. It was the first time a
company had been picked to receive the maritime honor.
NMU President Shannon Wall was cited for his years of service to both his
union and to the maritime industry as a whole.
Sea-Land won its award for being the American-flag carrier which pioneered
containerization in the international trade.
The awards were presented at a charity dinner with the proceeds going to
the United Seamen's Service.
A~miral
Weisberger Laid to Rest
Pallbearers carry former SUP President Morris Weisberger's casket following
funeral services. Weisberger, a maritime labor pioneer, died Sept. 27 (see Oct.
LOG). He was buried at the Sailors Uni9n of the Pacific plot at Olivet Memorial
Park in Colma, Calif. Pallbearers are SUP President Paul Dempster, Jack Ryan,
Gunnar Lundeberg, SIU vice presidents George McCartney and Buck Mercer, and
Brandy Tynan.
�Area Vice Presidents'
Great Lakes
by V.P. Mike Sacco
No
group of people follows the
weather more closely than Great
Lakes seamen. Once the cold weather
comes, shipping up here grinds to a
halt.
The recent cold spell has been a
disappointment to seamen. So too have
port development projects. After a
promising start, the number of government-generated projects has tapered off.
The big news up here has been and
continues to be the Canadian Free
Trade Agreement. This is because Great
Lakes seamen know first-hand what
opening up American shipping to Canadian interests can do.
American vessels carry less than 5
percent of all ocean-borne-cargo between American and Canadian ports.
Canadian subsidies and a favorable
exchange rate give Canadian shipping
companies an insurmountable edge.
The only good news up here on this
issue has been the intense opposition
that the treaty has aroused in Canada
itself.
Anyone who wants to know why
Americans run huge trade deficits might
want to consider the amount of publicity that the Canadian Free Trade
Agreement has received in both countries.
In Canada, the issue is front page
news. In the United States, which
stands to lose as much as Canada, if
not more, the issue has elicited little
more than a yawn.
For more information on this issue,
tum to page 8.
change to FERS. For employees afloat
and ashore at MSCPAC, the figures
are even more dismal. Unless there is
a last minute rush in MSCP AC to
change over, PERS must do with the
pitiful few (fewer than 10) who have
made the big decision to switch.
There are two major reasons why
PERS has not been successful in their
recruitment efforts: mistrust and misunderstanding.
Mistrust because many of the civil
service elder statesmen do not trust
the present administration and feel
that benefits under CSRS will be eroded
under FERS. They have observed how
the administration has toyed with Social Security benefits, and they know
that FERS and Social Security are tied
together.
Misunderstanding and confusion because the government's Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has not
allowed enough time for employees to
digest all of the material that has been
sent or explained to them, mostly
through videotapes. This has resulted
in confusion among the rank and filenot only with MSCPAC personnel, but
employees in all other government
agencies as well.
While retirement benefits under
FERS may prove advantageous for
federal and postal employees in the
long run, and this is the consensus in
and around Washington, D.C., until
federal and postal employees can absorb all the material that has been
thrown at them in a relatively short
time, the Federal Employees Retirement System will fail miserably.
One can assume, however, that as
more information is learned about
FERS, eligible federal and postal employees will have the option to switch
retirement plans during an open season period.
enough to have strong support in Congress. The maritime caucus is one of
the strongest and most effective on
Capitol Hill. Yet every time that we
try to pass a promotional program to
help the maritime industry, the administration just steps in and vetoes the
legislation.
The Reagan administration has rewritten all the rules on what to expect
from government. When I started out
in the maritime industry, it was not
unusual for the labor officials and shipping executive to bemoan the lack of
concrete action by Washington. The
Reagan administration changed that.
Instead of neglecting the maritime industry, they've actively tried to dismantle it.
This is the first administration which
has failed to implement existing cargo
preference laws. It has gutted every
single maritime program on the books.
And on top of everything, it has demonstrated an outright hostility to the
needs of the working people.
Political action is the only way that
we will be able to save this industry.
The upcoming presidential election offers us our last, best hope for turning
things around. It is no longer enough
to upgrade your shipping skills. Any
seaman who wants to protect his job
security should register to vote, become active in the Union's grassroots
activities and donate to SPAD.
.x k.::.
East Coast
by V.P. Leon Hall
I
Gulf Coast
by V.P. Joe Sacco
H
~·:El
Government Services
by V.P. Buck Mercer
T
HE option for all eligible federal
and postal employees is fast running out for changing their retirement
plan from the Civil Service Retirement
System (CSRS) to Federal Employees
Retirement System (FERS). The deadline date has been set for Dec. 31,
1987; however, there have been few
eligible federal or postal workers who
have made the important decision to
change plans.
The latest figures show that less than
1 percent of all eligible federal and
postal employees have decided to
Re~ort
OUSTON has long been the largest port in the country. But you
couldn't tell that by the number of
American-flag vessels that come in and
out of here.
Not that shipping is bad. Far from
it. There's lots of inland and military
work for our membership. But to tell
the truth, there isn't much commercial
work down here. And what little that
we have is destined to get smaller.
Given the amount of cargo that comes
in and out of Houston, I find this a
downright shame. Yet the only way
that this sorry state of affairs is going
to change is if we elect an administration which shares our commitment to
the maritime industry.
During the past six years, maritime
has learned the hard way that it isn't
T was a busy month on the East
Coast.
SIU members picketed McAllister
and Curtis Bay tugs in Baltimore,
Norfolk and Delaware. Both the Union
and the companies were playing hardball.
More than 100 union members from
other labor organizations supported
the SIU at a demonstration at Baltimore's Rec. Pier.
SIU President Frank Drozak wrote
a letter to the Coast Guard complaining about safety conditions onboard
McAllister tugs. He cited reports of
groundings, and the inexperience of
the scab crews which are manning the
tugs.
In Washington, a coalition of maritime organizations have banded together to protest the Canadian Free
Trade Agreement.
Drozak spoke about this issue at the
annual New York Port Council dinner.
The dinner was a huge success, thanks
to the hard work of Michelle Nardo
and other SIU employees who helped
plan it.
The dinner was held Oct. 17. Two
days later, Oct. 19, the stock market
suffered the largest decline in its his-
tory. In one afternoon, the value of
all the stocks on the Dow Jones had
dropped by one trillion dollars.
The head of the New York Stock
Exchange said that the 508 point drop
in the market was the "closest that he
wanted to come to an economic meltdown.'' The market recovered slightly
over the next two weeks, but a sense
of urgency hung over New York and
the rest of the country.
In a way, it was hard to feel sorry
for the same group of people who have
championed hostile takeover bids and
junk bonds. Millions of working people, including thousands of SIU members on the rivers and inland waters,
have had their pensions and benefits
threatened as a result of these questionable economic practices.
Unfortunately, we 're all in the same
boat. The fact of the matter is that
most stock market declines are followed by recessions. And this was a
crash, not just a downturn.
The televised accounts of the crash
were chilling. No one who saw the
faces of the brokers-the pained
expressions, the utter sense of disbelief-will have any doubt about the
way history will ultimately judge
Reaganomics.
One final note: I'd like to comment
on a new and innovative company that
the SIU recently signed up. It's called
ARCO RP.
As many of our members know, the
New York maritime industry has been
experiencing difficult times. Sea-Land
is the last major operator to be stationed in the metropolitan area, and it
has threatened to reflag if action isn't
taken on reforming the liner subsidy
program.
One of the few areas of growth has
been in auto ferries. Earlier this year,
the SIU signed up a new company,
ARCO RP.
Things are going so well for the new
company that it was recently written
up in The Journal of Commerce.
Alluding to the growing use of ferries along the Hudson River, the article said, "One ferry service exceeding expectations is operated by
ARCO RP.
''From 110 passengers the first day,
the [new] line has grown to more than
2,500 a day."
West Coast
by V. P. George McCartney
I
had to fly back East last month to
attend two important functions. My
first stop was Manhattan for the New
York Port Council's annual dinnerdance. I then went on to Miami, where
the Maritime Trades Department was
holding its convention.
For the past seven years, the New
York Port Council has handed out the
Paul Hall Award of Merit. The award
is given to ''that individual whd has
made significant contributions to the
(Continued on Page 21.)
November 1987 I LOG I 11
�..
...
i
Strike Enters Sixth Week
Boatmen, Families, Other Unions Man Tugboat Picket Unes
Scab crews on Cutris Bay and
McAllister Brothers tugs continued to
"whack" ships and damage equipment in Norfolk, Philadelphia and Baltimore as a three port, two-company
strike entered its sixth week. In the
meantime, the 500 striking boatmen
received picket help from their families and support from other unions in
the three cities.
The captain of the M/V Ocean Princess (Ocean Cruise Lines) sent a letter
to Curtis Bay's Philadelphia office
complaining of the poor handling by
one of the tugs sent to assist in docking.
"Please be advised," he wrote, "that
whilst alongside Penn's Landing pier
... your tug Cape May coming to
make fast at starboard quarter, hit my
ship creating a considerable dent on
the shellplate."
In other ports, local politicians expressed fears that scab-crewed tugs
posed dangers to their ports, especially when handling toxic or dangerous materials.
When a massive snow storm hit
parts of the East Coast in early November, the tugs in Baltimore tied up,
rather than face work in conditions
SIU boatmen have safely handled for
years.
Four-year-old Simone Garayoa accompanied her parents Mark (right) and Cynthia
Garayoa to the Union unity rally in Baltimore last month. Garayoa is a chief
engineer for Curtis Bay.
In Norfolk, wives of the strikers
staged a protest at McAllister's downtown office and at Curtis Bay's dockside operations. More than three dozen
wives participated.
In Philadelphia, several wives
manned a daily informational picket
line in front of Curtis Bay's headquarters.
In Baltimore, strikers and their families rallied at the city's World Trade
Center and gathered thousands of signatures from Baltimore residents on
petitions requesting that the companies return to bargaining and to replace
th scab crews.
The docking of the Queen Elizabeth
II in Baltimore became the scene of a
floating picket when two boat-loads of
striking SIU members shadowed, from
a safe distance, the docking of the
huge liner. One Curtis Bay tug barely
escaped damage when it was slowly
moving between the ship and the
pier.
As the LOG went to press, the
National Labor Relations Board had
not acted on several unfair labor practice charges filed against McAllister
fot\failure to bargain in good faith.
Negotiations had not resumed with
Curtis Bay.
Striking boatmen from all three ports
and both towing companies gathered
at Baltimore's Maritime Exchange for
picket duty last month.
Members of more than two dozen unions
In Norfolk, dozens of wives of the striking boatmen picketed McAllister's offices.
12 I LOG I November 1987
joined in the Baltimore rally.
�.
Near the McAllister docks in Norfolk wives
joined their striking husbands shouting
questions at newly hired security guards
and scabs.
~
lo Philadelphia, Sharon Rafferty (center)
hands a leaflet to a passerby in front of
Curtis Bay's headquarters. With her is
Nancy Weiner. The women and others picketed the company's offices nearly every
day at lunchtime.
With help from the Metropolitan Baltimore
Council of AFL-CIO Unions more than 200
working men and women joined striking
SIU members in a solidarity rally.
..,
When the Queen Elizabeth II called on Baltimore during the strike, SIU boatmen
manned picket boats and shadowed the docking operation.
In Philadelphia, Sidney Faucett and An-
thony Hughes man the hand-made picket
shed at Curtis Bay.
It's never too young to start a good union education as this young girl finds out.
SIU reps and leaders of other unions spoke to the crowd at the Baltimore rally. "The Seafarers are a reasonable union that will work
with a company for the betterment of the port . . . but they are determined not to work in regressive, unsafe conditions," Ernie Grecco,
President of the Baltimore Council of AFL-CIO Unions told the crowd.
November 1987 I LOG I 13
�New
Pensioners
The following SIU members have
retired on pension:
DEEP SEA
Algonac
N arch Krzywda, 3rd mate
Joseph Rollins, 2nd cook
Joseph A. Wilkes, AB
Phillip Williams, engineman
Baltimore
Steve Kolina, chief cook
William F. O'Brien
Edward P. Sinush, GSU
Brooklyn
Santiago Arroyo, chief cook
Richard Chamberlin, QMED
Carroll P. Dwyer
Michael Haukland, steward
William G. Rogers, AB
Houston
Miguel Aguirre, cook/baker
Frank J. Cunningham, AB
John M. Daigle Sr., asst chief cook
Nathaniel P. Davis
Amado E. Diaz, OS
Jimmie L. Jackson, cook
NMC Calls
It Quits
The National Maritime Council, once
an influential maritime labor and industry coalition, has folded.
At one time the NMC enjoyed the
direct support of Marad , hundreds of
companies and most maritime labor
unions. In 1978 its ties to Marad were
cut. Last year the unions left the
organization.
The NMC was formed in 1971 to
promote U .S.-flag shipping by trying
to bring the various maritime groups
together under one umbrella.
The decision to end the NMC was
''taken because of a marked loss of
broad support and a sharp decline in
the number of viable American carriers ," said NMC President William
B. Kelly.
When the NMC was formed there
were 12 U.S.-flag subsidized carriers.
Today there are four.
Theodore Graham Jr.
Donald M. King, 3rd cook
Guillermo Martinez, steward asst.
Napoleon Rivas, OMV
Jacksonville
Peter L. Christopher
John E. Floyd, AB/bosun
Mobile
Wesley H. Foster, bosun
New Orleans
Anthony Benedict, steward asst.
Horace Mayeux
Norfolk
Kenneth Gahagan, bosun
Clyde W. Marriner, AB
Philadelphia
Casimir Bogucki, AB
San Francisco
Wayne M. Evans, GSU
William H. MacArthur, AB
Dionisio T. Muyco, chief cook
Seattle
Kenneth H. Girvan
GREAT LAKES
Harold D. Barragan
John D. Lackey
ATLANTIC FISHERMEN
Michael Orlando
The following Inland members have
retired on pension:
Cleveland
Donald R. Jaegle, deckhand
Jacksonville
Frank W. Robinson, AB
Norfolk
John Becker, deckhand
Bruce E. Knight, mate
Philadelphia
Christian Frederickson, oiler
DOT and Labor Posts Picked
Two cabinet posts which could have
an impact on the SIU and the labor
movement have been filled by President Reagan, subject to congressional
approval.
Ann Dore McLaughlin has been
nominated to take over the Department of Labor. Former Labor Secretary Bill Brock resigned to head up
Sen. Robert Dole's (R-Kan.) campaign
for the presidency.
McLaughlin has held a number of
posts in government, mainly in the
communications field. Her last job in
the administration was as undersecretary of the interior.
Though she has a lack of labor
experience, the AFL-CIO has indicated it will not oppose her appointment.
Last month Reagan nominated James
H. Burnley to become secretary of
transportation. He will be replacing
Elizabeth Dole who also is working
for Robert Dole's presidential bid.
Burnley has served as deputy secretary of transportation since 1983.
Dispatchers Report for Inland Waters
OCTOBER 1-31, 1987
*TOTAL REGISTERED
All Groups
Class A Class B Class C
Port
New York ..... . ... . .... . .........
Philadelphia ........... ~ .... . .. . ..
Baltimore .. . ..... . ...............
Norfolk .. .... ... . ............. . .
Mobile . . ........................
New Orleans ................ . .... .
Jacksonville ................. . .. ..
San Francisco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Wilmington ...... . .......... . .....
Seattle ..........................
Puerto Rico . ................ . ....
Houston ........................ .
Algonac .........................
St. Louis ......... . ........... . ..
Piney Point ...... . . . ... .. ... .... . .
Totals . . . . . . .... . .. .. ... . .. . . .. .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
0
0
0
6
0
12
0
0
5
0
3
0
0
0
0
6
0
13
0
0
3
4
1
0
8
0
1
0
48
0
2
0
0
5
0
0
7
16
2
0
86
0
28
0
28
Port
New York . . . ................... . .
Philadelphia ..... .. ....... . .......
Baltimore .................... . ...
Norfolk ................. . .... . ..
Mobile ....... . ..................
New Orleans .............. . .......
Jacksonville ........ .. .... . .......
San Francisco .. . ....... . ..........
Wilmington . .. .. . . ..... . ..........
Seattle ...... . ...................
Puerto Rico ......................
Houston ......... . ...............
Algonac .. . . ... . ............... . .
St. Louis . . ......................
Piney Point ............. . .........
Totals . .. . .... . .. . .......... . .. .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
0
0
0
0
20
0
0
0
6
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
3
8
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
31
0
0
0
0
7
0
0
15
0
0
0
0
1
0
2
0
0
0
0
12
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
1
2
0
1
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
Port
New York . . . .. . ..... ...... . ......
Philadelphia . .. . . ..... . . . . .. ..... .
Baltimore . ...... .... . ........ . ...
Norfolk .. .... . .. . . .. . ...........
Mobile .. . . .. . .... . .. . . ... ...... .
New Orleans ... .. ... ... .. ........ .
Jacksonville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
San Francisco . . .. ....... .. . ... .. ..
Wilmington . ... .. . . ..... . .... . .. . .
Seattle ......... . . . .. . ... . . .... ..
Puerto Rico .... .. ...... .. . . ......
Houston .......... .. ...... ... . . ..
Algonac .. ....... . .. .. ........ . . .
St. Louis . . . . .......... .. ........
Piney Point .. . . .. ... . . ... . .... . ...
Totals .... . . . . . . ... . . ...........
THANK YOU FOR NOT
SERVING MARVAL/ROCCO
#P-18 TURKEY FOR YOUR
HOLIDAY DINING.
·~ 2 ,
14 I LOG I November 1987
Support
SPAD
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
0
0
15
Totals All Departments .. . ... .. ....... .
132
3
0
2
9
0
3
52
33
TOTAL SHIPPED
All Groups
Class A Class B Class C
DECK DEPARTMENT
0
0
NOT AVAILABLE
6
0
35
8
0
1
0
0
24
0
0
3
12
1
0
82
0
0
1
0
25
0
0
2
3
0
0
39
ENGINE DEPARTMENT
0
0
NOT AVAILABLE
0
0
6
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
65
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
0
0
0
4
0
2
0
10
45
141
0
25
0
0
4
0
13
0
0
3
5
1
0
51
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
13
0
0
0
15
0
2
0
0
9
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
25
0
0
0
0
18
0
0
2
0
38
0
0
4
0
1
0
0
49
0
30
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
5
0
6
0
6
0
0
15
0
1
0
18
0
0
0
5
0
0
29
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
25
0
1
53
228
106
12
0
0
0
1
0
102
0
58
0
0
0
3
0
0
STEWARD DEPARTMENT
0
0
NOT AVAILABLE
0
0
4
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
2
1
0
1
0
0
6
4
0
2
0
0
1
7
0
0
6
0
45
0
0
7
15
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
14
**REGISTERED ON BEACH
All Groups
Class A Class B Class C
0
0
0
1
3
0
0
2
0
5
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
*" Total Registered " means the number of men who actually registered for shipping at the port last month .
** " Registered on the Beach " means the total number of men registered at the port at the end of last month .
�Cetting
Ready for
the P.R.0.M.*
very day the consumption
of oil around the world-increases, and with this increase comes a greater demand for tankships and skilled
pumpmen. However, with new
technologies and automation
onboard tankships, the best
pumpmen may find themselves
competing for jobs.
Just as the tanks hip has developed and changed since the
first load of oil crossed the Atlantic in 1886, so has the pumpman. He has adapted to the vast
and rapid changes in the tanker
E
Pump Room Operations & Maintenance*-Course Outline
1. Introduction
2. Tanker Design and
Construction
types of tankers
changes in tanker design
VLCC's
ULCC's
3. How Oil is Measured
units of measure
gauging
gross barrels
net barrels
4. Cargo Piping Systems
direct pipeline system
learning the cargo system
VLCC system
S. Loading
before loading
starting cargo
removing list
stress
6. Discharging Cargo
pre-transfer check-off
the pumpman
discharging procedures
7. Planning the Load
load lines
loading plan and
calculations
loading to final draft
8. Ballasting
the need for ballast
clean ballast
segregated ballast tanks
deballasting
9. Tank Cleaning
why clean tanks
methods and equipment
line, pump and bottom
flushes
10. Fire Prevention
what is fire
the elements
extinguishing agents and
equipment
prevention versus cure
11. Preventing Pollution
what causes pollution
what to do if you have a spill
laws governing pollution
control
12. Inert Gas Systems
basic IG system
IG systems and components
precautions
know your ship
13. Valves
types of valves
valve care and maintenance
automatic controlled valves
14. Pumps
types of pumps
care and maintenance of
pumps
pump bearings and
lubrication
troubleshooting pump
problems
15. Precision Tools
calipers
dial indicators
outside micrometer
inside micrometer
depth micrometer
16. Packing and Seals
types of packing
mechanical seals
17. Hydraulics
pumps
systems
controllers
care of hydraulic systems
18. Lathe
construction
maintenance
safety
industry. The pumpmen of today have found, through training and education, that they may
be better equipped to meet the
challenges of the industry and
competition for jobs.
It is through development and
change in the industry that the
Pumproom Maintenance and
Operations Course has evolved
and can help you meet the demands in the pumpman field
head on.
Guiding the students in this
newly-designed course will be
Jim Shaffer, formerly an instructor at SHLSS in 1978 who
left in 1981 to work as a boiler
plant foreman at the Patuxent
River Naval Air Station. After
a few years, he got tired of doing
a job that he didn't enjoy. Jim
found out that being in the classroom and teaching was what he
loved most, and so he has returned, reinvigorated and enthusiastically planning to welcome his first students on Feb.
1, 1988 for a six-week course.
Jim's professional background is extensive, having
worked in the stationary and
marine engineering field for 27
years, the first 14 of which were
spent in the Navy. One of his
jobs there was an "oil king"the man responsible for loading
supplies and refueling ships at
sea. He traveled all around the
world on a variety of ships from
aircraft carriers to refrigeration
ships. After the Navy, he at- tended Jones College in Nor-
folk, Va. and earned a Management and Administration degree
in their Veterans' Degree Program. From there, he became
operations manager at an oil
terminal in Norfolk, loading all
sorts of liquid products. Handling problems posed by a variety of materials required imaginative solutions. Railcars
filled with hardened animal tallow had to be heated overnight
with steam before they could be
unloaded. Another shipment,
this time of liquid latex, challenged Jim's ingenuity, because
it resisted being unloaded by
clogging every pump he tried
using. Finally, Jim rigged up a
system whereby he could force
the latex out of the tank with
high pressure frvm the outside.
From fetid liquid fish solubles
to delightful Kentucky bourbon,
Jim handled it all!
Jim considers his main field
to be boiler technician, in which
he is certified for feedwater test
and treatment (boilers require
critically balanced water quality
for proper operation). In addition, he is a technician in gasfree engineering-knowing how
to monitor, measure and handle
oxygen levels and explosive
gases in tanks and enclosed
spaces.
In training upgraders as
pumpmen, Jim wants to stress
the safety aspect of their jobs
and go ''overboard'' on learning
all there is to know about the
(Continued on Page 16.)
19. Lathe
tools
accessories
20. Grinders
grinder wheels
dressing grinder wheels
operation and safety
21. Grinder
grinding, lathe facing tools
grinding, lathe turning tools
22. Lathe
set up work
facing
turning
cutting threads
knurling
23. Lathe Skills
class project
SHLSS student practicing his lathe skills.
November 1987 I LOG I 15
�·Effective Dec. 1, 1987, new Coast Guard regulations go into effect regarding
License renewal.
-In order to renew a license, the applicant will be requested to:
present evidence of at least one year of sea service during the past five
years; or
pass a comprehensive open-book exercise covering the general subject
matter required of the license; or
complete an approved refresher training course; or
present evidence of employment in a closely related industry for three of
the last five years.
-The license holder must present a vaiid certificate of completion of a CPR
course.
-Applicant must take a physical or have had one within the past three
years.
Also, effective October 1, 1988, evidence of completion of an approved
firefighting course will be required for all original licenses, upgrade of
licenses, and license renewals.
For those persons needing to certify or recertify in CPR, the SHLSS will
schedule CPR classes during the year to satisfy those needs. Also, a
firefighting course will be made available next year to meet the Oct. 1, 1988
deadline.
NOTE: The third/second mate and engineers courses include CPR, firefighting and first aid in the course schedule.
Name
Soc. Sec. # _ _ _ _ __
Address
Phone # _ _ _ _ _ _ __
License held _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Date of issue _ _ _ _ __
Instructor Jim Shaffer (center) explains the operation of a lathe to two SHLSS students.
(Continued from Page 15.)
the updating and restructuring
of the entire automation program.
The first three weeks of the
course will cover such topics as
tanker construction, cargoes,
Coast Guard regulations, pipe
systems, valves, pumps and
loading problems, and much
more. The next three weeks deals
with hands-on shop work, such
as precision tools, pump repair
and alignment, packing types,
bearings and lubricating safe and
proper lathe set up and operation. Each student will use lathe
skills to make a class project.
ships they'll be on. Of course,
hands-on experience is always
the most desirable, and he hopes
to use the school's tank barge
as a practical training ground
for application of classroom-acquired knowledge. In hoping that
his enthusiasm as a teacher will
rub off on his students, Jim
states that, "We can cover all
aspects of the pump man's job
so that students will go out of
here motivated to do a safe and
responsible job.'' After establishing the P.R.O.M. course,
Jim's next major project will be
PineyP in
Course needed:
CPR D
First aid D
* More comprehensive information will be published in the Dec. issue of the LOG
oes nte
"The best!", "Wonderful",
"Just can't compare!"; to a man,
these were the type of enthusiastic comments given by the
group of electricians and able
seamen from Canada about their
course of study here at SHLSS.
These Canadian upgraders are
the very first group of many to
come, who will be receiving
training at Piney Point. Their
month-long stay ended October
9. Having returned to Canada,
they'll be shipping out with newly
polished skills to apply on their
new jobs. Our Canadian broth-
T
Canadian Electricians, October 1987Left to right, front row: Jeffrey Dawson,
George Moulton, Fred Bauersfeld, Warren
Anderson, Tim Hallewell; back row: John
Grove, Helmet Fiesel, Joseph Weber (obscured), Robert Wilson, Thomas Shaw, Jack
Parcel (instructor), David McCormack.
I
ers were as impressed with the
quality of instruction as the instructors were with the enthusiasm and intelligence of their
students. Ed Boyer who guided
the AB's, commented that this
was probably ''the best class
I've had in 14 years of training
seamen. I'd be very happy if our
American seamen performed as
well.'' The electricians, led in
study by Jack Parcel, all praised
their teacher highly for his thorough knowledge of his subject
and his effective teaching methods. Electrician Thomas Shaw
T
Canadian ABs, October 1987-Left to
right, front row: Pat Slattery, Phil Popovich, Howard Strowbridge, Bob Smith, Eric
Kehoe; back row: Howard Tulk, Ed Boyer
(instructor), Henry Mullins, Melvin Martin,
Harold Caines, Norman Bryan, Henderson
Scott, Paul McGean, Denis Ferland.
.
..
16 I LOG I November 1987
Firefighting D
said, "Even though several of
us have many years of experience, we · still found ourselves
learning new and better ways of
doing things from Jack." Even
out of the classroom, the Canadians made as positive
impression on all who came ill
contact with them. Sindy Davis,
a trainee from Class #416 Deck
and Engine, had nothing but
praise for these men. On their
free time, a number of the Canadians shared their own hardearned knowledge by helping the
trainees in learning knot-work
and in their other course work
in the library. Summing up the
feelings of all, Phil Popovich
from Nova Scotia said, "I enjoyed the courses here totally.
Before, I was afraid to admit
that I didn't know how to do
something. Now, when Igo back
on the job, I will feel a lot more
confident in my work."
�-
SHLSS course Graduates
Norman Armstrong, Robert Baskin, Andrew Berfein, Timothy Charez, Alonzo
Cyprian Jr., Eric Fullmer, Daniel Hecker, Preston Lauffer, Pablo Luciano, Carlos
Marcial Villabla, Bruce Morgan, Thomas Route, Ben Cusic (instructor).
Jeffrey Amendolia, Peter Atkinson, Rober Baptiste, Tony Cheesebrew, Dean
Ahtujuan, Jarrod Cunakoo, William Harris, Aaron Kamil, Willie Lindsey, Eric
Manley, Ralph Neal, David Partridge, Ivan Passapera, Orab Presley, Marcus
Terry, Robert Thompson III, Charles Touzet, Tony Tudury, John Tweedel, Jake
Karaczynski (instructor).
Sealift Class (Sept. 10}--Left to right, front row: Salvador Baclayon Jr., Alexander
Stankiewicz, Janet Snow, Harry Alongi (instructor), Tracy Blanich, Ralph McKee,
Willy DeLeon; 2nd row: Stephanie Smith, Scott Opsahl, Nancy Manni, Travis
Crow, Guido Santiago, Robert Brown, Richard Wilson, Donald Williams, Ken
Couture, Cutler Wells, William Cooper.
Lifeboat Class (Sept. 23)-Left to right: Jake Karaczynski (instructor), Nancy
Manni, Toni Kiwior, Michael Curtis, Lori Fencl, Johnny Cruz, Ida Prange, Roy
Syring, Tracy Blanich, Richard Cotton, Shari Smithson.
FOWT (Sept. 21}-Left to right, front row: Bill Foley (instructor), John Chinn,
J.P. Murray, Lee Laffitte, Alvin Hom; back row: Kevin Samuels, Steve Du Pre,
F.P. Jaworski.
Recertified Stewards (Sept. 1}-Left to right, front row: Ernest Haitt Jr., Edward
Kilford, Williams Stralley, Richard Gramble; back row: Paul Calimer, Harry
Lively, John Alamar, Ken Rosiek, Melvin Morgan.
Reefer Class-Left to right, front row: Michael Murphy,
Rudy Salvaggio; back row: Eric Malzkuhn (instructor),
Alberto Aguiar, Richard Risbeck, Charles Gallagher.
Lifeboat Class (Sept. 5}-Left to right: E.C. Ammons, Rafael Suris,
Willie Deleson (kneeling), Stephanie Smith, Roy Matteson, Salvador
Baclayon Jr., Ben Cusic (instructor).
Marine Electrical Maintenance Class
(Sept. l}-Left to right: Kenneth Couture and Alexander Stankiewicz.
-·
November 1987 I LOG I 17
�1988 pgr ding
Co rse Schedu e
Programs Geared to Improve Job Skills
And Promote U.S. Maritime Industry
January - June 1988
The following is the current course schedule for January 1988 - June
1988 at the Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship.
For the membership's convenience, the course schedule is separated into
six categories: Deck Department courses; Engine Department courses;
Steward Department courses; Adult Education courses; All Department
courses and Recertification Programs.
Inland Boatmen and deep sea Seafarers who are preparing to upgrade
are advised to enroll for class as early as posmble. Although every effort will
be made to fill the requests of the members, the classes are limited in
size - so sign up early.
The course schedule may change to reflect the membership's needs and
the needs of the industry.
SIU Representatives in all ports will assist members in filling out the
application.
Steward Upgrading Courses
Check-In
Date
Course
Assistant Cook
Completion
Date
Open·ended (Contact Admissions Office
for starting date)*
Cook and Baker
Open-ended (Contact Admissions Office
for starting date)*
Chief Cook
Open-ended (Contact Admissions Office
for starting date)*
Chief Steward
Open·ended (Contact Admissions Office
for starting date)*
*All students in the Steward Program will have 2 weeks of Seallft
familiarization at the end of their regular course.
Engine Upgrading Courses
Course
Conveyorman
Check-In
Date
January 4
Completion
Date
January 29
QMED
*Sealift Operations & Maint.
January 4
March 28
March 24
April 8
June 30
July 15
February 26
March 11
February 19
March 4
March 11
March 25
April 29
May 13
April 1
April 15
April 22
May6
April 8
April 22
May 13
May27
May 27
June 10
June 17
July 1
July 1
July 15
QMED
*Sealift Operations & Maint.
Aprll 11
July 5
Marine Electrical Malnt.
January 4
• Sealift Operations & Maint.
February 29
Refrigeration Systems Malnt. & Operatiol as January 11
February 22
*Sealift Operations & Maint.
Pumproom Maint. & Operations
February 1
March 14
*Sea lift Operations & Maint.
March 21
Pumproom Maint. & Operations
*Sealift Operations & Maint.
May2
Refrigerated Containers-Advanced Maint. February 22
* Sealift Operations & Maint.
April 4
Variable Speed DC Drives
March 14
April 25
•Sea lift Operations & Maint.
Welding
March 14
April 11
Sealift Operations & Maint.
Welding
April 18
May 16
• Sealift Operations & Maint.
Diesel Engine Technology
April 18
•Sea lift Operations & Maint.
May30
Electro-Hydraulic Systems
May 9
*Sealift Operations & Maint.
June 20
Hydraulics
June 6
•Sea lift Operations & Maint.
July 5
*All students in the Engine Department will have 2 weeks of Sealift
Familiarization at the end of their regular course.
College Programs Scheduled for 1988
Check-In
Date
Course
Associates in Arts or Certificate Program January 11
March 21
May 23
August 8
October 17
Completion
Date
March 4
May 13
July 15
September 30
December 9
Deck Upgrading Courses
Course
Check-In
Date
Completion
Date
Towboat Operator
January 4
February 26
Able Seaman
Open-ended (Contact Admissions
Office for starting date)*
First Class Pilot (Organized self study)
Open-ended (Contact Admissions
Office for starting date)
Celestial Navigation
February 29
April 1
Radar
April4
April 15
Radar Refresher/Renewal
Open-ended, 3 days (Contact
Admissions Office for starting date.)
Radar Recertification
Open-ended, 1 day (Contact
Admissions Office for starting date)
Third Mate & Original Second Mate
April 18
Lifeboat
January 11
January 22
February 19
February 8
March 18
March 7
April 4
April 15
May 13
May 2
May 30
June 10
June 27
July 1
Open-ended (Contact Admissions
Office for starting date)
Sealift Operations & Maint.
LNG -
·-
Self Study Safety Course
UPDATE OF
on or
SSH
BOOK#
Mailing Address
srnEET: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
CITY: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
STATE; _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ZIP CODE _ __
Date You Received QMED: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
June 24
(This course is not offered as a
separate course, but may be
taken while attending any of the
regularly scheduled courses.)
SPECIALTY COURSES COMPLETED:
Name of Course & Date:
1. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
2.
3. - - - - - - - -
4.
6. _ _ _ _ _ _ __
5. - - - - - - - ?. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
If you are a Class I, QMED, have you applied to SHLSS to sit for your 3rd
Asst. Engineers License?
If so, date: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
DAY
*Upon completion of course must take Sealift Operations & Maintenance.
18 I LOG I November 1987
o I of
MONTH
YEAR
�Upgrading Course
Apply
Now
for
an
SH
LSS
...............................•...........•.........•...••............................•••••.•••..••.••...••.•...•...••..••...•.•....... ,
Seat are rs Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship
Upgrading Application
Name
(Last)
(first)
Date of Birth
(Middle)
Address
Mo./DaylYear
(Street)
(City)
(State)
Deep Sea Member D
Telephone
(Zip Code)
Inland Waters Member D
Lakes Member
(Area Code)
o
Pacific D
If the following imformation is not filled out completely your application will not be processed.
Book#_ _ _ _ _ Seniority_ _ _ _ _ Department,_ _ _ __
Social Security#
Veteran of U.S. Armed Forces D Yes
D No
Home P o r t - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Endorsement(s) or
License(s) Now Held _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Are you a graduate of the SHLSS Trainee Program: D Yes
Trainee Program: From _ _ _ _ _ _ to
No D (if yes, fill in below)
Last grade of schooling completed, _ _ _ __
(dates attended)
Have you attended any SHLSS Upgrading Courses: O Yes
No D (if yes, fill in below)
Course(s) Taken _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Do you hold a letter of completion for Lifeboat: D Yes No D
Firefighting: D Yes No D CPR: D Yes No D
Date Available for Training - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Primary Language Spoken - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I Am interested in the Following Course(s) Checked Below or Indicated Here If Not Listed
DECK
ENGINE
O AB/Seallft
D Towboat Operator Inland
D Celeatlal Navigation
O MHter ln•pected Towing Vessel
0 1•t CleH Piiot
O Third Mete
D Radar Observer Unllmlted
D Simulator Course
No transportation will be paid
unless you present original
receipts and successfully
complete the course.
0 FOWT
D QMED-Any Rating
D Variable Speed DC Drive Syatema
(Marine Electronlcs)
D Marine Electrical Maintenance
D Pumproom Maintenance & Operation
D Automation
D Ref rlgeratlon Syatema Maintenance
& Operation•
o DleHI Engine Technology
D Aulstent Engineer/Chief Engineer
Motor Veasel
D Orglnal 3rd/2nd Asslatent Engineer
Steam or Motor
D Ref rlgerated Containers
Advanced Maintenance
D Hydraulics
D Electro·Hydraullc Systems
STEWARD
O
O
D
D
D
Aaalatant Cook Utlllty
Cook and Baker
Chief Cook
Chief Steward
Towboat Inland Cook
ALL DEPARTMENTS
0 Welding
O Llfeboetman
ADULT EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
O Adult Saale Education (ABE)
O High School Equlvelency
Program (GED)
D Developmental Studies (DYS)
D English es a Second Language (ESL)
D ABEJESL Lifeboat Preparation
COLLEGE PROGRAM
o
Assocletea In Arts Degree
D Nautical Science Certificate
You must list, or supply evidence of, sufficient time to qualify yourself for the course(s) you are requesting.
VESSEL
RATING HELD
DATE SHIPPED
DATE OF DISCHARGE
SIGNATURE _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ DATE _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
RETURN COMPLETED APPLICATION TO:
-
November 1987 I LOG I 19
-
�-
A Cooperative Effort
Fire Drill Held Aboard USNS Mercy
by Bob Borden, PAO, MSCPAC
-
The quiet of a peaceful Sunday
morning was broken Nov. 1 when fire
trucks with sirens blaring roared into
Naval Supply Center Oakland to put
out a simulated fire aboard the USNS
Mercy (T-AH 19).
The drill was part of ''Operation
Mercy,' ' a hypothetical pierside marine casualty exercise sponsored by
the Coast Guard Marine Safety Office
in San Francisco and the Oakland Fire
Department. In the planning stages for
about a year, the exercise was finetuned after the MSC hospital ship was
selected as the platform to conduct
the drill which provided local Navy
and civilian fire fighting departments
the opportunity to work together to
perform emergency evolutions aboard
ship.
In the incident scenario, the Mercy
was preparing to leave Oakland when,
in the process of firing up the propulsion system, the ship's boiler was
flooded with too much fuel. The excess
fuel ignited, causing an explosion in
the engine room which diasbled fire
pumps and electrical generators. The
explosion also ruptured a salt water
cooling system in the auxiliary machinery space, resulting in flooding
and a potential stability problem for
the ship. For good measure, exercise
coordinators threw in additional situations which required immediate response, including an oil spill, water
pressure problems, an adjacent warehouse filled with hazardous materials,
and a reporter who was knocked overboard into the water.
For more than two hours, firemen
aboard the Mercy battled the simulated fire in the engine room while
others performed search and rescue
and provided first aid to burn casualties. Ashore, the pier which berthed
the USNS Mercy was filled with more
than a dozen fire trucks and special
Coast Guard equipment used to dewater the flooded auxiliary machinery
space. At sea, fireboats from Oakland,
San Francisco and Treasure Island
helped supply additional water to fight
the blaze aboard ship. Smoke bombs
and smoke generators, along with volunteer casualties smeared with charcoal and red dye, helped create a
disastrous atmosphere aboard the
Mercy as weary firefighters with oxygen bottles strapped to their backs
trudged across the decks and deep
into interior spaces of the hospital
ship.
''The exercise showed us we can
expect a very difficult situation if we
assist in fighting a fire aboard ship,"
Retirement for Chief Cook
In ceremonies last July, Isaiah H. Young Oeft) receives a certificate of retirement from
Capt. William T. Dannheim, MSCPAC commander. Young, who sailed as a chief cook,
.._ retired after 33 years of service.
20 I LOG I November 1987
-
Firefighters from cities in the Bay Area participated in the fire drill aboard the
USNS Mercy. A "casualty" is ~isted by some of the firemen aboard the hospital
ship.
said Battalion Chief Andrew M. Stark
of the Oakland Fire Department. ''Fires
that are deep into interior spaces aboard
ship limit your access to fight them.
The heat buildup is tremendous, and
the smoke and heat conditions can be
horrendous. Then there are the problems with manpower. You need to
rotate your manpower effectively to
contain shipboard fires."
Still, the chief was satisfied. "As
far as tactics and strategy' it went very
well. The response was excellent,"
said Stark. "We tested just about every aspect we could under these conditions and it all worked."
First Assistant Engineer Joseph
Watts of the Mercy, who worked with
the Coast Guard and local fire departments on the exercise, assisted the
firemen in locating fire stations on the
ship and guided them to areas where
simulated fires were burning. ''This is
an important drill because it requires
outside coordination in fighting a fire
that's beyond the capabilities of our
small crew aboard ship," said Watts.
On weekends after 5 p.m. until 8 a.m.
the following morning, only a security
guard and a night engineer are aboard
the ship while it's in reduced operating
status in Oakland.
Participating fire departments in the
first drill of its kind at the Naval Supply
Center included civilian units from
Oakland, Alameda, Richmond, Emeryville and San Francisco, along with
Navy firemen from NSC Oakland, NAS
Alameda and Treasure Island. The
Southern Alameda County Chapter of
the Red Cross and a private ambulance
company also participated in the drill.
The Oakland Fire Department, in
cooperation with the Navy, expects
to produce a videotape training film
based upon the "Operation Mercy"
exercise.
�Aboard the USNS Mispillion
When Navy combatant ships of the
U.S. Seventh Fleet get thirsty in the
waters of the Western Pacific, they
usually head for the closest MSC oiler
they can find.
Forward deployed in that area of
the world are the MSC fleet oilers
Mispillion, Hassayampa, Navasota,
Passumpsic and Ponchatoula. These
veteran ships, some almost 40 years
old, are key elements of MSC's Naval
Fleet Auxiliary Force. But without
skilled mariners to crew them, the
ships mean nothing.
Well trained, dedicated and thoroughly professional, the civil service
crews of MSC fleet oilers are known
throughout the world for their expertise in underway replenishments (UNREPS). Steaming side-by-side with
customer ships, MSC oilers provide
them with fuel, JP-5 aviation gasoline,
lubricants and other provisions.
Thanks to Thomas Lopez of the
Mispillion's steward department for
these photos.
-
•
Cargo Mate Pat Nueter signals a Mispillion crewmember while perched atop the
· ship's deck machinery.
ABs Ali (right) and Chester Bernard keep a close watch on UNREP operations aboard
the Mispillion.
(Continued from Page 11.)
maritime industry, labor movement or
port of New York."
This year's winner was Jack Sheinkman. As president of the Amalgamated
Clothing and Textile Workers Union,
Sheinkman has spoken out about the
danger that unfair foreign trade poses
to the workers of this country.
This is an important issue to West
Coast seamen. While ports like Seattle
and Wilmington are bursting at the
seams with foreign-made goods, job
opportunities for American seamen
are declining rapidly. Almost all of the
imports are carried on foreign-flag vessels.
The Paul Hall Award was named
after former SIU president Paul Hall.
In my last column I referred to the
Isthmian campaign, which was one of
his crowning achievements.
Demand for American shipping was
at an all-time high during World War
II. The number of U.S. vessels topped
5,000 in 1945.
Yet anyone with vision could see
that this state of affairs could not long
continue. Once World War II ended,
the demand for American shipping
would inevitably contract.
Because of this, the A&G District
made organizing its top priority. In
1945, Hall, who was the Union's director of organizing, embarked on a
three-year campaign to sign up Isthmian, one of the largest unorganized
shipping companies. Its parent company was U.S. Steel.
Isthmian was eyed by all the major
maritime unions. The NMU had in-
Area Vice Presidents' Report
vested large sums of money in trying
to bring the company under its banner.
Hall had one advantage: he was able
to put together a unified organizing
team. A devoted student of the Civil
War, he transformed the entire New
York hall into a war-room.
The target? 125 vessels. The enemy?
The NMU and Isthmian.
As historian John Bunker wrote in
his history of the SIU, ''The Isthmian
drive was a classic example of success
through planning . . . teamwork . . .
sweat and guts.
"It was successful because scores
of SIU men pitched in to help. They
rode Isthmian ships . . . brought in
pledge cards . . . defied NMU goons
. . . walked picket lines . . . spent
many hours at desks, typewriters , and
mimeograph machines.''
The key to success was unity. SIU
seamen stuck together to support the
campaign because they knew that in
the long run their job security depended upon organizing this company
and others like it.
Hundreds of SIU sailors, accustomed to high-paying jobs on union
ships, flooded the Isthmian halls to
take jobs onboard Isthmian vessels.
Why? So that when it came time to
vote, they could cast their ballots for
the SIU.
The large increases in wages, benefits and working conditions that we
were able to obtain in the 1950s would
not have been possible without the
short-term sacrifices of SIU members
during the Isthmian campaign.
Today, qualified SIU seamen who
take jobs onboard military-contracted
vessels are performing a similar function. By taking these jobs and upgrading their skills, they are making sure
that the 58 new military vessels that
the Union has signed up since 1984
stay under the SIU banner.
It's important that they do. Because
another lesson the SIU learned from
Isthmian is that you can't always count
on commercial work.
Isthmian is no longer in business.
Neither are other legendary shipping
companies like U.S. Lines or MooreMcCormack.
Many of our members are counting
on Sea-Land and other commercial
work to be around forever , but it's
not likely. The only new work that is
being generated today is onboard military vessels. There are good jobs,
even if they pay less than your average
Sea-Land run.
More important, they will be around
for a long time. SIU members who
sail these vessels will be strengthening
the Union, just like their counterparts
in the Isthmian beef.
Moreover, they will be protecting
their own job security. As bad as
things are in the maritime industry
today, they are going to get worse,
not better.
One APL official told me off the
record that he wouldn't be surprised
to see the American-flag vessel decline
to fewer than 200 vessels within a year
or so. Think about it: the Americanflag merchant marine, which had de-...,
dined by more than one-third since
1980, will probably decline by more
than a half within the next few years.
The vessels that remain will require
fewer, more technically-trained seamen.
Next year, the SIU will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. The maritime industry"° that existed at the end
of World War II no longer exists.
I make no great claims about being
able to read the future. There is, however, one prediction that I feel safe
making: the world will continue to
change. Either we adapt to those
changes, or we cease to exist as an
industry or as a union.
PROlECT LIFE AND LIMB
November 1987 I LOG I 21
�Onboard the M/V Ranger
At Diego Garcia
Chief Cook Lau Philip and Chief Steward Linasan Roger are ready in the galley.
Part of the Ranger's deck crew poses for a minute. Left to right
are Bosun Jerry Borucki, AB Darya Marbrook and AB Charles
Bortz.
AB Charles Bortz keeps busy on a sunny day scaling a tank top on the MN Ranger.
Bosun Jerry Borucki looks over
AB Juan Toro's shoulder.
AB Juan Toro (standing) and AB Nelson Dorado
take a little break.
Photos submitted by Jerry Borucki.
AB Juan Toro at the anchor windlass.
22 I LOG I November 1987
All work and no play makes the deck department a dull gang.
�~---eguard
You
Ship
•
gRigh
I
\
j~
!
~/'
·-i
I.,
~--....J-~
T
O SAFEGUARD your rights and the shipping rights of all SIU
members, there are certain requirements that must be followed.
These requirements are spelled out in the Shipping Rules, and they
are there so that the rights of all members will be protected and
furthered fairly and impartially.
-
DUES
Your current quarter Union dues must be paid at the time
you register.
RELIEF JOBS/REGISTERING
When you are relieved, you
must re-register for your job within 48 hours by reporting to the SIU
Union hall.
RELIEF JOBS/CONTACT WITH UNION
It is your responsibility to keep in contact with the Port Agent at the port in which
you are registered.
RELIEF JOBS/SHIPPING It is your responsibility to claim
your job from the hiring hall shipping board no later than one day
before the ship's scheduled arrival.
I
KNO
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
SHIPPING RIGHTS. Your shipping rights and sel}iority are protected exclusively by the contracts between the
Union and the employers. Get to know your shipping
rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available
in all Union halls. If you feel there has been any violation
of your shipping or seniority rights as contained in the
contracts between the Union and the employers. notify
the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail. return receipt requested . T_h e proper address for this is:
Angus "Red" Campbell
Chairman, Seafarers Appeals Board
5201 Auth Way and Britannia Way
Prince Georges County
Camp Springs, Md. 20746
Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to
you at all times, either by writing directly to the Union
or to the Seafarers Appeals Board.
CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages
and conditions under which you work and live aboard
your ship or boat. Know your contract rights, as well as
your obligations. such as filing for OT on the proper
sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, any SIU
IGHTS
CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU constitution are available in
all Union halls. All members should obtain copies of this
constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time you feel any member or officer is attempting to deprive you of any constitutional right or obligation
by any methods such as dealing with charges. trials, etc., ...
as well a all other details. then the member so affected
should immediately notify headquarters.
FINANCIAL REPORTS. The constitution of the SIU
Atlantic. Gulf. Lakes and Inland Waters District makes
specific provision for safeguarding the membership's
money and Union finance . The constitution requires a
detailed audit by Certified Public Accountants every three
months. which are to be submitted to the membership by
the Secretary-Treasurer. A quarterly finance committee
of rank and file members, elected by the membership,
makes examination each quarter of the finances of the
Union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting
reports, specific recommendations and separate findings .
TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic.
Gulf. Lakes and Inland Waters District are administered
in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund
agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees
in charge of these funds shall equally consist of Union
and management representatives and their alternates. All
expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made
only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust
fund financial records are available at the headquarters of
the various trust funds.
YOU
EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal
rights in employment and as members of the SIU . These
rights are clearly set forth in the SIU constitution and in
the contracts which the Union has negotiated with the
employers. Consequently. no member may be discrimi nated against because of race, creed. color. sex and national or geographic origin . If any memher feels that he is
denied the equal rights to which.-he is entitled. he should
notify Union headquarters.
11111n1u111in1111n1111111111n1111111111111111111111111n111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
patrolman or other Union offi :::ial. in your opinion, fails
to protect your contract rights properly. contact the
nearest SIU port agent.
EDITORIAL POLICY - THE LOG. The Log has
traditionally refrained from publishing any article serving
the political purposes of any individual in the Union.
officer or memher. It has also refrained from publishing
articles deemed harmful to the Union or its collective
membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed
by membership action at the September. 1960. meetings
in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Log
policy is vested in an editorial hoard which consists of
the Executive Board of the Union. The Executive Board
may delegate. from among its ranks. one individual to
carry out this responsibility.
PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid
to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an
official Union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason
unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone
~ttempts to require any such payment be made without
supplying a receipt. or if a member is required to make a
payment arid is given an official receipt. but feels that he
should not have been required to make such payment. this
should immediately he reported to Union headquarters.
SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION
-SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including. but not limited to, furthering the political. social and
economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation
and furthering of the American Merchant Marine with
improved employment opportunities for seamen and
boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts.
In connection with such objects. SPAD supports and
contributes to political candidates for elective office. All
contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be
solicited or received because of force. joh discrimination,
financial reprisal. or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the Union or of employment. If
a contribution is made by reason of the above improper
conduct. notify the Seafarers Union or SPAD by certified
mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation
and appropriate action and refund. if involuntary. Support SPAD to protect and further your economic, political and social interests. and American trade union
concepts.
H at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have
been violated, or that he has been denied his constitutional right of
access to Union records or information, be should immediately notify
SIU President Frank Drozak at Headquarters by certified mail,
return n;ceipt requested. The address is 5201 Auth Way and Britannia
Way, Prince Georges County, Camp Springs, Md. 20746.
November 1987 I LOG I 23
-
..
�,
he Ship's Cat
Final Dispatch
By Charles A. Bortz
ONCEIVED in Greece, born in
the Gulf of Mexico, abandoned
by his mother in Carteret, N .J. Howard, the MN Ranger's official mascot
and ship's cat, was done to death by
a truck in Subic Bay last February.
Like so many of his shipmates,
Howard was in confident command
while his paws had contact with a
ship's deck, but was ill-equipped to
face the temptations and dangers of
the shore.
Indeed, he was six months old before he was ever allowed to discover
the shore. That was in Namsos, Nor-
way , where-after much heated debate among the crew-he was permitted his first venture on land. Howard
sniffed the unfamiliar smells, eyed the
unfamiliar sights, and stood stock still
in the middle of the road while a
delivery van bore down on him (an
ominous portent). He then turned tail
and scurried back up the gangway to
the safety of the ship.
That caution would have assured
him a longer life if he had not discovered something else during his next
shore leave in Algeria-the female of
the species. After that he was always
the first one down the gangway andnot infrequently-the last one back
. . . sometimes carried aboard by the
scruff of the neck.
True sailor that he was, Howard
sampled the port's delights whever he
happened to be. Marseilles, Rotterdam, Sasebo or Bahrain-it was all
one to a seagoing tomcat. On more
than one occasion, he straggled back
with missing tufts of hair, signs of an
encounter with a turf-conscious local
tom or a dockyard mongrel.
The next day, though, he was back
on the job-climbing ladders after a
loft-bound A.B., walking carelessly
along the outside of the hull's fish plate,
Qarence Fred Burrowes, 71, died
Oct. 6. He was born in Barbados,
West Indies and was a resident of New
York and Prichard, Ala. Brother
Burrowes joined the SIU in 1948
,.. and retired in 1979. He sailed in the
steward department. Seafarer Burrowes is survived by his wife, Juanita;
three sons, Leander, Freddie Michael
(Pamela) Burrowes and Seafarer
Charles J. Kirksey, III; one daughter,
Gloria K. (Cordell) Burks; three
grandchildren, Courtney Burrowes,
Corey and Kaylah Burks; mother, Mrs.
Malta Burrowes and sister, Ila Austin
of Mt. Vernon, N. Y. Internment was
at Pine Crest Cemetery, Mobile,
Ala.
(This is the final installment in the
brief saga of the Ship's Cat, as given
to us by Charles A. Bortz of Hellertown, Pa. The cat's mother first appeared in the July '84 LOG, and Howard had a cameo spot in 1986 when
he was billeted by a shipyard-bound
crew in a cat motel. Howard is much
missed aboard the Ranger. Bortz said
they looked around Diego Garcia for
a replacement but couldn't find one
with Howard's qualities. probably just
as well-as the Ranger is headed for
the Persian Gulf.)
C
Retire to Piney Point
The Seafarers Welfare and Pension Plans cover a wide range of benefits.
We'd like to remind those of you who are on pension, or planning to retire,
that we have a program/or pensioner housing.
There are a limited number of rooms available for this program, so
room and board at the Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship's training
and recreation center is granted to eligible pensioners on a first-come ,
first-served basis.
To qualify for this benefit, a pensioner must be receiving a normal,
regular early normal, or disability pension from the Seafarers Pension
Plan and receive monthly Social Security benefits. You must be able to
pass a pre-admission physical examination at a Seafarers Welfare Plan
Clinic or with a Seafarers Welfare Plan contracted physician or facility .
After admission, you will be asked to submit to and pass a periodic
physical examination (at least once a year), to maintain eligibility.
The contribution for room and board at the school will be two-thirds
of your Seafarers Pension plus your Social Security pension. Your spouse
is included in this benefit. If you should die, and he/she is entitled to a
Seafarers Pension Plan Survivor's Pension, your spouse can remain at
the school under the same terms and conditions.
If it becomes necessary for you to enter a nursing home, the welfare
plan would pay the allowable benefit to the nursing home facility;
therefore, your spouse would have to make other living arrangements,
or pay the costs of room and board at the school.
Application forms can be obtained by contacting the Seafarers Claims
Department at headquarters.
startling a drowsy lookout by rubbing
up against his leg at a midnight hour.
Captain Home, his first skipper,
said that he was always extremely
wary about crossing roads. In Subic,
however, there was rumor of a particularly alluring ball offluffjust the other
side of the highway, and . . .
Actually it was Captain Halbeck
who picked him up from the road, and
it was Captain Halbeck who buried
him. A day out of the Philippines, the
Ranger's official log entry reads:
"1800. Committed the body of
"Howard the Cat," the ship's mascot,
to the deep in a dignified ceremony in
the presence of the crew on the stem.
Sounded one long blast.''
Howard didn't quite make it to his
fourth birthday, but while he lived, he
lived fully. He was a good shipmate.
He'll be missed.
Charles W. Spence, 61, of Corpus
Christi, Texas died Sept. 17. He joined
the Union in 1959 and sailed in the
deck department. Brother Spence is
survived by his wife Consuelo. He
was buried at Memory Gardens in
Corpus Christi.
Union in 1952. Boatman Thomas is
survived by his son George M. Thomas
Jr. and his daughter Patricia T. Arthur.
He was buried at North River Methodist Church Cemetery in Beaufort,
N.C.
Allen R. Ferrel, 54, of Alexandria,
Va. died Oct. 13. He joined the Union
in 1968 and sailed in the steward department. He is survived by his wife
Evelyn.
Delbert E. Shields, 70, of Athens,
Ohio, died Oct. 10. Brother Shields is
survived by his sister Gladys Wilson.
He was buried at Nye Cemetery in
Chauncey, Ohio.
George Murray Thomas, 83, of Carteret, N .C. died Sept. 7. He joined the
John Joseph Silver, 79, of Placerville, Calif., died Sept. 13. He joined
the SIU-merged Marine Cooks and
Stewards Union in 1941. He is survived by a daughter, Regina Schrader.
Brother Silver was buried at Mt. Vernon Memorial Park in Fair Oaks, Calif.
Henry Piedvache, 67, of San Francisco, died Aug. 10. Brother Piedvache sailed in the steward department. He is survived by his sister
Madeline F. Ferreira. His ashes were
scattered at sea.
*
\ BUY UHIOH
I0
*
24 I LOG I November 1987
-
UNION
Union Label •nd Service Trades Deputment, AFL-CIO
MADE
�ADONIS (Apex Marine), September
20-Chairman B.G. Williams, Secretary
Tobe Dansley Jr., Educational Director E.
Figueroa. No beefs or disputed OT. Members were advised by the chairman and by
the educational director to take advantage
of the upgrading opportunities available at
Piney Point. There are always jobs for
those who are qualified. The importance
of contributing to SPAD was also stressed.
The secretary added a word of thanks to
Vice President "Red" Campbell for a job
well done on the new contracts. And the
steward department was given a vote of
thanks for their good work. Next port: Texas
City, Texas.
SIU member Raymond Diaz was given a burial
at sea June 9from aboard the Sea-Land Pioneer.
LNG GEMINI (Energy Transportation
Corp.), September 27-Chairman Glen
Miller, Secretary Harold Markowitz, Educational Director Tyler Womack, Deck Dele u ene A. Bousson. No beefs or
disputed OT. There is $152 in the ship's
fund. SIU Rep Carl Peth was aboard the
Gemini in Nagoya, Japan recently to explain the changes in the contract. The crew
voted unanimously to accept the new contract, and the bosun thanked the Union
negotiators for increasing the wages of
Ordinary Seamen now that they have been
put on day work. The steward reminded
everyone of the importance of donating to
SPAD. He also urged members to write
their local senators or congressmen about
issues affecting the maritime industry. The
educational director posted maps and local
subway information in the crew lounge. to
help make traveling in Japan a little easier.
A vote of thanks was given to the steward
department for the good food. Of interest
to the LOG: "S/A Viveca Echeverio spotted
four people floating in the water one day
after leaving Arun. She reported the sighting to the bridge, and the ship was turned
around to take a closer look. Four fishermen whose boat had capsized in a storm
were picked up. They had been floating
for two days. The four fishermen were
dropped off in Singapore." Next ports:
Tobata, Japan and Arun, Indonesia.
GOLDEN MONARCH (Apex Marine),
October 4-Chairman Joseph Zeloy, Secretary E.M. Douroudous, Educational Director A. Alexakis. No disputed OT or
beefs, although it was noted that the third
mate is doing the AB dayman's work on
deck. The galley will stay open at night
due to the fact that there is no water facility
in the messhall. So all hands were asked
to help keep the galley clean at all times.
Some members still do not have keys for
their rooms. Other items in need of attention: the dryer is out of order and the
potable water has been extremely rusty
since leaving Jacksonville. A vote of thanks
was given to the steward department for a
job well done. Next port: St. Lucia.
LNG LEO (Energy Transportation Corp.),
September 16--Chairman Luther V. Myrez, Secretary H. Jones Jr., Educational
Director James A. Carnell, Deck Delegate
Charles H. Kahl, Engine Delegate Keith J.
Amos, Steward Delegate Albert A. Fretta.
No beefs or disputed OT. There is $223 in
the ship's fund and $40 in the communications fund. New movies came aboard
this trip. Some of the better ones will be
recorded on blank tapes. The Leo is expected to go into the shipyard Oct. 28 and
will be laid up for about 18 days. Members
were reminded to follow safety procedures
when working on deck as well as any place
aboard ship. The chairman stressed the
importance of donating to SPAD. He also
advised crewmembers to read the LOG to
keep up on current events of the Union.
SIU Rep Carl Peth was present at this
meeting. He spoke to the members about
the new contract and answered all their
questions. A vote of thanks was given to
Carl Peth for his hard work. Members were
reminded not to play loud music, slam
doors or smoke in the messhall during
meal hours. "Respect your shipmates."
The steward department was given a vote
of thanks, especially to the chief cook, for
all the good dishes. Next ports: Arun,
Indonesia and Tobata, Japan.
OMI CHAMPION (OMI), October 4Chairman M. Beeching, Secretary R. Fluker. No beefs or disputed OT. The ship will
pay off Oct. 5 in Long Beach, Calif. Each
member should check with the patrolman
before leaving ship. The next trip will run
from Hawaii to Alaska to California. The
secretary noted that times are changing in
the maritime field and that each member
should help the Union with these changes
by upgrading. "Don't let jobs hang on the
board just because the ship is not going
where you want to go. A job is a job (money
is money). That's what we work for." A
special vote of thanks was given to the
steward department from the crew and
officers for the excellent meals and service.
One minute of silence was observed in
memory of our departed brothers and sisters. Next port: Long Beach, Calif.
OMI LEADER (OMI), October 2Chairman Frank Smith, Secretary Paul
Stubblefield, Educational Director C. Durden, Deck Delegate Michael Manon, Engine Delegate Jimmy Gradon, Steward
Delegate Jack Hart. No beefs or disputed
OT; however, one item to be brought up
with the patrolman concerned the breaking
of sea watches in port while handling cargo.
Payoff should be on the West Coast on or
about Oct. 5. The Leader will then go into
the shipyard for approximately 35 to 40
days. If it turns out to be fewer than 30
days, the crew may reclaim their jobs. It
was a fairly smooth trip-hot, but otherwise
OK. All hands were reminded to strip their
linen before leaving and to clean up their
rooms. The steward department received
a vote of thanks for their fine job. Next
port: Singapore.
PONCE (Puerto Rico Marine), October
5-Chairman Angel R. Camacho, Secretary R. Maldonado, Educational Director
William Turner. No beefs or disputed OT.
The Ponce will pay off in San Juan and
will then lay up for an estimated threeweek repair period. A vote of thanks was
given to the steward department for the
good food and service. Members observed
a minute of silence in memory of our
departed brothers and sisters. Next port:
San Juan, P.R.
PFC DEWAYNE T. WILLIAMS (AMSEA), September 27-Chairman Mark
Trepp, Secretary Donald Spangle, Educational Director Milton Sabin, Deck Delegate Howard F. Hare, Engine Delegate
Paul D. Hanley, Steward Delegate Janet
E. Price. No beefs or disputed OT reported.
There is $400 in the ship's fund. With the
arrival in Guam, an additional $100 will be
added from the pilot pool. One question
was raised as to the policy concerning the
ship's elevator. Why are only engineers
allowed to use it? This will be brought to
the captain's attention. The chairman noted
that this has been a good crew all around.
He is ready for vacation and hopes to see
some familiar faces when he returns. The
secretary stressed the importance of returning to SHLSS for upgrading as often
as possible. He also spoke of the need for
SPAD contributions by stating, "Keep in
mind that these AMSEA ships were made
possible by SIU and our contributions to
SPAD." The educational director reiterated
the importance of taking advantage of the
educational opportunities available to SIU
members at the Lundeberg School. 'Think
ahead and make the most of the Union's
programs." It appears that AMSEA, SeaLand and Ocean Carrier ships are calling
in Guam-and a suggestion was made
that a Union hall be opened there. A point
was raised concerning crewmembers traveling to the ship who are stranded on Guam
due to bad weather, etc. These members
are not being P?id, and this creates a
hardship for Seafarers and their families.
A vote of thanks was given to the steward
department-"by far the best in the fleet!"
Next port: Guam.
and magnifying glass so that ABs can steer
more easily. Otherwise, he said, everything
is running smoothly. He also stressed the
importance of contributing to SPAD. A vote
of thanks was given to the steward department for a job well done. Next port:
t=lizabeth, N.J.
RANGER (Ocean Carriers), October
3-Chairman Jerry Borucki, Secretary R.D.
Linasan, Educational Director Tom Hogan.
The Ranger sailed shorthanded for one
month with no AB and more than one
month with no QMED. Despite that, there
were no beefs or disputed OT. "We've got
a good crew." The educational director
reported that many crewmembers are now
familiar with underway refueling, thanks to
the SIU's training in sealift operations and
maintenance. And the food is good-filet
mignon twice a month and fresh red snapper! Members aboard the Ranger give
some advice to other Seafarers heading
for Diego Garcia: "Make sure to bring your
fishing equipment-it's a good place for
fishing." A vote of thanks was given to the
steward department for the work they've
done and for "preparing the best food in
the fleet." The bosun also impressed upon
everyone the importance of contributing to
SPAD. "Thanks to SPAD and to all members who support it so that our Union offices
can create new jobs for all of us. So don't
delay. Sign up now." Next ports: Diego
Garcia and Bahrain.
SEA-LAND PIONEER (Sea-Land),
September 20-Chairman Calvin James,
Secretary Joseph P. Emidy, Educational
Director Jerry Dellinger. No disputed OT.
The chairman asked for donations for the
Seamen's Church for delivering books to
the ship. Everything is in order and running
fine, according to the secretary, and the
educational director urged all eligible members to take advantage of the upgrading
courses offered at SHLSS. A number of
movies are available in the ship's library.
Crewmembers were asked to return each
movie when they're through. The steward
thanked the deck and engine departments
for keeping the messhall and lounge clean.
And a vote of thanks was given to the
steward department for a job well done.
Next port: Elizabeth, N.J.
SEA·LAND DEVELOPER (Sea-Land),
September 27-Chairman Bobby L. Riddick, Secretary E. Vazquez, Educational
Director M. Donlon. No beefs or disputed
OT. There is $80 in the ship's fund. A letter
was received from headquarters explaining
the pension plan. The letter was posted
for all members to read. The chairman
mentioned that some improvements are
needed to the lights on the gyro compass
SEA·LAND LIBERATOR (Sea-Land),
September 20-Chairman A.J. Eckert,
Secretary C.M. Modellas, Educational Director E. Fahie. No beefs or disputed OT.
Everything is going smoothly, according to
the chairman. Payoff will take place in
Oakland, Calif. upon arrival. One QMED
missed the ship in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and
a replacement came aboard in Kobe, Japan. The bosun reminded all crewmembers
to read the new contract and familiarize
themselves with it. The captain made an
inspection Aug. 16 at sea and commented
that the ship is very clean. He was satisfied
with the officers' and crews' messhalls and
passageways and praised the steward utility for having done his job well. Next port:
Long Beach, Calif.
Official ships minutes also were received
from the following vessels:
ALTAIR
LNG AQUARIUS
FALCON PRINCESS
GALVESTON
OAKLAND
OVERSEAS BOSTON
SAii JUAN
SEA-LAND ADVENTURER
SEA-LAND FREEDOM
SEA-WO LARK
SEA-WID LEGION
SEA-WID MARKETER
SEA-WID PACER
SEA·WID VENTURE
SPIRIT OF TEXAS
SUGARISl.AllDER
-
Monthly
Membership Me~tings
Port
Date
Deep Sea
Lakes, Inland
Waters
Piney Point .............. Monday, December 7 ................. 10:30 a.m.
New York ............... Tuesday, December 8 ................. 10:30 a.m.
Philadelphia .............. Wednesday, December 9 .............. 10:30 a.m.
Baltimore ................ Thursday, December 10 ............... 10:30 a.m.
Norfolk ................. Thursday, December 10 ............... 10:30 a.m.
Jacksonville .............. Thursday, December 10 ............... 10:30 a.m.
Algonac ................. Friday, December 11 ................. 10:30 a.m.
Houston ................. Monday, December 14 ................ 10:30 a.m.
New Orleans ............. Tuesday, December 15 ................ 10:30 a.m.
Mobile .................. Wednesday, December 16.............. 10:30 a.m.
San Francisco ............ Thursday, December 17 ............... 10:30 a.m.
Wilmington .............. Monday, December 21 ................ 10:30 a.m.
Seattle .................. Monday, December 28 ................ 10:30 a.m.
San Juan ................ Thursday, December IO ............... 10:30 a.m.
St. Louis ................ Friday, December 18 ................. 10:30 a.m.
Honolulu ................ Thursday, December 17 ............... 10:30 a.m.
Duluth .................. Wednesday, December 16.............. 10:30 a.m.
Jersey City ............... Wednesday, December 23 .............. 10:30 a.m.
New Bedford ............. Tuesday, December 22 ................ 10:30 a.m.
November 1987 I LOG I 25
-
�Help
A
Friend
Deal
With
Alcoholism
and
Drugs
I
I
I
l
would~ ~
Addicts don't have friends. Because a friend
let another man blindly travel a course that has to lead
to the destruction of his health, his job and his family.
And that's where an alcoholic or drug user is headed.
Helping a fell ow Seafarer who has an addiction
problem is just as easy-and just as important-as
steering a blind man across a street. All you have to do
is take that Seafarer by the arm and guide him to the
Union's Addictions Rehabilitation Center in Valley Lee,
Md.
Once he's there, an SIU member will receive the care
and counseling he needs. And he'll get the support of
brother SIU members who are fighting the same tough
battle he is back to a healthy, productive alcohol-free
and drug-free life.
The road is a long one for an alcoholic and drug user.
But because of ARC, an addicted SIU member doesn't
have to travel the distance alone. And by guiding a
brother Seafarer in the direction of the Rehab Center,
you'll be showing him that the first step back to recovery
is only an arm's length away.
I~-------------------------------~
.
1
I
I
l
Addictions Rehabilitation Center
I am interested in attending a six-week program at the Addictions
Rehabilitation Center. I understand that all my medical and counseling
records will be kept strictly confidential, and that they will not be kept
anywhere except at The Center.
Name ..................... . .. , .......... Book No .............. .
Address ..................... . .................................. .
(Street or RFD)
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Telephone No.
Mail to:
THE CENTER
Star Route Box 153-A
Valley Lee, Md. 20692
or call, 24 hours-a-day, (301) 994-0010
'--------------------------·--------------------------------26 I LOG I November 1987
-
�CL
L
NP
-Company/Lakes
-Lakes
-Non Priority
Directory of Ports
Dispatchers Report for Great Lakes
OCT. 1-31, 1987
*TOTAL REGISTERED
All Groups
Class CL Class L Class NP
Port
Algonac ............ . ......
0
20
5
DECK DEPARTMENT
0
23
2
0
29
0
7
2
ENGINE DEPARTMENT
19
0
4
0
10
0
6
0
0
8
ENTRY DEPARTMENT
0
0
0
0
35
16
82
23
Port
Algonac ............... . ...
Port
Frank Drozak, President
Joe OIGlorglo, Secretary
Leon Hall, Vice President
Angus "Red" Campbell, Vice President
Mike Sacco, Vice President
Joe Sacco, Vice President
George Mccartney, Vice President
Roy A. Mercer, Vice President
Steve Edney, Vice President
**REGISTERED ON BEACH
All Groups
Class CL Class L Class NP
TOTAL SHIPPED
All Groups
Class CL Class L Class NP
5
STEWARD DEPARTMENT
Algonac ................. . .
0
Port
Algonac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
0
16
12
4
Totals All Depanments. . . . . . . .
o
49
20
o
46
6
o
*"Total Registered" means the number of men who actually registered for shipping at the port last month.
**"Registered on the Beach" means the total number of men registered at the port at the end of last month.
HEADQUARTERS
5201 Auth Way
Camp Springs, Md. 20746
(301) 899-0675
ALGONAC, Mich.
520 St. Clair River Dr. 48001
(313) 794-4988
BALTIMORE, Md.
1216 E. Baltimore St. 21202
(301) 327-4900
CLEVELAND, Ohio
5443 Ridge Rd. 44129
(216) 845-1100
Dispatchers Report for Deep Sea
OCTOBER 1-31, 1987
*TOTAL REGISTERED
All Groups
Class A Class B Class C
Port
New York ..... . .... .. . . .
Philadelphia .......... .. ..
Baltimore ..... . .... . . . ..
Norfolk .................
Mobile .................
New Orleans .......... . ..
Jacksonville . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
San Francisco .......... . ..
Wilmington ..............
Seattle .................
Puerto Rico . .. .. .... .....
Honolulu ....... . .. .... . .
Houston . ....... . . .. . . ..
St. Louis ... . .. . ...... . ..
Piner: Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tota s . .. ... ... .. . . ....
New York .... . ...... . ...
Philadelphia . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Baltimore ...............
Norfolk .................
Mobile . .. ......... . .. ..
New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jacksonville .• . ....•.....•
San Francisco .............
Wilmington ..............
Seattle .................
Puerto Rico . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Honolulu . ....... ... .. .. .
Houston . ......... . .....
St. Louis .. . . ..... . .... ..
PineY: Point ... . ... .. . ....
Tota s .... ..... ........
51
7
7
10
7
31
35
33
15
37
13
8
28
0
2
284
33
5
5
4
2
26
28
14
11
21
6
7
13
0
a
175
13
3
6
9
1
1
10
11
3
4
2
14
9
0
4
90
1
1
3
5
2
4
2
2
4
9
2
9
6
0
6
56
1
1
0
3
1
1
5
9
4
4
1
7
4
0
1
42
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
3
3
1
0
11
1
0
0
20
Port
New York ...... . ........
Philadelphia ........... . ..
Baltimore . . ... ... .. . ....
Norfolk ............... ..
Mobile .. . ........... .. .
New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jacksonville ..............
San Francisco . . . .. ........
Wilmington . ..... . ..... ..
Seattle .. .... . . .... . ... .
Puerto Rico ... . .... ... . . .
Honolulu ............ . ...
Houston . . ... ...... . ....
St. Louis . .. . ... .... ... ..
Piner: Point ....... . ... .. .
Tota s . ...... . .........
17
1
0
5
2
19
7
29
10
26
6
5
18
0
3
2
0
2
3
0
0
3
5
2
7
1
18
0
0
6
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
8
0
1
0
19
1
0
0
148
49
31
19
1
4
6
19
4
4
10
4
13
10
19
9
19
3
79
8
0
3
2
3
0
6
2
13
3
16
3
6
0
117
2
0
0
TOTAL SHIPPED
All Groups
Class A Class B Class
45
2
8
14
2
24
34
24
9
31
17
7
20
0
1
238
20
2
5
5
2
19
20
12
11
19
11
4
11
0
0
141
131
204
173
99
Totals All Departments .. . ...
738
399
266
600
2
DECK DEPARTMENT
1
5
2
1
3
0
2
8
1
1
3
3
6
4
10
8
3
4
7
1
2
1
8
7
7
3
0
0
0
1
8
1
0
3
1
4
4
3
5
5
0
13
6
65
37
ENGINE DEPARTMENT
2
0
1
0
5
0
4
0
1
0
4
1
2
0
4
1
3
1
8
2
10
7
0
1
54
1
0
10
2
0
0
16
STEWARD DEPARTMENT
16
4
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
7
3
0
1
0
0
11
0
0
10
4
0
29
0
4
8
4
0
22
4
0
3
0
0
2
30
23
8
0
0
0
0
0
3
1
0
122
51
27
Port
New York .... . .... ......
Philadelphia . . . . ...... . ...
Baltimore . ..... .. . .... . .
Norfolk ...... . ..... . . . ..
Mobile ... . . .... ... . ....
New Orleans ... .... .... ..
Jacksonville . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
San Francisco .. . ..... .. ...
Wilmington .. ... .... . ....
Seattle . ... . ...... . . ....
Puerto Rico . . .... .. .... ..
Honolulu .......... . . . .. .
Houston . . ........ ... .. .
St. Louis ... ....... .... ..
Piney Point .......... ... .
Totals ... ... . ..... .. . . .
18
8
21
3
22
13
5
9
0
0
c
Trip
Reliefs
8
0
0
1
0
10
5
24
3
17
11
9
11
0
0
ENTRY DEPARTMENT
16
4
1
1
2
0
9
2
0
1
6
11
6
3
6
5
3
1
14
1
5
0
95
150
6
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
**REGISTERED ON BEACH
All Groups
Class A Class B Class C
96
5
11
23
19
60
50
52
30
64
18
7
57
0
4
22
7
7
14
3
11
15
13
5
4
3
11
6
0
5
2
2
0
4
0
4
5
9
4
8
0
1
1
0
1
53
496
126
41
9
0
0
0
0
3
2
60
7
11
12
4
40
38
21
6
2
1
7
5
12
3
4
6
6
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
5
8
3
1
3
3
0
6
0
0
0
13
36
7
4
34
0
2
5
1
0
9
27
289
67
4
2
0
3
34
6
2
3
4
1
0
4
1
6
4
3
0
85
4
0
0
1
4
2
5
34
14
62
12
35
6
7
25
0
2
1
7
11
1
9
1
18
2
0
9
116
243
75
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
42
6
5
14
4
33
8
54
17
36
13
8
16
0
1
31
8
6
11
9
26
20
21
22
28
11
86
12
0
9
6
0
8
0
0
0
34
0
1
0
2
1
6
2
11
1
1
0
17
1
0
0
43
9
2
0
15
4
33
6
29
14
8
0
118
4
0
2
170
180
0
257
300
244
340
260
196
1,285
568
362
*"Total Registered " means the number of men who actually registered for shipping at the port last month .
** " Registered on the Beach" means the total number of men registered at the port at the end of last month .
Shipping in the month of October was up from the month of September. A total of 1,396 jobs were shipped
on SIU-contracted deep sea vessels. Of the 1,396 jobs shipped, 600 jobs or about 43 percent were taken by
"A" seniority members. The rest were filled by "B" and "C" seniority people. A total of 196 trip relief jobs
were shipped. Since the trip relief program began on April 1, 1982, a total of 6, 153 jobs have been shipped.
DULUTH, Minn.
705 Medical Arts Building 55802
(218) 722-4110
HONOLULU, Hawaii
636 Cooke St. 96813
(808) 523-5434
HOUSTON, Tex.
1221 Pierce St. 77002
(713) 659-5152
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.
3315 Liberty St. 32206
(904) 353-0987
JERSEY CITY, N.J.
99 Montgomery St. 07302
(201) 435-9424
MOBILE, Ala.
1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy. 36605
(205) 478-0916
NEW BEDFORD, Mass.
50 Union St. 02740
(617) 997-5404
NEW ORLEANS, La.
630 Jackson Ave. 70130
(504) 529-7546 NEW YORK, N.Y.
675 4 Ave., Brooklyn 11232
(718) 499-6600
NORFOLK, Va.
115 Third St. 23510
(804) 622-1892
PHILADELPHIA, Pa.
2604 S. 4 St. 19148
(215) 336-3818
PINEY POINT, Md.
St. Mary's County 20674
(301) 994-0010
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.
350 Fremont St. 94105
(415) 543-5855
SANTURCE, P.R.
1057 Fernandez Juncos St.
Stop 16 00907
(809) 725-6960
SEATTLE, Wash.
2505 1 Ave. 98121
(206) 441-19~0
ST. LOUIS, Mo.
4581 Gravois Ave. 63116 _
(314) 752-6500
WILMINGTON, Calif.
510 N. Broad Ave. 90744
(213) 549-4000
November 1987 I LOG I 27
-
�t
I
I
l
1
I
I
SIU Legislative Director Frank Pecquex reported on the "hold-the-line"
efforts of MTD affiliates during the Reagan union-busting years, and
suggested that a new day could be dawning for maritime, shipbuilding,
and the many related industries as Reagan's sun begins to set.
f
i
I
I
MEBA-2 Great Lakes Executive Vice President Mel Pelfrey, left, and
Airline Pilots President Henry A. Duffy were active participants at the
convention.
I
Marine Engineers District 2 were represented at the convention by Jack
Brady, Gordon Spenser and Michael McKay.
Are You Missi
National Marine Engineers President C.E. Gene DeFries is an executive board member of the Mare
ep
.Imp
We want to make sure that you receive your
copy of the LOG each month and other important
mail such as W-2 Forms, Union Mail and Welfare
Bulletins. To accomplish this, please use the
address form on this page to update your home
address.
Robert Georgine, pr · t of the
AFL-CIO Building Trades De
ment, promised the continued sup' port of his organization toward
MTD's goal of rebuilding America's
aritime industry.
ail?
If you are getting more than one copy of the
LOG delivered to you, if you have changed your
address, or if your name or address is misprinted
or incomplete, please fill in the special address
form printed on this page and send it to:
SIU & UIW of N.A.
Address Correction Department
5201 Auth Way
Camp Springs, Maryland 20746-9971
Your home address is your permanent address,
and this is where all official Union documents,
W-2 Forms, and the LOG will be mailed.
-----~---------------------~-----------------------~--------
HOME ADDRESS
Date: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
PLEASE PRINT
Social Security No.
Phone No. (
)
Area Code
Your Full Name
City
Apt. or Box#
Street
Book Number
-
0
SIU
0
UIW
State
0
Pensioner
ZIP
Other-------
UIW Place of E m p l o y m e n t - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Thia will be my permanent address for all official Union mailings.
This address ahould remain In the Union file unleaa otherwise changed by me personally.
(Signed)-~~~-~--~-~~~~~
~ ---------------~--~~-~-----~----~---~------------~~--------~
28 I LOG I November 1987
-
FOR A BETTER YEAR AND BETTER
FUTURE FOR ALL AMERICANS BUY AMERICAN AND LOOK FOR
THE UNION LABEL
Personals
Sven Regner
Anyone knowing the whereabouts of Sven Regner, please contact his nephew, George J. Anderson, 22576 Lanyard St., Boca
Raton, Fla. 33428.
Edward Kostango
It's very important that you contact Lyda at (516) 584-8973 as soon
as possible.
�November 1987 I LOG I 29
-
�"She was a Good Ship"
After 43 Years, Galveston Ties Up for Last Time
Its first cargo was American Gl's and its last was
containers for Alaska. In
the 43 years between its
first and last trips the Galveston (Sea-Land) carried
millions of tons of goods
and hundreds of Seafarers.
She was laid up in Tacoma,
Wash. last month and is
headed for the scrapyard.
Built in 1944 as a C-4
troop transport, the Galveston ended her sailing on
the ''Salmon Run'' between Tacoma, Anchorage
and Kodiak Island, Alaska.
Chief Electrician Michael
Bagely submitted these pictures from the Galveston's
final run. ''She was a good
ship, and I was sad to see
her go.''
Sea-Land Galveston
Chief Cook Bill Bryley bas learned to do a
goOd job on 43-year-old stoves.
AB Inus Otter shows off his seamanship skills.
Bosun J. W. Allen secures the anchor.
AB Larry Stogner always pulls his own weight.
30 I LOG I November 1987
OS Larry Mills is ready to lend a band.
Part-time messman, but full-time comedian,
Gary Loftin serves up ribs.
�·L etter
To The
Editor
'Grateful SIU Pensioner . . . '
Just a line to say that I thank you for my pension. I am now
working at the First Baptist Church of Kingsland [Texas] part-time. I
have no insurance except workmen's compensation which only covers
accidents. I am really grateful for having been an active member of the
SID for 36 years. I also thank the welfare plan for paying my medical
bills for the past two years.
If I can ever do anything to help the Union to further the cause of
better shippping for my SID brothers in any way, do not fail to call or
write me.
Thank you again. I remain,
Jimmie L. Jackson
Kingsland, Texas
Washington Report
(Continued from Page 32.)
What this does, in effect, is to freeze the
American maritime industry at its present level
and dry up the remaining few sources of
domestic capital.
Since Canadian operators enjoy favorable
exchange rates and substantial subsidies, they
would have an insurmountable edge in obtaining any new work that is opened up by changes
in American romotional laws.
The prospect of this has brought about the
seemingly impossible: unity in the maritime
industry.
More than 200 maritime organizations av
joined forces to decry the agreement. Many
of these organizations have never agreed on
anything in their lives.
In a letter to all members of the House and
the Senate, the Maritime Industry Coalition,
as the 200 maritime groups call themselves,
said that unless maritime issues are removed
from the Free Trade Agreement, that agreement .. will be disastrous for our industry."
Noting that the airline industry was exempt
from the agreement, the coalition said, .. The
agreement trades away the maritime industry
for advantages in other commercial sectors
. . . that bear no relation to national defenses,
and it gives no assurances whatsoever that
Canadian vessels and shipyards will fulfill U.S.
defense requirements when needed."
For a full discussion of this issue, see page
8.
William Brock
William Brock, who restored the Department of Labor's credibility after stepping in
to replace Ray Donavan, has announced that
he is leaving the federal government to head
Bob Dole's presidential campaign.
Anne Dore McLaughlin has been named to
replace Brock, who sought to build bridges
between organized labor and the ideologically
charged Reagan administration.
Given the ideological bent of the Reagan
administration, Brock was not always successful. Yet he was applauded for his highwire act.
At a minimum, he restored a modicum of
confidence in OSHA and the EPA after that
confidence had been destroyed by right-wing
ideologues who headed those departments during the early years of the Reagan presidency.
"If Mrs. McLaughlin is confirmed by the
Senate," said The Baltimore Sun, "she will
face an array of union-backed legislation: trade,
workplace safety, notification of plant closings, minimum wage increases, parental leave.
At this point, the fate of the legislation lies
with Congress: the ultimate question is whether
the president will veto much of it and if so,
whether there will be enough support on Capitol Hill to sustain the overrides."
The Last Ship
Nov. 9 marked a new era in the history of
the maritime indu try. For the first time ever
no merchant vessel was being built in an
American shipyard.
''U.S. shipbuilders regard Nov. 9 as a black
their industry," wrote The Journal of
day
Commerce. "On that day, the last merchant
vessel under construction or on order in U.S.
yards will be delivered to Sea-Land Service
Inc. by Bay Shipbuilding Co., Sturgeon Bay,
Wis."
Given the decline in the commercial domestic fleet, Reagan administration officials have
predicted that American shipyards would be
able to rely on Navy shipbuilding and repair
orders. Yet the present budget crisis has raised
a spector of uncertainty over this plan.
"Aggravating the situation," said the Journal, quoting John J. Stocker, president of the
Shipbuilders Association, ''were uncertainties
. . . caused by the government itself.''
These questions include ''whether or not
the export of Alaskan oil will be allowed, the
extent to which construction subsidies will be
allowed to be repaid in return for domestic
trading privil~ges and the impact of the recently negotiated U .S.-Canada Free Trade
Agreement."
The SIU has strongly opposed the export
of Alaskan oil, the payback of construction
subsidies and the maritime provisions of the
U.S.-Canadian Free Trade Agreement.
for
Insurance Crisis
In an effort to solve the insurance liability
crisis which has plagued the American fishing
industry, three subcommittees of the House
Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committees
have approved a bill to provide no-fault benefits for temporarily injured fishermen.
The legislation eliminates the $500,000 limit
on claims for temporary injury which was
included in a similar bill that was defeated in
the last session of Congress.
The bill creates a compensation system for
fishermen who suffer ''temporary injury.'' Under the terms of the legislation, vessel owners
must provide compensation to seamen with
temporary injuries within 14 days in order to
win protection against lawsuits written into
the bill.
According to The Journal of Commerce,
few people are satisfied with the bill. Yet
everyone is willing to give a little on this issue
because of the crisis situation in the industry.
A
ep. GI nn Anderson (D-Calif.) said,
under the present situation more than 90 percent of the fishing vessels in his district do not
carry insurance. "Therefore, there is no one
around to pay the bills for work injuries sustained by fishermen," he said.
Safety Standards in the
Fishing Industry
One of the leading causes of the liability
insurance crisis in the fishing industry has been
the lack of adequate and verifiable safety
standards. Therefore, the SIU has supported
congressional and executive moves to improve
those standards.
Last month, SIU President Frank Drozak
wrote a letter to the Coast Guard expressing
his support for the agency's proposed rule to
require uninspected fishing, fish processing
and fish tending vessels operating on the high
seas to carry Emergency Position Indicating
Radio Beacons, or EPIRBS.
The rule is included in a section of the Coast
Guard Authorizations Act of 1986.
Tax Correction Act
One year after Congress passed the historic
Tax Reform Bill of 1986, attempts have been
made to amend the legislation.
Given the present budgetary crisis, such
moves were perhaps inevitable. The SIU has
worked hard to retain the 100 percent deductibility of meals during shipboard conventions
in the House versions of the tax bill.
"We expect to see full floor consideration
of the bill before Congress adjourns at the end
of its sess · n this year," said SIU Director of
Legislation Frank Pecquex.
-
November 1987 I LOG/ 31
•
�Seafarers International Union of North America, AFL-CIO
Washington Report
During the past month and a half, Washington has been hit by a number of nasty surprises,
some man-made, others natural.
Mother Nature's surprise was the record 16inch snowfall that fell on Veteran's Day. It
took everyone, including the meteorologists,
by urprise.
Another unexpected event wa& the October
19 stock market crash, which erased $1 trillion
worth of paper profits in one hectic trading
session. Black Monday, as the crash was
called, was largely man-made, the result of six
years of back-to-back trade and budget deficits.
The unexpected snow drifts melted within
two days, as the weather in Washington took
a 180-degree turn and returned to Indian Summer levels.
No such luck is expected with the. trade and
budget deficits, though the Reagan administration is still hoping.
Bended Knees: Part One
The stock market crash took almost everyone by surprise. Still, a few analysts were
sufficiently worried before the event to call on
President Reagan and the American people to
reevaluate their priorities.
One of the most perceptive criticisms of
Reaganomics was written by former Commerce Secretary Peter Peterson. In an article
entitled "The Morning After," which hit the
newsstands several days before the crash,
Petersen noted that America ''could not stand
tall on bended knees.''
Petersen compared the situation of the United
States today to that of Great Britain in the
1950s. That country's ability to run an independent foreign policy was severely compromised because it was heavily dependent on
foreign (American) capital.
During the Suez Canal crisis, President
Dwight D. Eisenhower forced the British to
back down by threatening to stop supporting
the British pound on the international money
markets. The same thing, said Petersen, could
happen to America today.
The Washington Post made a similar observation. "Six years of free spending and heavy
borrowing under the Reagan administration
have brought an historic shift of financial
control from this country to its new creditorsand financial control is political power.
''The markets-that vast, restless collection
of investors, traders and speculators-are now
the monitors of American economic policy,
meting out swift and sure punishment of politicians' backsliding.''
Bended Knees: Part Two
..
America can't operate a fully-independent
foreign policy if it is in hock to foreign investors; it also can't run one if it is unable to
transport its troops and supplies overseas.
This country's lack of a credible sealift
capability was cited in the recently released
report by the presidentially-appointed Commission on Merchant Marine and Defense.
The seven-member panel, which ha conducted hearings and research throughout this
year, stated repeatedly that a private U.S.
merchant fleet is the best way to maintain this
country's sealift capability .
32 I LOG I November 1987
•
November 1987
Legislative , Administrative and Regulatory Happenings
Predicting that the American-flag merchant
marine will "decline by one-half" by the year
2000 and that there would be ''a severe manpower shortage of skilled workers,'' the study
stated that "heroic measures will be necessary
if the decline is to be reversed ... The situation
is now so bad that coordinated action is essential.
"Free trade in reality does not exist," stated
the report. ·'If American operators are to be
able to compete in terms of price, some form
of the Operating Differential Subsidy (ODS)
program or some other measure to address
some or all of the difference appears essential.''
For a more detailed discussion of this report,
please turn to page 1.
Liner Reform Subsidies
The report from the Commission on Merchant Marine and Defense was eagerly awaited
by the maritime industry, which viewed it as
a way to spur the administration to act on a
matter affecting the survival of the Americanflag merchant marine: reform ofthis country's
liner subsidy program.
"Since it took office in January 1981," said
The Journal of Commerce, "The Reagan
administration has made clear it opposes subsidies, abhors government intrusion, prefers
to let the competitive marketplace make the
decisions, and isn't willing to see any more
money be spent for maritime subsidies than
now.''
Last year, the operating subsidies that had
propped up many of this nation's remaining
shipping companies started to expire. Industry
experts predicted dire consequences if action
weren't taken.
Nothing was done. At the end of last year,
U.S. Lines, known as the "flagship fleet of
the American merchant marine,'' filed for
bankruptcy.
''A number of factors contributed to the
bankruptcy, ' ' said SIU Legislative Director
Frank Pecquex. "The failure of Congress and
the administration to come up with a liner
subsidy reform program certainly didn't help.''
After much delay, the administration finally
submitted to Congress the details of its liner
subsidy program. But many people in the
maritime industry and on Capitol Hill feel that
it doesn't go far enough in addressing the
industry's problems.
That is where the report comes in. "The
hope is," reports The Journal of Commerce,
''that once President Reagan is confronted
with . . . alarming facts regarding the merchant
fleet and its inability to perform an adequate
defense emergency role, he may change his
mind."
Trade Bill
The Omnibus Trade Bill "continues to languish in the massive House-Senate conference," reports The Journal of Commerce.
The bill, which seeks to restore balance in
America's trading relationship with other
countries, is perceived as having been jeopardized by the Oct. 19 stock market crash.
For one thing, the stock market crash underscores the fact that the United States has
become heavily dependent on foreign investors
to finance the huge trade and budget deficits.
According to The Washington Post, "The
extraordinarily heavy new dependence on foreign governments' support is diminishing this
country's freedom of action ... The final
stages of the trade bill may not be, as Congress
supposes, negotiations with the White House
to avoid a presidential veto, but rather negotiations with Japan and Europe to avoid a
financial veto. As most people know, running
up your debts leads to a loss of control over
your own affairs.''
Canada Free Trade: Part One
Opposition is building in Congress and in
Canada to the Canadian Free Trade Agreement
signed by President Reagan and Canadian
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
In Canada, the trade agreement is front page
news. There is widespread dissatisfaction with
the agreement on economic and cultural
grounds.
While the agreement will probably be approved by the Canadian Parliament because
of the large Conservative majority there, public
opinion polls how that support for a U.S.Canadian pact has dro
from 75 percent
to 49 percent today.
Opposition has been particularly 1
e
among Canadian labor unions and e ergy concerns. The accord also needs the acquiescence
of a majority of the 10 provinces.
The governments of Ontario, Manitoba and
ri c dward are opposed to the agreement.
Ontario's premier is also critical of the pact,
although he hasn't yet indicated if he will
oppose it.
Canada Free Trade: Part T
While the U.S. -Canada Free Trade Agreement has received much less publicity_south
of the border, a coalition of industry associations is expressing concern about the pact's
possible ramifications.
Several congressmen have indicated that
they intend to vote against the trade agreement. Their opposition to the bill is due to a
variety of reasons.
Some of the most vehement congressional
opponents of the Canadian bill come from
energy states. Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.)
said he could not support the trade agreement
''unless it is amended to give better treatment
to North Dakota and other states rich in natural
resources.''
Sen. Wendell Ford (D-Ky.) also indicated
that he would not be able to support the treaty
if it is harmful to coal industry interests.
Canadian Free Trade: Part
Three
Some of the most vehement criticism of the
Canadian Free Trade Agreement has come
from the maritime industry, which perceives
its existence threatened by the proposed agreement.
As reported in this and other issues of the
LOG, the pact would seriously weaken the
Jones Act and allow Canadian shipping companies to compete for any new work created
by changes in the promotional laws of this
country.
(Continued on Page 31.)
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Seafarers Log Issues 1980-1989
Description
An account of the resource
Volumes XLII-LI of the Seafarers Log
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Paul Hall Maritime Library Microfilm 1939-1993; Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Seafarers International Union of North America
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
November 1987
Description
An account of the resource
HEADLINES
DEFENSE REPORT FINDS ‘ALARMING’ SEALIFT DECLINE
A SPECIAL REPORT TO THE MEMBERSHIP
MTD MAPS UNITED PROGRAM TO REBUILD U.S. SHIPPING, SHIPBUIDLING INDUSTRIES
MTD IS UNITED FOR ACTION
FOGGY COLLISION SINKS LIBERIAN ORE FREIGHTER
OPPOSITION MOUNTS TO U.S./CANADA TRADE PACT
VETS’ CASE POSTPONED
STRIKE ENTERS SIXTH WEEK
BOATMEN, FAMILIES, OTHER UNIONS MAN TUGBOAT PICKET LINES
DOT AND LABOR POSTS PICKED
NMC CALLS IT QUITS
GETTING READY FOR THE P.R.O.M.
PINEY POINT GOES INTERNATIONAL
FIRE DRILL HELD ABOARD USNS MERCY
ABOARD THE USNS MISPILLION
ONBOARD THE M/V RANGER AT DIEGO GARCIA
AFTER 43 YEARS, GALVESTON TIES UP FOR LAST TIME
WASHINGTON REPORT
THE LAST SHIP
SAFETY STANDARDS IN THE FISHING INDUSTRY
TAX CORRECTION ACT
INSURANCE CRISIS
WILLIAM BROCK
BENDED KNEES: PART ONE
LINER REFORM SUBSIDIES
CANANDA FREE TRADE: PART ONE
CANADA FREE TRADE: PART TWO
BENDED KNEES: PART TWO
TRADE BILLCANADIAN FREE TRADE: PART THREE
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Seafarers Log
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Seafarers International Union of North America
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
11/1/1987
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Newsprint
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Vol. 49, No. 11
1987
Periodicals
Seafarers Log