http://seafarerslog.org/archives/files/original/b0cfb87f1102dd2bda6aa7ab79b14f86.pdf 39ba0629e01abec73daf221cfd6f92c5 PDF Text Text Security October 15 1988 In Uniry OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE SEAFARERS INTERNATIONAL UNION • ATLANTIC, GULF, LAKES AND INLAND WATERS DISTRICT • AFL-CIO "You can put me in jail, but you cannot give me narrower quarters than as a seaman I have always bad. You cannot give me coarser food than I have always eaten. You cannot make me lonelier than I have always been. " "Tomorrow Is Also A Day" -Andrew Furusetb -Andrew Furusetb The Seaman's Struggle for Equality 'There is also the dignify that comes to him who stands on bis own two feet, looks the world in the eye and takes on all comers in the battle for what be might believe is just. " ''We Have To Educate The Whole Person" -Tribute to Harry Lunde berg ''Politics Is Porkchops" -Paul Hall -Paul Hall "You can have the best contract in the world, but ifyou don't have any work, it doesn't mean a thing." -Frank Drozak SIU Fiftieth Anniversary �Few, if any, of the gains of the past 50 years would have been possible without the seamen's hiring hall (51 Beaver Street). "Bloody Thursday" reinvigorated the seamen's movement. Introduction: SIU Celebrates Fiftieth Anniversary T In 1938, Harry Lundeberg, center, received a charter from the American Federation of Labor to form a new international seamen's union, the SIUNA. he SIU is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The union was born during the Great Depression, one of this nation's darkest periods. War clouds were gathering over Europe and Asia. Despair and poverty still stalked the globe nine, long years after the Stock Market Crash of 1929. The American labor movement was split into two hostile camps. Conditions for seamen and many other workers remained intolerable. Yet there was hope . The New Deal had given workers a mechanism to make their voices heard. Industry by industry, workers were being organized on a scale never before imagined. The A&G District Was Called the SIU From the beginning, the Atlantic and Gulf District of the SIUNA was known simply as the SIU. It was not an easy birth. The new union had 500 members, few resources and only nine-contracted companies. Since then, the small, struggling affiliate that Harry Lundeberg established has become a powerful force in the labor movement. The SIU now represents a wide spectrum of workers: fishermen, cannery workers, tug and barge workers, service employees, office workers, wire and rope workers, and many, many more. The SIU's Story Dates Back Hundreds of Years October 15, 1938 On October 15, 1938, at a convention in Houston, Texas, the American Federation of Labor presented Harry Lundeberg with a charter to form a new international seamen's union, the Seafarers International Union of North America (SIUNA). Lundeberg was already head of the Sailors Union of the Pacific, a union of West Coast sailors which traced its origins back to 1885. Morris Weisberger, a top Lundeberg aide, took a month's leave so he could go to New York to help set up operations for a separate, autonomous affiliate of Atlantic and Gulf seamen. A skeletal structure was already in place. An interim charter for the new international had been issued in 1937. Robert Chapdelaine had been named acting The Wall Street Strike of 1948. Members of the SIU have consistently supported their fellow trade unionists. 2 chairman. The interim union didn't even have a name. It had a number: AFL Seamen's Union 22124. Matthew "Duke" Dushane was the acting chairman of ~he new A&G District. John "Whitey" Hawk was in charge of the Atlantic Region; Matthew Biggs headed up the Gulf Coast. At first there was little interaction between the two regions. Members shipped out on either a Gulf or an Atlantic Coast book. That wouldn't change for a number of years. Still, the seaman's age-old struggle for equality and justice lies at the core of the union's existence. It has a universal appeal that speaks to the experiences of all Americans. At its most basic level then, the history of the SIU is the story of a group of workers who used the labor movement to achieve equality under the law and dignity in the workplace. It is the story of great leaders, committed members and the bond they were able to forge. .· It is also the story of the American-flag merchant marine. Its continued survival presents our members with their greatest challenge as the union faces its second 50 years. The SIU became a power on the waterfront after Paul Hall was named director of organizing in 1945. He immediately targeted the Isthmian and Cities Service companies for organizing and set a successful blueprint for the union's future growth. SIU Fiftieth Anniversary �Chapter One: The Seaman's Struggle For Equality "I must go down to the sea again to the lonely sea and the sky And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by'' -john Masefield T oday's Seafarers lead lives virtually indistinguishable from the vast majority of Americans. They are middle-class wage earners who work onboard vessels that have to meet stringent safety standards. Yet seamen were once among the most brutalized of American workers. In at least one important respect, they were little better than slaves. Once a seaman signed the ship's articles, he was tied to a vessel for the duration of the voyage. "From the earliest historical period, the contract of seamen has been treated as an exceptional one, involving, to a certain respect, the surrender of his personal liberty during the life of the contract,'' said the Supreme Court in Robertson v. Brown (165 US 275). Leaving a ship before the end of a journey was tantamount to desertion. Under an early sea code, desertion was punishable by death. In some jurisdictions, it was punishable by branding. The seaman's unique legal status put him at a decided disadvantage in his fight to secure a better way of life. No matter how bad conditions were for workers in other industries, they at least had the right to quit and seek employment elsewhere if they were dissatisfied with their wages or job conditions. For someone who knew a skilled trade or who lived in an area where there was a labor shortage, this could be a powerful tool. Seamen lived, slept and ate in one big forecastle. Diseases swept a ship like wildfire. But as one judge put it, "a single act of assault and battery, though exceeding the bounds of moderation, will not justify a desertion." Even in the most sympathetic court of law, a seaman being charged with desertion was at a considerable disadvantage. No matter how brutal a mate or captain was, he still was a more credible figure than a seaman, who was lumped in with "Indians The Law Was Stacked Against Seamen The first American statute to restrict the mobility of seamen was passed in 1790. It stated that a merchant seaman who absented himself from a vessel for more than 48 hours without leave from his captain, forfeited "all his wages due to him, and all his goods and chattel on board of said ship or vessel, or in any store they may have been lodged at the time of his desertion to the use of the owners." The penalties for desertion were made more stringent in 1872, when Congress passed the Shipping Commission Act. Imprisonment for a period of not more than three months was added to the list of possible penalties that could be taken against a seaman who had left his vessel in mid-voyage. A seaman who "correctly" feared for his life had the right to leave a ship. Yet a seaman who feared "only" physical abuse from his shipmates did not enjoy that right. "Seamen, as a class, are an injudicious group often given, on shipboard, to frequent and violent quarrels ... A black eye, lacerations and bruises are not too uncommon a sight," wrote a nineteenth century judge. Bucko Mates and Cruelty at Sea In court cases and early seamen's journals, there are numerous accounts of a dreaded maritime phenomenon: "bucko" mates who took delight in torturing the people who worked under them. Congress passed its first anti-flogging statute in 1850. Yet it wasn't until passage of the White Act in 1898 that an officer could be held personally liable for the physical and mental damages he inflicted on a seaman. Under American law, a captain never did have the right "to beat a man with unreasonable severity" October 1988 The Pilgrim inspired Richard Henry Dana's 1Wo Years Before the Mast. Two Years Before The Mast Publication in 1840 of Richard Henry Dana's masterpiece, Two Tuars Before the Mast, marked a pivotal moment in the seaman's struggle for equality. Before that time, most Americans had no idea of the brutal conditions which existed on board American-flag vessels. The book has lost none of its power. In the following passage, Dana describes his reaction to a flogging at sea: "Sam, by this time, was seized up, as it is called; that is placed against the shrouds, with his wrists made fast to them, his jacket off, and his back exposed. The captain stood on the break of the deck, a few feet from him, and a little raised, so as to have a good swing at him, and held in his hand the end of a thick, strong rope. The officers stood t·ound, and the crew grouped together in the waist. All these preparations made me feel sick and almost faint, angry and excited as I was. A man--a human being, made in God's likeness-fastened up and flogged like a beast! A man, too, whom I bad lived with, eaten with, and st<>0d watch with for months, and knew so well! If a thought of resistance crossed the minds of any of the men, what was to be done?...If they resist, it is mutiny; and if they succeed, and take the vessel, it is piracy. If they ever yield again, their punishment must come; and if they do not yield, what are they to be for the rest of their lives? If a sailor resists his commander, he resists the law, and piracy or submission is his only alternative. Bad as it was, they saw that it must be borne. It is what a sailor ships for. .. " and idiots" as being a special ward of the American state. In addition, a captain had access to the ship's log, where he made all the entries. Notorious Crimp System This institutionalized pattern of legal discrimination reinforced abuses that were rampant in the maritime industry. In order to be employed on a ship, a seaman had to submit to the notorious "crimp" system, where the owners of bars and rooming houses were given liens on his future earnings. The system was rigged to keep a seaman permanently in debt. The crimp often had an understanding with a captain of a ship. His rooming house or bar served as an unofficial hiring hall. The crimp system made it almost impossible for seamen to organize. In order to gain employment, a seaman had to patronize or live in one of these crimp joints. Since he often stored his goods in these places, a seaman risked losing every single material possession he owned if he lef.La vessel becaue of poor conditions. There were numerous instances of seamen being shanghaied (the term was coined in San Francisco in 1855 when seamen increasingly found themselves on runs to the Orient against their will). It was not uncommon for a crimp to get a seaman drunk to get him to sign on a vessel that was about to sail shorthanded. This was particularly common if a captain had a reputation for running a "hell-ship." Life at Sea If a seaman's life on land left much to be desired, so did conditions onboard ship. Voyages often lasted two, three years. There was a constant danger of death by drowning. There was no way of reporting unsafe conditions; no mechanism to appeal arbitrary and even dangerous conditions by one's superiors. Seamen often slept in one large forecastle. Diseases like tuberculosis often swept a ship like wildfire. Even under the best of circumstances, life at sea was claustrophobic. "Life onboard ship calls for close contact and confinement of the men with little chance, until they reach port, for recreation," wrote a nineteenth century judge. The seaman's debased existence at sea and on land was tied closely to his legal status. Before he could improve his working conditions, he had to win the fight for equality under the law. 3 �Chapter Two: Seamen's Act of 1915 Brings Freedom T here were three pivotal developments in the seaman's early fight for equality under the law. The first came in 1840 when Richard Henry Dana published his classic novel, Two Thars Before the Mast. Before that time, Americans were not aware of the abuses that existed in the maritime industry. The next important development occurred gradually over a 30-year period. It was the formation of permanent seamen's unions strong enough to protect the rights of their members. Finally, there was the rise of leaders within the ranks of the seaman's movement. The early seamen's unions were blessed with an abundance of talented and selfless people: Dan Keefe, Sigismund Danielewicz, Burnette Haskell. But it was Andrew Furuseth who gave the seaman's movement its unique voice. Seamen Get A Spokesman modes of transportation, mainly railroads. In addition, Great Britain enjoyed an overwhelming advantage because of its access to low-priced steel. Mahan Shapes the Debate; America Needs Superior Merchant Marine By the end of the nineteenth century, America's presence in the foreign trades had declined so precipitously that it was a source of great concern to military planners, most notably Admiral Alfred Mahan, who is generally considered to be one of the nation's most brilliant naval tacticians. Mahan alleged that the United States would never be a first-class power unless it developed and maintained a superior navy and merchant fleet. Throughout history, said Mahan, there had always been a close connection between a country's maritime capability and its status as a world power. His observations gave seamen a more receptive audience than they might otherwise have enjoyed when they argued for reform of the maritime industry. The formation of the International Seamen's Union in 1892 out of a group of bickering, unaffiliated unions gave the seamen's movement a veneer of unity to the outside world. More Seamen Win important, it gave them a respected Legislative Victories spokesman, Andrew Furuseth, who could represent their interests in In 1895, Congress enacted the MacWashington, D. C. Guire Act, which did away with the There has never been anyone more worst abuses of the crimp system and effective in making the public aware abolished the penalty of imprisonabout the need to reform conditions ment for seamen who had "deserted" in the maritime industry. To the outtheir vessels. This was a monumental side world, Furuseth, with his stooped step forward in the emancipation of shoulders, lined face and eloquent seamen. speech, was the living embodiment of Yet two years later, the Supreme the American sailor. Court handed down a case, Robertson He was born in 185 4 in Furuseth, v. Brown (165 US 275), which seemed Norway. Forced to leave school at an to reverse at least part of the Macearly age, he was a self-taught scholar, Guire Act. The court upheld the confluent in English, German, Dutch, viction of seamen who had "deserted" French and Norwegian. Like many the S.S. Arago on a coastwise run. other Scandinavian seamen of his era, Writing a vigorous dissent, Justice he eventually made his way to the John Harlan called the decision "Dred West Coast of the United States, sailScott II," and said that instead of ing, for the most part, on the elegant hunting runaway slaves, Americans schooners which were being rendered could now hunt runaway seamen. obsolete by new technology. Furuseth's Coast Seamen'sjournal Furuseth became secretary of the was even more concise. It said that Coast Seamen's Union in the 1887, the difference between a slave and a two years after that union was formed . seaman was about $15 a month. The Seamen's Act of 1915, known as the Magna Carta of American seamen, set minimum One of the first things he did was to By this time, Furuseth was spendsafety standards and removed many remaining legal restrictions. It was sponsored by Senator Robert La.Follette (right inset above), a long-time ally of Andrew Furuseth (left inset above). establish the Coast Seamen 's]ournal. ing a good portion of his time in The seamen's bill provided a two-watch system for the deck force and a three-watch system He understood the importance of Washington, D.C. lobbying Congress. for the engine gang, plus a maximum nine-hour working day in port. It set a more liberal communication and the power of the In 1898, Congress passed the White schedule for rations and a minimum 100 cubic feet of space per man in the forecastles. written word. Act. Amopg other things, it made Previously, each man had been allotted 72 cubic feet, which Furuseth described as "too large for a coffin, too small for a grave." Also, the law specified that bunks in forecastles could be no He had the ability to make people licensed officers liable for their acts of more than two high. sit up and listen. "Tomorrow is also a brutality. The law also decreed that 75 percent of the crew must be able to understand the comday," he said after a bitter defeat. "You mands given in the English language. It decreed that the sailor could no longer allot part of his can put me in jail," he once said, "but wages to creditors before signing a vessel. And he could no longer be imprisoned on charges Political Climate Helps of desertion if he left his ship before the end of a contracted voyage . you cannot give me narrower quarters Progressive Causes; than as a seaman I have always had . Seamen's Act of 1915 You cannot give me coarser food than Enacted I have always eaten. You cannot make me lonelier than I have always been." Meanwhile, Americans were slowly but surely expanding the rights of the working people. There was a widespread backlash against the conglomerates Maritime in Turmoil which now controlled the economic life of the nation. Furuseth came to prominence during a troubled period in the history of the Tragedies like the Triangle dress factory fire, where hundreds of innocent immaritime industry: migrants-mainly young women-were killed, created an upswell of support for Seamen and other workers were just beginning to establish permanent unions more stringent safety standards. capable of protecting their rights. The gradual transformation of businesses into A turning point in the maritime industry came in 1912 with the sinking of the corporations had created an impetus for a national labor organization. This led Titanic. The highly publicized deaths of so many prominent people made Americans to the creation of the American Federation oflabor (AFL) in 1881. aware of the perils that seamen faced on a daily basis. Furuseth (who in 1908 had been named president of the ISU) and his closest Wages for West Coast sailors were slightly higher than those of their East Coast ally in Washington, D.C., Robert Lafollette, the progressive senator from Wisconcounterparts. Still, the depressed conditions in the maritime industry created hardships for all seamen. Many of the early strikes and organizing drives called by sin, were able to capitalize on this changed public mood. In 1915, Congress the ISU and Coast Seamen's Union ended in failure. enacted the Seaman's Act of 1915, which abolished many of the remaining legal restrictions against seamen. The United States merchant marine reached its zenith in the decade before the Civil War. With its beautifully designed schooner ships, it was on the cutting edge Woodrow Wilson signed the bill into law. His motives were not entirely altruistic. World War I had created an insatiable demand for America's neutral shipping. of modern technology. Yet this was to change. The Civil War and the switch to steamships ushered in While Wilson intended to keep this nation out of the war, he felt that this nation a dark era for American shipping. This decline was accentuated by America's needed a reliable source of sealift just in case. In 1917 America was dragged into preoccupation with its vast internal markets and by the growth of alternative the conflict. American seamen were the first to die for their country: 4 ·. SIU Fiftieth Anniversary �Important Dates In Maritime Labor 1803: The seamen of New York go on strike and win a $7 increase from their base pay of $10 a month . 18 37: Seamen in Boston go on strike. 185 4: The first union of marine engineers is formed on the Great Lakes. It quickly fades but is revived in 1863 and 1875 to become the National Marine Engineers Beneficial Association. 1863: Seamen on the Great Lakes form the Seamen's Benevolent Union of Chicago. It does not engage in collective bargaining, but concentrates on taking care of the sick and indigent. 1866: The Seamen's Friendly Union Society is formed in San Francisco. It elects Alfred Enquist as president and George McAlpine as secretary. It doesn't last very long. 1875.: The National Marine Engineers Beneficial Association is formed . 1877: Longshoremen on the Great lakes organize. 1878: The Seamen's Benevolent Union of Chicago is revived under the name Lakes Seamen Benevolent Association. Dan Keefe heads this organization, which tries to engage in collective bargaining. 1878: The Seamen's Protective Union in San Francisco is formed . It boasts 800 members but doesn 't last long. 1883: The Marine Firemen 's Union is formed . 1885: A group of disaffected seamen meet on the Folsom Street wharfand form the Coast Seamen's Union. Billy Thompson is elected president. 1886: The Steamship Sailors Protective Association is formed. 1887: Andrew Furuseth is elected secretary of the Coast Seamen's Union. He stares printing the Coast Seamen's journal, a union publication. 1891: The Coast Seamen's Union and the Steamship Sailors Protective Association merge, creating the Sailors Union of the Pacific. 1892: The National Longshoremen's Association is formed in Detroit. This eventually becomes the International Longsh~~emen's ~sociation in 1895. 1892: A convention of seamen is held in Chicago, with delegates from the various unions now organized on the West Coast, the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico in attendance. East Coast unions are too poor to send delegates. The convention gives birth to the National Seamen 's Union, which is later rechristened the International Seamen's Union . Charles Hagen is the first president; Thomas Elderkin is the first secretary and James Mclaren is the first national organizer. 1908: Andrew Furuseth is elected president of the ISU. 1915: Congress enacts the Seamen's Act of 1915, which abolishes most remaining legal restrictions against seamen. 1919: The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) establishes the Marine Transport Wbrkers Union No. 510. 1921: The ISU, which now boasts a membership of 115,000 seamen , is dealt a near-fatal blow during an ill.fated industry-wide strike. 1928: The Marine Workers Progressive League, a communist-dominated organization, is formed . It later becomes the Marine Workers' League (MWL) and then the Marine Workers Industrial Union. 1929: The membership of the ISU now stan ds at 3,000. 1934: The West Coast Strike of 1934 reinvigorates maritime labor. 1937: The National Mariti me Union is formed . The ISU is forced to disband . A tern porary AFL seamen's union is established on the East and Gulf coasts. Robert Chapdelaine is acting chairman. John "Whitey" Hawk heads up the Atlantic region; Matthew Bi~ is in charge of the Gulf Coast. 1938: The American Federation of Labor presents SUP head Harry Lundeberg with a charter to form a new international seamen's union, to be composed of autonomous affiliates. Matthew " Duke" Dushane is named acting chairman of the A&G District. Morris Weisberger, a top Lundeberg aide, takes a month's leave to go to New York to help set up operations for the new union. 1948: The SIU of Canada is established. Within three years, its membership grows from 200 to more than 6,000. 1949: The Brotherhood of Marine Engineers (BME) , a forerunner of District 2-MEBA, is formed . 1951: The American Federation of Labor presents a charter to the Marine Cooks & Stewards, AFL. Chapter Three: Maritime Enters Dark Age T he period between 1916 and 1934 is routinely described in the history books as the "Dark Ages of the maritime industry." The era started out on a promising note. Congress had just enacted the Seamen's Act of 1915; World War I made it possible for seamen to dramatically improve their wages and working conditions. Maritime's lobbying machine in Washington, D.C. remained effective. In 1920, Congress passed a piece of legislation, the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, which established the Federal Maritime Commission and strengthened existing restrictions against foreign participation in the domestic trades. This bill became known as the Jones Act. Had it not been enacted into law, there might not be an Americanflag merchant marine today. In 1919, the International Labor Organization was created as part of the Versailles Peace Treaty. This gave seamen and other groups of workers an international forum to improve worldwide conditions. Red Scare Sweeps Country Seamen were able to win impressive increases during a strike in 1919. Yet there was an ugly new mood in this country which would have important ramifications for all workers. The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917 had created a serious backlash amongAmerican voters. America was now gripped with a "red scare." For the moment, strikes and other legitimate forms of job action smacked of revolution in the minds of average Americans. Many of the gains that workers had made during the previous 20 years were now in jeopardy. An example of this was the ill-fated Maritime Strike of 1921. An Ill-fated Strike Breaks the ISU By now, demand for American shipping had decreased substantially from its peak in World War I. This gave the shipowners the upper hand. Even though the owners were forced to capitulate in the Strike of 1919, the general trend was on their side. They prepared diligently for the next round. When the next set of contract negotiations came around, they played hardball. After an all-ports strike was called by the ISU on May 1, 1921, the shipowners set up their own hiring halls. The strike was broken and the ability of the ISU to act as an effective bargaining agent for seamen was destroyed. While ISU President Andrew Furuseth retained the overwhelming respect of American seamen, he became increasingly removed from the day-to-day operations of his union. The numbers tell the story. In 1921, the ISU had a war-inflated membership of 115,000 seamen. By 1929 there were fewer than 3,000. Shipping companies like the International Pacific Marine Co. set up their own hiring halls after the ill-fated 1921 Maritime Strike. The IWW made great strides among disaffected seamen. The Growth of Rad ical Organizations On th e Waterfront During the 1920s, radical groups like the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and the communistdominated Marine Workers Industrial Union tried to make inroads among the rank and file, who suffered terribly during this period. Indeed, during the '20s and early '30s, "the ISU's major adversary... was not the shipowner, but the IWw," wrote Philip Ross, labor historian at Cornell University. "The Wobblies made no bones about where they stood," wrote Ross. " (Their mono was that) the employer class is a class of social bloodsuckers ... (They felt there was) no such thing as a good boss or a bad wage earner." " The overriding precept of the IWw," said Ross, "was the necessity for workers led by their unions to respect all picket lines, a principle which led to the condemnation of all bargaining contracts. War with the AFL unions was inevitable since the essence of American unionism was the getting and preserving of gains in such bargaining agreements whose quid pro quo for the employer was a no strike clause. ''As a group consisting largely of nomadic single men whose working life offered them much opportunityto read, reflect and argue, many seamen were attracted to IWW ideology with its emphasis on worker solidarity and the spirit of an injury to one is an injury to all . In particular, seamen were tempted by the advantages of industrial unionism despite the fact their unions from their origin were organized on a craft basis." Despite their strong pro-worker stance, the Wobblies did not pose much of a threat to the ISU. Their innate distrust of any kind of bureaucratic structure made it impossible for them to build a union capable of organizing on a mass scale. -continued next page _October 1988 5 �AFL President William Green issued a charter to the SIU. John L. Lewis changed the face of the labor movement. FDR pledged a New Deal for Americans. He revitalized the American-flag merchant marine. The First American-Owned, Panamanian-Registered Vessels Seamen were not the only group of workers to be hurt during this period. Most industrial workers suffered reductions in living standards. Still, some groups, especially those in the skilled trades, actually prospered during this period. Conditions for seamen were exacerbated by the decline of the maritime industry. Still, things could have been much worse . In 1917, American companies made use of a lax registry system in Panama to evade the modest provisions of the Seamen's Act of 1915 . But while the Harding, Coolidge and Hoover administrations could not reverse the decline of the American-flag merchant marine, they did nothing to encourage the mass exodus of American shipping companies overseas. In part, this was because of the bad reputation of Panamanian-registered vessels. In this era of Prohibition, they were linked in the public 's mind with "rumrunning'' expeditions. The Great Depression For many Americans, the 1920s were a period of great prosperity. Yet the glittering boom was built on a shaky foundation . Much of the nation's new-found wealth was not real : it existed only on paper. It was fueled by speculation and easy credit. The whole system came crashing down on October29, 1929, "Black Tuesday," when the value of all stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange fell almost by 20 percent in one day. This ushered in one of the darkest periods in American history, the Great Depression. During the next three years, the total net worth of the United States fell by one-half, from $82 billion to $40 billion. Despair and poverty gripped the nation. Wages plummeted; unemployment soared. America's industrial machine ground to a virtual halt. The Great Depression was not just confined to the United States. There were severe political and social dislocations in every part of the globe. War clouds gathered over Europe and Asia. Democracy and freedom were on the run. Yet in one important respect, it was an era of hope. During the darkest days of the Great Depression, the American people voted overwhelmingly for New York Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In his acceptance speech on January 20,. 1933, he made the following promise: "I pledge you ; I pledge myself, a new deal for the American people." The 1929 Stock Market Crash ushered in the Great Depression. Despair gripped the nation. The 1917 Russian Revolution sent shockwaves through the nation. Strikes became suspect. The New Deal ushered in an era of hope for Americans. Workers' rights were expanded. 6 SIU Fiftieth Anniversary �Chapter Four: The Seaman's Movement Is Reborn pon taking office, Franklin Delano Roosevelt immediarely began laying the foundation for a national recovery. He introduced legislarion aimed at improving the living standards of all Americans and providing the ten million people without jobs wirh temporary relief Within two years, he had passed the Social Security Act, the Civilian Construction Corps, the Work Progress Administration, the National Industrial Recovery Act and a host of other legislation. Having served as assistant secretary of the Navy during World War I, Roosevelt had a keen interest in the maritime industry. Alarmed by rhe decline in the American-flag merchant marine, he persuaded Congress to enact the Merchant Marine Act of 1936. This historic piece of legislation established a system of subsidies which reversed the decline of the American-flag merchant marine and enabled this country to enhance its badly-deteriorated sealift capability. He also signed into law the Wagner Act of 1935, which made it possible for unions to organize workers on a scale never before imagined. Indusrry by industry, workers flocked to organized labor. Yet this period was not without its difficulties. U Split in Organized Labor In 1935, organized labor splir into two hostile camps: the American Federation of Labor and the Committee of Industrial Organizations (later named the Congress of Industrial Organizations). The CIO was founded by Mineworkers PresidentJohn L. Lewis, who believed that organized labor had to embrace industrial trade unionism. Yet only 16 of the 109 unions which were affiliated with the AFL were industrial unions; the rest were craft unions which represented one type of worker (plumber; cigarmaker). When the AFL voted against organizing workers on an industrial basis in October 1935, Lewis resigned from the AFL executive board and formed the Committee of Industrial Organizations. This split had important consequences for organized labor. For one thing, it was a leading ca use for the establishment of the SIU. "I am convinced,'' said George Meany, who took over from Green in 1952, "that these differences of opinions that caused the split could have been worked out within the framework of the American Federation of Labor. There was no need for a split." Yet according to Meany, there was a bright side to this development. "The fact that the CIO was set up had a tremendous effect on industrial workers. When this split came, the old AFL conservatives were under attack, and they got off their butts and went to work." cargo through the picket lines on Pier 38 on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. On July 3, more than 5,000 seamen, longshoremen and other workers watched as a convoy of loaded trucks tried to make their way through the picket ines on Pier 38. All hell broke loose. OnJuly 5, the banle began again. This day became known to future generations of seamen as "Bloody Thursday." According to SIU historian John Bunker, ''pickets set cars on fire, hundreds of policemen charged the mass pickets, and a full-scale engagement began, with bricks and bullets, clubs and tear gas on nearby Rincon Hill, a knoll along the waterfront ... 1\vo picketers were killed; scores wounded." On July 16, a full-scale general strike was called. "This ... paralyzed the city. Nothing moved. Stores closed. Only a few restaurants were permitted to open. Business life came to a standstill," wrote Bunker. The strike was called off on July 19 when the Joint Strike Committee representing 120 striking unions agreed to put all demands to arbitration. Maritime workers made substantial gains. Historian William Cahn said that "the West Coast maritime strike was a harbinger of things to come in other industries: steel, auto, rubber. It set an example of union solidarity.. . that proved unbeatable." Seamen were among the first group of workers to respond to the changed political conditions brought about by the Great Depression (bottom photo). In 1934, they rose up en masse to support striking longshoremen on the West Coast. The authorities responded with police barricades to keep seamen from their ships (top photo). Even though they were clubbed and jailed (inset), their resolve was strengthened (middJe photo). 1\vo seamen, Howard Sperry and Nick Bordoise, died in what future generations of seamen have called "Bloody Thursday." This marked the resurgence of the seamen's movement, which had been in a state of decline since the ill-fated strike of 1921. Bloody Thursday Seamen were among the first group of workers to respond to the changed political situation in this country brought about by the Great Depression. On the West Coast, they rose up en masse to support striking longshoremen, who were seeking an increase in their pal try S10 a week salary. The strike began on May 9, 1934. Within days, shipping in San Francisco and other West Coast ports was at a standstill. The shipowners and port officials were determined to break the strike. They decided to run October 1988 7 �Chapter Five: The SIU Is Born Out of the Ashes of ISU T he revival of union fervor on the waterfront spelled trouble for the International Seamen's Union. Its leadership was weak and divided. The organization had ceased to have any credibility with seamen. The day-to-day operations of the ISU had passed from Furuseth to Victor Olander, Dave Grange, Paul Scharrenberg and a number of other officials. These officials were not exactly what one would call militant: they had to be coerced into supporting the longshoremen during the 1934 strike. Many, including Furuseth, favored government hiring halls. In 1934 Harry Bridges, president of the Pacific District of the International Longshoremen'sAssociation, formed the Maritime Federation of the Pacific. The new federation sought to provide a forum for maritime unions to discuss issues of common interest. The leaders of the International Seamen's Union strongly opposed this organization. But the MFP had attracted a great deal of support during the 1934 strike. Its militant stand during that period contrasted sharply with the one taken by the ISU. As a result, the ISU leaders suffered a serious blow to their prestige. By 1935 discontent within the ranks of the ISU had become rampant. Dissidents within the union started printing a newsletter which later became the official organ of the NMU. The headline on the first issue became a rallying cry for CIO seamen: "It's time to go I heard them say, I heard them say it's time to go." The leadership of the ISU found itself increasingly isolated. In 1936, they pushed through a constitutional amendment which permitted the revocation of an afftliate's charter at any time and for any reason. Afraid of the growing popularity and militancy of SUP head Harry Lundeberg, they revoked the charter of the Sailors Union of the Pacific. Sailortown during the 1936 strike. The strike marked the beginning of the end of the ISU. Harry Lundeberg's militant stand in favor of the hiring ball attracted widespread support. 1936 Strike Breaks Out The beginning of the end for the ISU started in 1936 when a West Coast strike broke out. ISU officials resisted calling a sympathy strike on the East Coast. For the few remaining faithful, this proved to be the last straw. Bridges tried to fill in the vacuum on the West Coast, but he had little luck. Longshoremen and seamen had historically been at odds out there, and besides, Bridges' well-known left-wing sympathies were out of sync with the political mood of most West Coast sailors. The ISU attempted to establish an alternative West Coast sailors union, but it attracted virtually no support. West Coast sailors remained overwhelmingly loyal to the SUP. On the East Coast, the situation was fragmented. There was no strong, autonomous seamen's union capable of providing leadership. NMUFormed A sitdown strike on the S.S. California in March 1936 thrust Joe Curran, an unknown bosun, into the national limelight. He soon formed a close alliance with Bridges and other CIO officials. A new union, the National Maritime Union, was formed in May 1937. Within a year, the NMU was able to pick up a majority of the contracts of the old ISU. "Curran was aggressive, articulate and ambitious and the times suited him well," wrote SIU historian John Bunker. "It was evident, judging by those who surrounded and supported him, that Curran was willing to front for the strong cadre ofleft-wingers in the new union." Large numbers of East Coast seamen refused to join the NMU. Many felt that the NMU was dominated by left-wing elements; others remained Joyal to Andrew Furuseth and the AFL and blamed the ISU's decline on Victor Olander, Dave Grange and Paul Scharrenberg. The NMU applied for membership in the newly-formed CIO. This prompted the AFL, which was in a life-and-death struggle with the CIO, to respond. "By 193 7 the dispute with the CIO really got hot; (in May) there was a closed convention of the AFL in Cincinnati, with no press and no outsiders," recalled George Meany in a taped interview with Archie Robinson. "It was at this point that the AFL really started to move; all the AFL unions started to organize." Fearing that the AFL might be shut out of the waterfront, AFL President William Green requested the resignation of the ISU's top leadership. A temporary charter was issued in August 1937. Green, ILA President Joe Ryan and AFL organizer Holt Ross were named to the executive committee. In December 1937, a new committee, headed by Harry Lundeberg, was put together. Robert Chapdelaine was named temporary head of the new union. On October 15, 1938, at its convention in Houston, Texas, the AFL presented SUP head Harry Lundeberg with a charter to form a new international seamen's union. Morris Weisberger, a top Lundeberg aide, took a month's leave to go to New York and help set up operations for an autonomous affiliate, the Atlantic and Gulf District. A skeletal structure was already in place. Matthew "Duke" Dushane was acting chairman of the new A&G District. John "Whitey" Hawk was in charge of the Atlantic region; Matthew Biggs headed up the Gulf Coast. At first, there was little interaction between the two regions. Members shipped out on either a Gulf or an Atlantic Coast book. That wouldn't change for a number of years. From the beginning, the Atlantic and Gulf District of the SIUNA was known simply as the SIU. 8 An AFL hiring hall during the 1936 strike. The white caps symbolized support for Lundeberg. SIU Fiftieth Anniversary �Chapter Six: SIU Lays Strong Foundation for Future T he SIU did not have an easy birth. The new union had 500 members, few resources and only nine contracted companies. "In the beginning," said Ted Babkowski, book number B-1 and a charter member of the union, ''there was virtually nothing.'' "I started shipping in Baltimore," said Babkowski. "The first union hall was on Pratt Street. We had one desk. One bench. No money. "Bill McKay was the port agent there. We had to move be~ause the rent was $7 and we couldn't make it." The SIU Has a Tough Go The NMU, by contrast, had organized a majority of the companies under contract with the ISU. By 1939, it claimed a membership of 35,000. "We had a tough go," said charter member LS. Johnny Johnston. "The NMU was breathing down our neck, making it hard for any seaman not belonging to their union. You could look for a dumping if caught by their beef squad leaving or returning to your ship. "It was hard, and as I look back today I wonder what kept the men fighting when it was so easy just to walk into any NMU hall, throw your ISU book on the counter and get an NMU work permit." Still, the nucleus for a new union was there. "The AFL was able to hold onto Delta and Waterman Steamship and a number of other companies," said Johnston. There was an intense rivalry between AFL and CIO unions. The split between the two organizations was a leading cause for the formation of the A&G District of the SIUNA. The union hall at 51 Beaver Street in N.Y. was like a second home to many Seafarers. SIU members welcome a friend back from a dangerous run during World \v.lr II. Battle With CIO Heats Up The SIU, like all other unions during this period, was preoccupied withJohn L. Lewis's decision to break away from the AFL and form the CIO. Dual unionism, as it was called, was the single overriding reality for all trade unionists until 195 5. That was the year that George Meany engineered an historic merger between the two national organizations. In order to remain a viable force on the waterfront, the AFL needed to re-establish itself on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. It already had a solid base on the West Coast with the SUP. Early editions of the Seafarers LOG devoted a lot of space to the rivalry between the two national organizations. There was a constant barrage of unflattering stories aboutJohn L. Lewis, Joe Curran, Harry Bridges and other leading CIO figures. Needless to say, there was no love lost on either side, and the compliments were returned in style. The Hunter and the Dog The SIUNA held its first convention in San Francisco, Calif. in 1942. Great progress had been made since the union's inception in 1938. World War II had created many new jobs. Seafarers writing home from the union hall at 51 Beaver Street just before the war's end. In his later years, when asked to put the split into perspective, Meany would say that the CIO had made several important contributions to the labor movement. He felt that the CIO had forced the AFL unions to "get off their butts and organize new members." In addition, he lauded the CIO's commitment to political action and racial equality. Yet he and many other AFL leaders had one overriding problem with the CIO which they were never able to reconcile. "Lewis brought in all the hot-shots, the radicals and the Communists that were in other unions . They all flocked to Lewis and he took them all in. They were outstanding organizers; they could get people to join. They were not very good at conducting the affairs of the union. " When (Ladies Garment Workers President David) Du bi~sky would argue with Lewis about using Communists as organizers, he said to Dubinsky, 'Well, who gets the bird-the hunter or the dog?' In other words, the communist organizer was the dog and Lewis was the hunter." Lundeberg and Curran In a sense, the differences between SIUNA President Harry Lundeberg and NMU President Joe Curran mirrored those of William Green and John L. Lewis, the heads of their respective national organizations, the AFL and the CIO. In taped conversations with Archie Robinson towards the end of his life, George Meany pretty much summed up the AFL position on this issue. He differentiated between a member's individual beliefs and the wisdom of allowing the entire administration of a union to fall under the control of non-democratic forces. Meany's views were shaped by the times. He and other AFL leaders had witnessed from a distance the rise of Fascism in Germany. They had seen trade unionists and others put to death for their commitment to democratic principles. This was not just a theoretical issue to them. "In the final analysis," said Meany, "no matter what type of dictator takes over a country, the first thing he does is destroy worker freedom. If he's going to dictate, he has to have control of the workers. That's the reason every dictatorwhether military, right wing or left wing-begins by wiping out the freedom of workers. They wipe out free trade unions. "The Communist Soviet philosophy back in those days was to try to bore into the American industrial scheme and they looked upon communication and transportation as being very important. -continued next page October 1988 9 �"They would have liked to get control of the radio system-anything to do with communications. They would have liked to get control of trucking if they could; city transportation was very important to chem. "They did get control of radio operators on ships that union became strictly under the control of the Communists. They had control of certain shipping; they had control of the National Maritime Union." SIU Members Help Fuel the War Effort Communist Presence in the NMU The Communist Party has never played a prominent role in American political life. After the McCarthy era, its influence became negligible. But during the Great Depression and World War II, it achieved a certain respectability which it sought to convert into power. For a while, it exerted a considerable influence in a number of CIO unions, one of which was the NMU. ''The NMU was the crown jewel of the Communist Party,'' wrote Philip Ross in his history of the SIU. Five out of six members of the NMU's executive council were members of the Communist Party. The only one who wasn't was NMU President Joe Curran, and he flared AFL resentments by marching in the 1936 May Day parade. "The Party had become the vehicle for the young man of conventional ambitions, f• wrote Murray Kempton, one of this nation's most respected journalists, in his classic book on the era, Part Of Our Time. "The Communists made the decisions and assigned the offices. Membership in the waterfront section of the party had become more necessary for the careerist in the NMU than the Rotary Club ever hoped to be in more ordinary societies." The NMU Pilot had a communist editor, and it pretty much followed the Party line. After Hitler and Stalin signed a non-aggression treaty, the Pi,/ot was strongly in favor of the United States remaining neutral. Yet the week after the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, the Pilot strongly urged the United States to enter the war on the side of the Allies. Wobs Played a Role A good many of the early members of the SIU were former Wobblies who staunchly opposed what they perceived was the communist domination of theNMU. "As individuals," wrote Ross, "many Wobbly members played important roles during the stirring organizing years of the middle and later 1930s. By and large, Wobs were to be found closely allied with Harry Lundeberg in his battles with the Communist demand for its services. World War II transformed the American merchant marine into the largest in the world and defined a whole generation of seamen. World War II created so many new jobs for American seamen that the SIU was forced to move out of its cramped quarters at 2 Stone Street into a new union hall at 51 Beaver Street. In the beginning, there weren't enough seamen or ships to carry on the war effort. Once again, America had been caught short. The federal government ran advertising campaigns trying to persuade seamen to enlist. Shipyards were on an all-out schedule to meet the unexpected demand for vessels. "I remember seeing a government poster for the American-flag merchant marine," said Jim McCue, a former member of the SIU. "I decided that this would be a good way to help my country." Some seamen, determined to serve their country, joined the merchant marine because they couldn't pass the physical for the armed services. "They wouldn't take me," said SIU Vice President Red Campbell, "so I joined the merchant marine. For a while, I was the only male between the ages of 16 and 60 on my block." "With the outbreak of war," wrote columnist James J. Kilpatrick, "merchant seamen received additional military training. Shipping articles were changed so that seamen could be ordered to such ports and places in any part of the world as may be ordered by the U.S. government. A War Shipping Administration took over the merchant ships for service consistent with strategic military requirements." Seamen suffered the second highest casualty rate of the war. President Roosevelt talked about extending G. I. benefits to seamen, but he died before he could take action on that issue. Still, seamen had at least the satisfaction of knowing they had served their country. And it made for some truly wonderful sea stories. Torpedoed Seven Times Asst. Sec.-Treas.J.P. Shuler handles this member's beef. Party.'' "There were ships sailing SIU during the war, "wrote Ross, "which were crewed from master down to ordinary seamen, top to bottom, with only Wobs." The new union organized companies like calmar. SUP Gave A Helping Hand For the first few months of its existence, the SIU was little more than a shell organization. Until 1940, the union was run by SUP organizers. But the stated goal of Harry Lundeberg was to enable the A&G District to become a fully autonomous member of the SIUNA. Right before the first election, the SUP organizers returned to the West Coast. Speaking about this at the first SIUNA convention in 1942, john Hawk, the first popularly-elected secretary-treasurer of the SIU, had this to say: "The SUP men when they came east had promised the seamen that the SUP was not moving in to control the new organization, but only to give it fraternal support until it got off its feet. Now that the District was obviously on a sound organizational basis, the SUP brothers wisely decided to tum the leadership over to the men elected from the rank and file." Security In Unity; Brotherhood of the Sea Helping to build up the A&G District was consistent with Lundeberg's philosophy of trade unionism. He believed that affiliates of an international should be free to run their own affairs, but that they should band together on larger issues. Above all, Lundeberg believed that the various affiliates had an obligation to support one another. Simply put, he believed in the two mottos of the SIUBrotherhood of the Sea and Security In Unity. Organizing Drives The new union won a number of important organizing drives and strikes against Alcoa, P&O, Calmar, Ore, Robin, Bull Line, Eastern Steam Ship and other companies. But more than anything, the outbreak of World War II turned the new union into a viable organization. In a sense, it was a repeat of what happened during World War I. America was once again the world's largest neutral shipper, and there was an explosive 10 "One of our members, Bobby Burton, set a record for being onboard seven vessels hit by German torpedoes and still surviving," said SIU Secretary Joe DiGiorgio. "He became something of a celebrity among seamen. I remember going onboard a ship and seeing him. I got right off. Damned if the vessel wasn't torpedoed." "They wouldn't let us use electric razors onboard ship because they thought that we might send signals to the Germans with them,'' said Red Campbell. "We had to go to bed with our clothes on in case we got hit by German torpedoes. When that happened, every second counted." Liberty Ships and Hog Islanders In the early days of the war, the United States was lucky to have a supply of Hog Islanders left over from World War I. The Hogs, named after the shipyard just outside Philadephia, Pa. where they had been built, were the first -"els mass-produced ~n American shipyards. They were the inspiration for a w!£ new generation of World War II vessels, the Liberty vessels, which Presi<lcnt Roosevelt dubbed the "ugly ducklings" of the American-flag fleet. American seamen developed a strong attachment to these old ships . They may not have been the most beautiful vessels, but they were sturdy and dependable. T SIU Wins War Bonus Benefits Throughout the war, the SIU attracted growing attention because of its tough stands. It was able to win impressive wage increases for its members, and took the lead in fighting for War Bonus benefits. In 1939, SIU crews started walking off ships to gain this important benefit for its members. The United States was neutral, but American ships were still at risk. In September 1941, before America was engaged in the war, it tied up 20 ships on this issue. Roosevelt stepped in and said that "the ships must sail or else." Hearings were held in Washington , D .C. before the newly-created National Defense Mediation Board (NDMB) to resolve the dispute. The NDMB granted an immediate increase in war bonuses for unlicensed seamen. By the end of World War II, the SIU had established itself as a presence on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. Speaking about these early days, Ted Babkowski had this to say, "Help from the SUP was critical. Then World War II came along and created a lot of jobs for us. "Afterwards, Paul Hall took over as director of organizing. He signed up Isthmian and Cities Service and turned the SIU into the most powerful union on the waterfront." SIU ·Fiftieth Anniversary �Chapter Seven: The SIU Fights For Democracy In WWII The SIU bad barely been formed when World War II erupted. SIU seamen played a pivotal role In that war, carrying troops and ammunition overseas. John Bunker, former bead of tbe union's historical research department, wrote the following article on tbat Important period In our nation's history. It appeared In tbe LOO as part of 26-part series on the b'lstory of the union (check Individual issues from 1980-1982). Bunker, a former reporter for The Chris · n Sc ence Monitor, started writing/or the SIU In the 1940s. He Is best known to SIU members/or The SIU at War, a pamphlet be wroti during World W4 II wblcb chronicled tbe heroic efforts of SIU members. M embers of the Seafarers International Union were on the front lines of batdeath. The Alcoa Pilgrim, loaded deep with 9,500 tons of bauxite for Mobile, tle in World War II. They carried guns, planes, gas and "ammo" to a dozen caught a "tin fish" and went down in 90 seconds with heavy loss of life. SIU men made the hazardous run to Russia, including the famous convoys of beachheads and to supply ports and island bases all over the world from the Aleutians to Algiers. July and September 1942, which were hit by subs and bombers and lost many ships in those cold, Arctic waters. SIU Even before the United States had crews made all the hazardous war officially entered the war against Gerruns---all the bloody beachheads. Unmany, Italy and Japan, SIU sailors sung "heroes," in a way, were the knew what it was like to be torcrews who spent months on tedious pedoed and put adrift in open boats trips to supply bases behind the tides hundreds of miles from the nearest land. of the battle. On May 21, 1941, long before Pearl Harbor, a submarine stopped the unInvasion of Normandy armed S.S. Robin Moor of the Robin There wasn't a beachhead from Line on route from New York to Anzio to the Philippines; from NorSouth Africa. Captain William Myers mandy to Okinawa, where SIU crews was given 20 minutes to abandon were not in the forefront of war. They ship, after which the U-boat's gunners took part in the longest battle of the put 33 shells into the freighter and war too--the fight to keep England sank her. After the sub disappeared, supplied with food, gas, guns and the 45 survivors struck out for land in other war supplies. four boats. Fortunately, all four were Thousands of SIU seamen took picked up but not until the fourth part in the greatest resupply in the boat had traversed 700 miles of open ocean. history of the war---the invasion of the When the first survivors were French coast in June of 1944. larided and news of the sinking stirred They had an important role in the nation, President Roosevelt sent a landing the 2,500,000 troops, the 17 special message to Congress in which million tons of ammunition and suphe said that American ships would not plies and the half million trucks and be intimidated. "We are not yielding," tanks that were put ashore there in he said, "and we do not propose to Survivors of tbe Robin Moor, the first American-flag vessel to be hit during World War II. the first 109 days after D-Day. yield." There were myriad tales of heroism as SIU ships steamed their embattled Government recruiting posters promoted American seamen suffered the second highemployment onboard American vessels. est casualty rate of World War II. way across sub-infested seas. German U-Boats Take the case of the S.S. Angelina Prowl Seas of the Bull Line. This SIU freighter When German U-boats brought the was westbound in October of 1942 war to the very coasts of the United across the North Atlantic where it beStates early in 1942, SIU seamen were came separated from the rest of its among the first to feel the brunt of it. convoy in a violent storm. Wind The City of Atlanta was northdriven waves over 30 feet high conbound off Cape Hatteras on January tinuously wracked the ship. Just before midnight on the 17th, a Ger19, 1942, when it was torpedoed by a German submarine. The ship sank so man torpedo exploded in the engine fast that there was no time for the room, killing the black gang and crew to launch the lifeboats. Only flooding the engine spaces. three men survived; 39 were lost. The Only one boat could be laur.lched three survivors were rescued by the and, being overloaded with crewmen SIU-contracted S.S. Seatrain Texas. and Navy armed guard gunners, it was Less than a week after this, the SIUsoon capsize_~ in tremendous seas. manned S.S. Venore, an ore carrier, Some managed to hold on to the grab rails on the bottom of the boat, but was torpedoed off Cape Hatteras with one by one they were swept away by the loss of 18 men. Following quickly New Yorkers thronged Times Square to celebrate VE Day. World War II was nearly over. the numbing cold and the battering in the wake of this sinking were a waves, until only a few remained. long list of SIU ships, all of them unThese would have died, too, were armed and unescorted. it not for the heroic efforts of the There were the Robin Hood, the ship's carpenter, Gustave Alm. It was Alcoa Guide, Pipestone Country, the Alm who urged the weary desperate Major Wheeler, the Mary, and many men to "hang on ... hang on." When more as U-boats enjoyed a field day one of them would drop away from along the Atlantic Coast, in the Gulf of exhaustion, he would bring him back Mexico and in the Caribbean. and help to hold him on until he Two boats from the Pipestone revived. When someone said, "I've Country were adrift for 16 days before had enough," and wanted to die, Alm being picked up. The Major Wheeler would slap him on the face and yell, completely disappeared. The Robert "Keep on ... keep on." E Lee, a passenger ship, was sunk alWhen a destroyer finally found most inside the Mississippi Delta. them many hours later, it was Alm who grabbed the lines thrown from No SIU Ship Held Up the warship's deck and made them fast around his exhausted comDespite this havoc, no SIU ship was panions so they could be hoisted onheld up for lack of a crew. Many crews board. Alm was the last to be saved. steamed out to meet almost certain SIU Fiftieth Anniversary 11 �----------------~---------------------------The hiring hall was threatened by the Taft-Hartley Act. An FOC hiring hall. -- ---- Unlike the U.S. fleet, Soviet shipping experienced a rapid expansion after World War II. Chapter Eight: SIU Faces Ominous Post-War Trends F or most Americans, the post-war era loomed large with possibilities. The United States was now the most powerful nation in the world. In 1945, it accounted for half of the world's industrial output. Seamen, however, were not so lucky. They could no longer take their job security for granted. Hundreds ofAmerican-flag vessels were laid up when World War II ended. Moreover, seamen were not eligible for the same kind of education and job retraining benefits that enabled millions of veterans to enter the middle class. A seaman who had served his country in World War II-who had been onboard a vessel that was torpedoed by a German U-boat and survived the chilly waters of the North Atlantic-<:ould not apply for a G.I. loan for his college education. He was ineligible for low-cost mortgages. And yet only the Marines had suffered a higher fatality rate during the war. Despite these and other disturbing developments, the se~man's life had changed dramatically from the dark days of the mid '30s. As a result of gains won by seamen's unions in collective bargaining negotiations, members of the SIU and other maritime unions were beginning to achieve a standard of living comparable to their counterparts on shore. Under it, the companies promised to make their vessels available in case of any international emergency. The nations under whose registries they reflagged agreed to that condition. The rationale for this was that American shipping companies could no longer compete against the merchant fleets of other nations-merchant fleets that the American government had rebuilt from scratch with enactment of the Ship Sales Act of 1946! The EUSC Doctrine was supposed to be a way to balance the nation's security needs with the economic needs of the owners. Yet, as Irwin Heine, a former official in the Maritime Administration, has noted, "the fact that (EUSC) registries play an important role in U.S. mobilization planning is based upon agreements, not treaties, with Panama, Honduras and Liberia. Under international law, only the state of registry has the right to requisition and document under flag-of-convenience registries." A good many of the ships sold overseas under the Ship Sales Act found their way to these newly-formed FOC fleets. The transfer of American vessels overseas had a dynamic all its own. It began over the heated protests of American maritime unions. Once it started, it proved impossible to stop. Taft-Hartley Poses Threat to Hiring Hall Easily Exploitable Towards the end of World War II, American corporations began campaigning for a law to restrict the rights of labor unions. In 1947, after a spate of post-war strikes, Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act. The legislation sent a shiver throughout the labor movement. For 12 years, the Wagner Act had created a favorable legal climate for unions to organize new members. Enactment of Taft-Hartley marked a major political shift. Taft-Hartley made organizing more difficult by allowing states to enact right-towork laws. It tightened restrictions against secondary boycotts and outlawed the hiring of workers through hiring halls. In order to preserve the seaman's hiring hall, SUP President Lundeberg met with Robert Taft, one of the sponsors of the legislation, to secure an exemption from the ruling. Saving the seaman's hiring hall was one of Lundeberg's most important contributions to the maritime industry, said Paul Hall, who succeeded Lundeberg as president of the SIUNA. "Taft-Hartley posed a special threat to seamen. The hiring hall had been at the heart ofall their gains." · Neither Panama nor Liberia had particularly impressive maritime ·traditions. They did, however, possess certain qualifications that made them attractive to American corporations. Both were poor and easily exploitable. Americans have always looked upon both countries as "de facto" colonies. When setting up an open registry system to evade American standards, it was not surprising that the shipping companies would have chosen these countries. A lax system of registration already existed in Panama. After World War II ended, American shipowners and former government officials met with the leaders of Liberia and drafted a Liberian registry tailored to the demands of American shipowners. Ship Sales Act and EUSC Doctrine Decimate American Fleet In a sense, the post-war maritime industry was out of sync with the rest of the country. By 1980, the wholesale transfer of American companies overseas would become a commonplace occurrence. But in 1945, the only factory that was easily transferrable overseas was an ocean-borne one, an American-flag vessel. Congress started this process by enacting the Ship Sales Act of 1946, which authorized the sale of American vessels abroad at cut-rate prices. Now that World War II was over, there was a surplus of American vessels. Policy-makers tended to equate the Ship Sales Act with the foreign aid programs like the Marshall Plan. Maritime unions felt that the program posed a serious threat to the job security of their members. Between 1946 and 1948, foreign buyers snatched up 1,159 American ships. These vessels enabled many foreign fleets to startup at rock-bottom prices. In effect, Congress had subsidized maritime's competition. Ironically, foreign competition was not the most serious threat to the job security of American seamen. It was the actions of American owners and the federal government. In 194 7, the government decided to offer War Risk Insurance to American companies which had reflagged their vessels under the registries of countries deemed "under the effective control of the United States." This later became known as the EUSC Doctrine. 12 Soviet Build-Up The post-war decline of the American fleet coincided with a build-up of the Soviet maritime industry. Starting with a few of our lend-lease vessels in World war II, the Soviets have built their fleet to more than 7,poo vessels. The decline in the American-flag merchant marine was so quick that by the beginning of the Korean War there were only 1, 700 vessels under our registry, roughly 40 percent of what we had during the height of World War II. This was just enough to meet our sealift needs during that conflict. Meanwhile, there was an explosive growth in the number of vessels registered under flags of convenience. This would have profound consequences for seamen, not just in this country but all around the globe. Seamen Were the First to be Abandoned The wholesale exodus of American shipping companies after the war was a prototype for something that would become commonplace throughout the American economy during the 1980s. Writing about the decline of the American auto industry, Pulitzer prize-winning author David Halbestram had some keen observations to make about the motives of American automobile companies in the early part of the decade. He could just as easily have been writing about the shipping industry of the late '40s. "The Japanese challenge had given many American companies an excuse to do something they had always longed to do, which was to relocate their factories in underdeveloped countries beyond the reach of American labor unions. Until then only the most labor-intensive industries, such as the garment industry, had been able to escape the nation's borders. Abandoning the American worker had been socially and politically unthinkable. But now, because of the coming of the Japanese, the tactic had become acceptable." SIU Fiftieth Anniversary �... •• ' t • I ti. • ;a ... t. I I I I .. ._ ft • I ... • ... ( t • f ••I I .. Chapter Nine: Paul Hall Takes Over the Helm of SIU P aul Hall is to the SIU what John L. Lewis was to the Mineworkers: an inspirational leader who shaped the union in his image. The SIU's rise to power during the post-war era was largely a result of his determination and foresight. After he was named director of organizing in 1945, the union began to play a leading role on the waterfront. It was Hall's leadership qualities that made the difference for the SIU. Although World War II had made it possible for the A&G District to survive and even prosper, it was not particularly well placed to assume a leadership role in the maritime industry. The membership of the NMU still outnumbered the A&G District by a large margin. It had most of the big companies and a near-lock on the lucrative passenger vessel and tanker trades. Shipping Gave Him a Break Like many other charter members of the SIU, Hall's early years were filled with poverty. His father, a railReader's Digest said Hall was "morally, inroad conductor, died when he was tellectually and physically superior." just 11 years old. He was forced to leave home at 14 years old to seek employment. He worked at numerous odd jobs, none of which paid very much. He lied about how old he was and boxed men twice his age for a quarter a fight. His brother Pete, 12, was his manager. He often told friends that his first big break came when he decided to ship out. His oldest brother, whom everyone knew as "Sailor," had been the first in the family to take the plunge. Seamen Were His Family As bad as economic conditions were in the maritime industry 60 years ago, they were infinitely better than the ones that Paul Hall had to cope with as a fatherless transient roaming a South plagued by economic collapse. He had a Southerner's sense of the extended family. When he joined the merchant marine, seamen became part of his bloodlines. Even after he became maritime's leading spokesman, every old-timer was his brother and every trainee his son. Though he was intensely proud of his Southern heritage, he was no bigot. His life had been too hard, he had seen too much, for him to look down on anyone. Moved to Integrate the SIU Immediately after he became head of the SIU in 1948, he took steps to integrate the union. Until that time black members were confined to one department. It was not a popular stand by any means, and it could have cost Hall his position. But by 1951 the process was complete: the SIU was no longer a "checkerboard union." Like the good boxer that he was, he knew how to improvise, how to learn from his competitors. The NMU's strong stand on racial equality was Isthmian was his most important campaign. October 1988 one of its most important contributions to the maritime industry. Besides, Hall's family history-his father had been a union member in a region and at a time when unions were frowned upon-had made a strong impression on him . In those pre-CIO days, the union that Hall's father belonged to, the Brotherhood of Local Engineermen, was one of the few to take an unequivocal stand in support of desegregation. While poverty and family tragedy cut short Hall's formal education, it did not cut short his life-long quest for knowledge. During World War II, he sailed as ·an oiler, even though he had received a second engineer's rating. First Union Position In 1943, he was elected to his first important union position-dispatcher in Baltimore. Speaking of Hall's first election, Ted Babkowski had this to say: ''A few of us-Red Baron, Alex Jakowski, myself-motioned Paul for the dispatcher's job in Baltimore. "It was the ideal spot. Baltimore was just about the biggest shipping port in the country. Everyone went through there. You could get to know everybody.'' Boxing Strategy Hall's campaign for dispatcher was marked by an astute sense of timing and a strong attention to detail that became his trademarks. Invariably, the one image that people use to describe Paul Hall is that of the boxer, the lonely warrior who goes one on one with his opponent. The good boxer is almost by definition a good strategist because if he isn't he has to endure immediate pain, immediate punishment. "Paul loved to talk strategy," said Bobby Pomerlane, special assistant to the SIU president. "He used to say that the one thing a boxer should have is a good left hook, because your opponent can't see it coming." The Chief Many of the officials who worked with Paul Hall called him "the Chief," though in many respects he was more like a general. He had a great fondness for Civil War history. In his later years, he would collect antique books on the strategies of Robert E. Lee. Like Lee, he stood alongside his troops on the front lines of battle. The first thing he did at the start of every campaign was to assemble a closelyknit team. He instinctively realized that every person had some skill or idea that could be utilized. More often than not, he said, it was the person everyone else overlooked who made the crucial difference. In 1943, he was virtually unknown outside a small circle of friends. Within a decade, he would be attracting nationwide attention. Writing about Hall in a widely-publicizedReader'sDigest article that appeared in 1953, labor reporter Victor Reisel made the following observations: ''Paul Hall, husky six foot secretary-treasurer of the Seafarers, stands out physically, mentally, morally and intellectually. At 39, this blondish Viking from Alabama has shown old-line unionists how to keep faith with the rank and file and at the same time roll up millions of dollars in assets ... he is one of the few honest labor leaders on the New York waterfront." The people who worked with Paul Hall called him ·;che Chief." Like the good general he was, he scood alongside his troops on the from lines. 13 �CHAPTER TEN: The SIU Becomes a Waterfront Power P aul Hall and the other officials of the SIU set the union's strategy for the post-war era at a port agent's conference in March of 1946. Isthmian and Cities Service were targeted for action. With more than 100 vessels, Isthmian was the largest American-flag steamship company. I twas a worldwide operator whose parent firm was the huge U.S. Steel Corporation. Cities Service was singled out because it had 16 tankers representing 300 potential jobs under its corporate seal. As such, it marked an inviting target for the SIU's entry into the tanker industry. The NMU had tried to organize these companies for years, with little success. Within four years, both were to sign contracts with the SIU. By organizing Isthmian and Cities Service, the SIU was able to establish itself as a power on the waterfront. "Who would ever have thought that a handful of rag-tag sailors could have taken on two of the largest conglomerates in the world and won?" said SIU Secretary Joe DiGiorgio. Both campaigns were stirring, the stuff of labor history. But neither company exists under the American-flag today, which highlights the most important lesson of both campaigns. No union can be content to rest on past victories and survive. It has to continually organiz.e new companies or else face extinction. Cities Service a Dogfight All the Way "In some ways," wrote John Bunker, former head of the SIU's Historical Research Department, "the Cities Service campaign was tougher than the Isthmian campaign that came along about the same time. The Isthmian fleet was many times larger than Cities Service and its ships were engaged in worldwide trading, which posed more challenging organizational problems . But with Cities Service, the SIU was up against an outfit that was bull-headedly anti-union and was determined to throw every roadblock and baffie that it could before signing on the dotted line. "Organizing efforts on Cities Service began in 1946 ... signing up the men on the ships was the easy part of it. The real fight came against company shenanigans. "There were no Marquis of Queensbury rules in this organizing drives. No punches were held back by either side. It was a dogfight all the way. "Cities Service had become so fearful of SIU men infiltrating its ships through its New York hiring hall that it began hiring crews from such places as the Red Lantern Cafe in Boston, the Rialto Cafe in Bayonne, Paddy Keane's gin mill in Bayonne and other such joints, where men frequently even paid to get shipped on Cities Service tankers ." And in another desperate attempt to keep SIU sympathizers out of its fleet, the company built up an elaborate spy system. Cities Service Sets Up Spy System ''A former Coast Guard officer, John Dugan, was hired to set up this spy system in an attempt to spot SIU men on the ships. One private eye hung around the Citco hiring hall in New York, fingering any SIUers who came in applying for a job. Another detective shadowed the company's own marine employment manager because higher-ups didn't trust him. They even tapped the phone in his office and his home." The company's tactics were so unorthodox that the United States Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare felt compelled to hold hearings into the matter. The committee, which was headed by Sen. Warren Magnuson (D-Wash.) , reached the following conclusion: "It is almost unbelievable that any union could continue in the existence of this combination of legal stalling and violent anti-union activity. Certainly a smaller, poorer and less persistent union would have been destroyed." Isthmian Was the Typical Paul Hall Campaign As colorful and exciting as the Cities Service Campaign was, Isthmian remains the prototypical "Paul Hall campaign." It was the one where Paul Hall put together his first "closely-knit team." Writing about this campaign, John Bunker noted, "New York Port Agent Paul Hall had been named ... to head up the drive. "Earl 'Bull' Shepard was in charge of the field work, assisted by Cal Tanner, Lindsey Williams, Per Lykke and Eugene Dauber. Secretary-Treasurer J.P. Shuler was also part of the team (as were LOG editor Herb Brand and Hall's administrative assistant Rose Siegel, who coordinated the voluminous flow of information). Among the others who deserved credit were organizers Johnny Arabasz, Al Kerr, E.S. Higdon, William Rentz and Charles Sterling. They worked 18-hour days, seven days a week during this vital campaign. "(But Paul Hall always said that the real heroes were the SIU seamen who) rode the Isthmian ships despite their lower wages and lack of other benefits. These men would infiltrate the Isthmian fleet as volunteer ship organizers. Gties Service hired seamen from bars and tapped phones. The sru came to the aid of striking Wall Street workers in 1948 (below and top-right). The beef made front page news. TRI The Isthmian campaign put the union on the map. The SIU beat out the NMU in signing up the largest unorganized company. 14 SIU Fiftieth Anniversary �"(One of many SIU members to come to the aid of the union) was SIU Vice PresidentAngus 'Red' Campbell, who rode Isthmian'sStee/Inventory as a volunteer organizer on a five-month trip from New York to Shanghai and back. He remembers having all of 28 hours in overtime and paying off with $750." Headquarters Turned Into a Battlefield Throughout the rest of Hall's career, education would remain a priority. He would continually improvise, moving the union's training facilities first to Mobile, then to Brooklyn and finally to Piney Point, where they remain today. Maritime Strike of 1946 Despite the drop-off in post-war shipping, the SIU was able to win important increases in contract negotiations with Waterman and Mississippi Shipping inJ uly The important thing in any campaign is to instill people with a sense of misof 1946. These gains were threatened later that year when the National Wage sion. Hall did this by putting the entire New York union hall on war footing. No Stabilization Board cut the union's wage scale down to a lower level won by the maner where you turned, you could not escape the Isthmian campaign. Writes NMU. Bunker: A general strike was called in September 19~6, "The Isthmian drive was directed from Paul which the uhion won. "This strike," said John Hall's organizational headquarters at 51 Beaver Hawk, "is being directed against the National Wage Street in New York, where the operations resembled field headquarters for a wartime military Stabilization Board and their autocratic infringement of the rights of free labor unions to bargain command. collectively with the operators for wages, hours and "Here complete reports were received daily on working conditions." the position of Isthmian ships all over the world and detailed information on those in American ports or due shortly to arrive. There was a file on MTD Established each ship, including such things as the names of key As the A&G District gathered strength, it began to men aboard and the reaction of crew members to play a more prominent role in the SIUNA's national SIU organizing; when and where the SIU literature had been placed on board; where and when the campaigns. The SIU was no longer a weak link in the AFL seamen's movement; it was a strong ally for ship had been contacted by SIU organizers ; effectiveness of the NMU competition on board; atSUP President Harry Lundeberg. In August of 1946, titudes of crewmen toward the company, and the SIU and the SUP jointly established the similar useful data. Mari time Trades Council of the American Federation of Labor. Later, under the direction of Paul Hall and " Large charts on the walls in this operations cenPete McGavin, it would develop into the powerful ter showed the status of the drive in colorful Maritime Trades Department, a constitutional graphics, so that headquarters would have a daily SIU white caps march in behalf of Detroit phone workers. department of the AFL-CIO consisting of 44 internapicture of the worldwide effort. If one port seemed tional trade unions representing 8.5 million memto be falling behind in the drive, organizers could be shifted from strong to weak points on short bers. The MTD and its numerous port councils gave the SIUNA a strong grassroots notice . The tempo of activity never slackened. The New York combat information center, as it could be called, operated 24 hours a day, with someone always on presence around the country. It played an important role in securing support for hand to take messages, give orders and make decisions. seamen in their organizing drives and legislative banles. Hall Lays a Blueprint for the Future Affiliates Established Yet the Isthmian and Cities Service campaigns were just the tip of the iceberg. During the same time, Hall was laying a blueprint for the SIU's future . In 1946, the SIU came up with its first training program. This was particularly important to Hall, who regretted that his own education had been cut short. Hall was elected to the SIU's top post, secretary-treasurer, in 1948. Building on the union's commitment to organizing, he worked with Lundeberg in chartering three new SIUNA affiliates, each of which represented an important area of growth for the union. --continued next page he ", (; fficers were refused Licensed O a secret ballot election tor heir free choice of col\ective bargain· g representative 1be New York limes praised "the white-capped Seafarers" during this 1948 rally. The ILGWU was fighting organized crime. Such an election is absolutely necessary to prevent a further insure safe efficient ferr The SIU gained attention by helping more than 100 other trade unions in the post-war years. October 1988 Paul Hall showed solidarity. Seafarers marched on behalf of their licensed brothers. 15 �This sad state of affairs was exacerbated by the actions of the Canadian Seamen's Union, which was dominated by the Communist Party. The union was wreaking havoc on the waterfront. International Trade Unionism the Key Speaking of the troubled situation on the Canadian waterfront at the SIUNA's 1947 Convention, William McLaughlin of the British Columbia Seamen's Union had this to say: "It is a period of foreseen and unforeseen events. It is a period that will make exacting demands on the endurance ... and the common sense of each member of the movement. "We in Canada look forward .. . to a militant movement awake and alive to the working class needs. We see it in the nature of the values of international trade union solidarity, and, say, speed the day when all labor will be in the one house, with one set of ideals and principles, and united under the one banner. "International representation in the final analysis, is the only guarantee that will assure seamen the world over of the maintenance and success of any struggle in the defense of their rights." Battle of Halifax The 1946 General Strike enabled the SIU and other maritime unions to achieve gains. In 1949, the Inland Boatmen's Union of the Pacific was formed. This gave the international its first entry into the tug and barge field. In 1949, the SIUNA chartered the Brotherhood of Marine Engineers and the Marine Allied Workers Division (MAWD). The BME was formed to create an alternative to licensed seamen who did not want to be part of the CIO-affiliated Marine Engineers Beneficial Association and who were still working for unorganized lines. From its inception, the MAWD was perceived as being the organizing arm of the SIU (it was unique in that it was chartered under both the international and the Atlantic and Gulf District). In order to be fully effective, the A&G District needed to establish a base among shore-side workers. Helping Other Unions Increasingly throughout the decade, the SIU began to establish a nationwide reputation by supporting other unions in their beefs and organizing drives. Working through the SIUNA and the MID port councils, the SIU supported striking members of the United Financial Employees Union, Local 205, AFL, during the bitterly-contested Wall Street Strike of 1948. In 1946, the union went to the aid of the Masters, Mates and Pilots, the Marine Firemen, Oilers and Watertenders, the International Longshoremen's Association and the CIO Shipbuilders. When organized crime tried to infiltrate the Ladies Garment Workers Union, white-capped SIU seamen stood by their union brothers at a rally, held in midtown Manhattan, that was attended by more than 50,000 people. "Scattered through the crowd," said The New York Times, "were hundreds of white-capped Seafarers who drew enthusiastic cheers and applause for the aid they were giving the ILGWU in its war on the gangster hoodlums." And when Canadian shipowners asked SIUNA President Harry Lundeberg to help them fight the Communist element on the Canadian waterfront, SIU seamen joined their SUP brothers as full partners in this campaign. Writing about the battle to establish an independent Canadian affiliate of the SIU, SIU historian John Bunker had this to say: "The Canadian District of the SIU was formed in September of 1948. "When the contract between the Canadian Shipping Federation, which included most of the Canadian operators, and the Canadian Seamen's Union expired, the Federation signed contracts with the new SIU. ''As the SIU began taking over the ships according to the agreement, the CSU called a strike in March 1949. About 80 ships were affected ... The strike spread as far as Great Britain, Europe, Australia and New Zealand as left-wing longshore unions were brought into the beef in support of the CSU. "The famous battle of Halifax erupted on April 8, 1949, when some 300 SIU and CSU men came together in a head busting confrontation on the waterfront there, with a number being hurt by shotgun blasts, bricks, rocks, bottles and other missiles. "The SIU finally prevailed and the CSU faded away in what one writer called 'one of the worst defeats to be suffered by communism in North America.' " With the Canadian beef, the SIU had come full circle. It had started the decade under the trusteeship of the SUP. Within 10 years, it had become a full-fledged partner in the international and was able to offer support to other affiliates when they needed it. Seafarers relish a quiet moment during the General Strike of 1946. Hundreds hit the bricks. Canadian Beef Conditions for Canadian seamen deteriorated rapidly after World War II. Although still sizeable, the Canadian deep-sea fleet was being decimated by that country's colonial relationship with Great Britain. Canadian shipping companies were free to reflag under the British flag, and they did. A Canadian union hall. The SIU of Canada enabled seamen to win important gains. 16 SIU supports striking New Orleans telephone workers. The help was much appreciated. SIU Fiftieth Anniversary �Chapter Eleven: NMU Embroiled In An Internal Fight T he SIU's rise as a power on the waterfront was greatly helped by internal the NMU Pilot, the battle came to a head over a resolution which stated: problems that were embroiling its main competitor, the NMU. "Resolved that this convention of the American seamen reaffirms its faith in the The Communist Party had played an important role in the administration of United States and what is stands for and makes it clear that we will defend our the NMU since its inception in 1937. Yet relations betweenJoe Curran and the country against any enemy including the Soviet Union.'' Party started to sour towards the end of World War II. The delegates adopted this resolution by a vote of 448 in favor, 56 against with Publicly, at least, Curran took great pains to underplay the differences. And the 53 abstentions. A second vote was taken on expelling Communists from the NMU. Although it DailyWorker, the official organ of the Communist Party, continued to write glowing pieces about him. failed to gain the necessary two-thirds vote, it marked the end of the Communist "Curran worked at his job as few of the others Party as a major force on the waterfront. did," wrote Murray Kempton. "The Communists Today, it would be unconstitutional to expel a still held him up as a stately monument of the member for his political beliefs. Yet the fact remains proletarian. But in those years, he must have felt that roughly 20 percent of the delegates to the 1949 that his office as president of the NMU had about it NMU Convention refused to vote for an innocuous aspects of reign without rule.'' resolution saying that they would defend their Yet behind the scenes, there was a byzantine country. struggle for control of the union. To a country that was about to be engulfed in a In 1946, a number of high ranking NMU officials bitter confrontation in Korea, this was bad news. were expelled from the Communist Party. At the Had such a state of affairs been allowed to continue, same time, a number of Communists were dropped the whole justification for government subsidies to from the NMU's higher echelons. the maritime industry would have been underBy the summer of 1948, not one Communist mined. remained on the NMU's executive council. Despite The NMU was not the only CIO union to go these developments,' 'the Communists ... continued through this kind of ordeal. In 1949, the leadership to exalt Curran as a symbol," wrote Kempton. of the CIO expelled 11 unions because they were At one time, five out of six members of the NMU's executive "They thought of themselves as his creator." "masquerading as labor unions" and were "effeccouncil held cards in the Communist Party. The only one who tively Communist-dominated." The NMU was not didn't was NMU President Joe Curran, center at bottom. expelled because by this time Curran had already The Inevitable Showdown won his fight with the Party. Eventually, Curran was forced into a public showdown with the Communist In the eyes of many, though not all, AFL labor leaders, the issue wasn't the members of the NMU's higher echelons. The political realities of the post-war beliefs of the individual members. After all, many of the early members of the SIU era-the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, the rising tide had been former members of the IWW of anti-communism in this country-made such a confrontation inevitable. The real issue was the wisdom of handing over the administration of a union Ideology aside, the most devastating charge that could be levelled against the to non-democratic forces. Speaking of the practical effect of that decision, ShanCommunists who played a leading role in the NMU was that they were less non Wall said in the May 1987 edition oftheNMU Pilot: militant than their AFL counterparts in fighting for the rights of their members. "In the beginning, the professed principles of the Communists seemed to line According to Kempton: up with the idea of working seamen-like wanting a strong union and wanting to "Nobody noticed that somewhere at the core, people were going soft and that wipe out discrimination. As long as the Communists said that they wanted the it was harder and harder even to pay men to go out and organize whatever ships same thing the rank-and-file members knew they wanted, there seemed to be no remained outside the union. For there were things that you could not buy. problem. Blackie Meyers spent $170,000 to unionize the Isthmian Steamship Line and "But by the beginning of World War II, the goals of the Communists began to ended up with nothing. A reformed and resurgent AFL sailor's union was shamopenly diverge from the goals of the membership. The working seamen naturally ing the NMU wherever there was a contest." wanted England and France to win the war. But when Russia and Nazi Germany Communist domination of the NMU was broken once and for all at the briefly became allies, NMU Communists, utilizing petty strikes and isolation union's 1949 convention. According to Shannon Wall in the May 1987 edition of slogans, tried to put every obstacle in the way of aid to the democracies.'' Chapter Twelve: SIU Seamen Mount Sealift in Korea The followl1 ig a ry o the SIU lbe b ~lfilrcrs 26 part-~..~ on LOG. L ess than five years after the end of World War II, the United States was suddenly faced with another major conflagration. On June 25, 1950, more than 60,000 North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel behind a phalanx of Russian tanks and invaded South Korea. The United States reacted immediately, dispatching troops and supplies from bases in Japan to aid the Republic of South Korea. The United Nations supported the American action and some of its members later sent combat forces to Korea, too. This Korean invasion emphasized, probably more than any other in history, the vital importance of a merchant fleet being ready to support a war effort. It proved that the "bottom line" in an emergency is not a fleet on blueprints but a fleet that is already in service and ready for "full speed ahead." Even though our involvement in World War II was gradual, there was enough lead time to prepare sea transport for ourselves and our allies. The invasion of South Korea came suddenly and without any warning. In order to keep South Korea from falling into Communist hands, war supplies of all kinds had to be sent quickly. SIU crews carried American troops and arms (left) to safety in a huge sealift in Korea. At right, an SIU crew takes care of displaced civilians and army personnel. Reversal of Fortunes During the summer of 1950, United Nations forces threw the (North Korean) invaders back across the 38th parallel and pushed them all the way back to the Chinese border at the Yalu River. Then in November of 1950, more than 200,000 Chinese troops crossed the Yalu and drove back the UN forces, with the merchant marine preventing the UN retreat from becoming a military disaster. When it appeared that the UN forces -continued next page October 1988 Seafarers provided the United States with a reliable source of sealift during the Korean War. 17 �would be overwhelmed, every available ship was sent to H ungnam and other North Korean ports to evacuate civilians, troops and military supplies. SIU-Manned Vessels Part of Amazing Sealift American-flag ships, including many manned by the SIU, accomplished one of the most amazing sealifts in the world at Hungnam. In only two weeks time, freighters without any regular troop or passenger accommodations evacuated 105,000 troops, 100,000 civilians, 14,500 vehicles and 350,000 tons of guns, tanks, ammunition and other baule equipment. This was a tremendous logistical achievement, the full scope of which seemed almost unbelievable. The last ship to leave the embattled port of Hungnam was the Madaket of Waterman S.S. Company, carrying a full SIU crew. She steamed out of the shell spattered harbor carrying no less than 11,000 men, women and children. The Waterman Line's Choctaw left just a few hours before the Madaket, jammed with troops and supplies. Able Seaman Florenz Paskowski of the Madaket said that the night sky was lit up like the Fourth ofJuly. "It was like the Normandy beachhead," he recalled. "Refugees and troops streamed onboard while shells from our warships thundered overhead toward the enemy. Dead-tired soldiers and marines came up the gangplanks with hand grenades still pinned to their uniforms. They were covered with dust and mud." SIU Crews Sail Well Prepared All SIU ships crewed up and sailed on time. This was because of the union's foresight in setting up manpower comminees. The comminee accumulated a list of skilled sailors to man the ships soon after the war broke out. SIU-manned ships won many plaudits from the military for a job well done in the Korean War supply efforts. One example was the Sea Wind. "Your performance," wrote Vice Admiral C. T. Joy, commander of naval forces in the Far East, to the ship's captain, "has been notable throughout the Korean campaign. The merchant mariners who performed for you did so silently, but their accomplishment speaks loudly. The cooperation and assistance of the merchant marine adds but one more page of glory in our maritime history.'' Chapter Thirteen: The Fifties: SIU Makes Rapid Progress T he 1950s were a period of tremendous growth for the SIU. The union was working on many different levels to protect the interests of its membership. The union continued to pick up new work. While the NMU still had most of the subsidized operators, the Korean War had given the SIU an opportunity to grow. "The Korean War swung it around for the SIU," said Ray McKay, president of District 2-MEBA. "It created an opening for small operators, entrepreneurs who otherwise wouldn't have had a chance. Some of the companies that got started during this period developed into important sources of jobs for SIU and BME seamen. Morris Weisberger, who was then the SUP's Port Agent for New York, had a lot of contacts with these people. He was instrumental in helping the SIU sign up new work." The union explored all kinds of new areas for growth. In 1954 it became one of the first unions to recognize the potential of Puerto Rico. Keith Terpe, the union's director of organizing, was sent to that island to establish the Puerto Rico division of the A&G District. By 1970, the unit had 20,000 members employed in 82 different industries. for the members but for their dependents-they were not taxed as income. As required by law, the activities of the welfare plan were overseen by a board oftrustees, which was composed of an equal number of representatives from labor and management. Vacation Plan, Scholarship Program, Clinics Other benefits were introduced. A vacation plan was started in 1952. And in accordance with Paul Hall's commitment to education, a scholarship program for SIU members and their dependents was started. In 1955 the union signed another agreement with its operators to set up a nationwide system of clinics. Dr. Joseph Logue, a retired admiral who served in World War I, was named to head the new program. The first clinic opened in 1957. The whole operation was geared towards the needs of the seaman. "Doctor Logue had a special rapport with the membership," said Florence Penny, his administrative assistant. "They felt comfortable with him. Seamen no longer had to put up with long delays at hospitals. They SIU Moves Into New weren't dependent upon the whims Headquarters Building of a company doctor. Moreover, the The union's new position on the clinics stressed preventive medicine. We weren't specialists, but we could waterfront was underscored by its move to a new headquarters building. catch something early on. We had a close connection with certain hospiThe union had outgrown the old tals, like Lutheran Medical in Brookfacilities at 51 Beaver Street. Paul HaJl directed a top assistant, lyn, so a seaman just wasn't another Alphonse "Frenchy" Michelet, to find face in the crowd. a new building and oversee the move. "Doctor Logue was a deeply compassionate man. But he ran a tight Michelet spotted a building on the ship. If a member had to lose weight corner of Twentieth Street and Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn, N.Y. "Formerly or get his blood sugar count down, the Doc told him in no uncertain Job opportunities for SIU members expanded so rapidly that the union was forced to move to Public School Number 60, this large, a new headquarters building in Brooklyn. "Frenchy" Michelet oversaw the repairs (inset). terms. for a lot of seamen, it was althree story building was gutted and most like having their own personal renovated to become one of the finest union halls and union administration centers in the country," wrote SIU hisphysician." torian John Bunker. "In addition to offices and hiring hall, the new building featured a bar in the Improved Conditions shape of a Viking ship, a cafeteria seating 250 with a modern, stainless steel galley Throughout the decade, conditions for seamen onboard ship were upgraded. designed for use in a stewards training program. The hall also had a barbershop and a slop chest where seagoing gear was available to members at cost prices. For Barely 20 years earlier, seamen were forced to sleep in one large forecastle. In a while there was also a nightclub, with dancing and entertainment for union 1956, the Cities Service Baltimore became the first American-flag vessel to give members and their friends.'' unlicensed seamen their own private rooms. The new headquarters building was in a constant state of motion. "Paul Towards the end of the decade, Paul Hall started the Food Services Plan, a understood how important it was for seamen to have a place they could call their training program for stewards. The program served a two-fold purpose: to help own. Back then, a union hall was a seaman's second home," said Secretary Joe cut costs for the operators and to improve the quality of life onboard ship. DiGiorgio, who in his early days used to run the Sea Chest. The union also started a lending library that it put on all ships. In their spare "The union hall was where a seaman went to play cards on his time off, where time, seamen could now read anything from Zane Grey westerns to the classics. Meanwhile, in Washington D.C., the union argued for improved safety standhe connected with old friends. Paul was constantly making improvements--tearards onboard ships. It went one-on-one with government agencies like the Coast ing this wall down or putting a new carpet in, anything to make things better for Guard in protecting minimum manning standards. It tried to make sure that the the membership." job security of its membership wasn't jeopardized by some arbitrary regulatory change. Welfare Plan Started The Fifties had barely begun when the SIU signed a contract with nine operators which authorized the formation of a new welfare plan. This was part of a larger national trend. For the first time ever, unions began targeting benefits as a priority in contract negotiations. Throughout the decade, the union would win impressive gains in this area. Since the benefits furthered an important national goal-better health, not only 18 Cargo Preference Act of 1954 Still, improvements in wages, benefits and conditions would have been impossible without a steady source of cargo. "You can have the best contract in the world," said Frank Droza.k, the late president of the SIU, "but if you don't have any work it doesn't mean a thing." SIU Fiftieth Anniversary �An SIU dependent wins 1955 scholarship. SIU seaman makes good use of the union's new clinic by passing an EKG with flying colors. The union played an instrumental role in enacting the Cargo Preference Act of 1954, which set aside 50 percent of all government-generated cargo for American-flag vessels. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Warren Magnuson (DWash.), maritime's leading spokesman on Capitol Hill. A good portion of all the work that remains available to the American-flag merchant marine today is generated by this one piece of legislation. The AFL and CIO Merge; NMU and SIU Still Battle In 1955, George Meany engineered an historic merger between the AFL and the CIO. This marked a new era for the labor movement. Throughout the next 30 years, the SIU ~nd NMU would intermittently enter into merger talks. On several different occasions the two unions came close to tying the knot, but they were never able to surmount their differences. Throughout the '50s and early '60s, the NMU and SIU were embroiled in numerous beefs: Robin Lines, Moore-McCormack. American Banner Line . But probably the famous, and certainly the most unusual, was the one involving the American Coal Company. American Coal Beef The American Coal Company was established by Mineworkers President John L. Lewis . According to SIU historianJohn Bunker: "The new company was a means The union gained new benefits for Seafarers and whereby Lewis hoped to get a strong foothold in maritime because if the The SIU and NMU fought FOC vessels. predictions about the coal boom became true it would have required hundreds of Llberty ships a year to supply the European demand for coal. This would mean a huge fleet of ships and thousands of jobs. "In order to acquire ships from the RJPS//111111/JlflS I AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE government's reserve fleet, it had to AND NATIONAL SECURITY show that it was in the shipping busiPROTEST AGAINST (i NIE ONLY / ness, so it brought a Liberty ship called the China Trader and renamed it the Coal Miner. "But more impressively, it also bought out the 68-year-old Bull Line, one of the SIU's oldest companies . Bull operated 15 ships at the time. "While MEBA and the MM&P were negotiating with the new outfit for a contract, the company signed an agreeement for officers with the Brotherhood of Marine Officers (BMO), which was affiliated with a UMW catch-all union called District 50. "For unlicensed men, the company signed a contract with the NMU , although it didn't have a single ship at the time of the signing." The battle between the two unions would rage on for several years . Responding to a request for labor unity fromAFL-CIO President George Meany, the SIU offered to give up the right to crew these vessels . In exchange, the NMU had to recognize the right ofMEBA and the MM&P. "When the NMU'sJoe Curran tried RllKJWJY October 1988 The NY mermaid became an SIU landmark. to make it appear that the SIU had refused to cooperate," wrote John Bunker, "Meany sent him a strong rebuke." A drastic decline in the coal industry in the early '60s rendered the whole beef moot. Old-Timers Come Out of Retirement To Help Their Union But before that happened, "a federal judge entered the dispute with a ruling that all hiring must be done through the unions and that the crewmen had to be hired on a seniority basis," wrote Bunker. "This unusual situation turned union hiring halls at Savannah, Norfolk, Philadelphia and New York into oldtimers conventions. Both the SIU and NMU beat the bushes for old-salts with wads of discharges." SIU members as old as 79 came out of retirement to man the ships. The average age of most crews was well over 60. Said retired official Ted Babkowski: "Paul Hall told me to look out for the old-timers and get them onto the ships. Those characters didn't need any nursemaids. They were as salty as sea biscuits and tough as old marlin. I offered to help one old SUP guy up the ladder with his gear. He acted like I had called him a fink. 'Hey junior,' he said. 'I could lift you and the sea bag, too.' " their families throughout the decade. NMU and SIU Unite To Fight FOCs In one important area, the SIU and NMU were able to overcome their differences and forge a united front. Towards the end of the decade they formed a joint union, the International Maritime Workers Union, to organize flag of convenience vessels . By the mid-1950s, the EUSC Doctrine had decimated the American maritime industry. Most of the work that remained to American-flag operators was in the protected Jones Act trade or was generated by the Cargo Preference Act of 1954. Throughout the decade both the SIU and NMU had tried to draw attention to this issue. Hearings were held on Capitol Hill, but no action was ever ta.ken. Both unions tried to organize the FOCs on a ship by ship basis . This posed a unique legal question. Could unions organize vessels owned by American companies if those vessels were technically registered under foreign flags? living conditions onboard ship improved. Supreme Court Finds in Favor of FOCs The NLRB grappled with this question. By the early part of the 1960s a definite trend had emerged. The courts applied a "contacts-test" to the vessel. --continued next page 19 �• The fewer contacts that an FOC vessel had with the nation of registry, then the more likely the NLRB would say that it fell under the jurisidiction of American labor laws. For example, if a vessel registered under the Panamanian flag paid no taxes, had a British crew and was owned by a company that was incorporated in Delaware, the NLRB was more likely to say that it was governed by American laws than if it employed Panamanian citizens and paid taxes to Panama. This whole promising trend was stopped dead in its tracks in 1963 when the Supreme Court handed down a decision, Belzer vs. United States , which said the NLRB had no jurisidiction over FOC vessel regardless of what kind of contacts they had with the nation of registry. SIUNA Continues to Gain Strength . ' , . . . of "Dignity is not always a matter of manners or dress or a cultured speech. There is also the dignity that comes to him who stands on his own two feet, looks the world in the eye and takes on all comers in the battle for what he might believe is just. "Such a dignity belonged to Harry Lundeberg of the Seafarers International Union of North America and the Sailors Union of the Pacific. His speech was as salty as the seas he sailed, and his manner matched his speech . Hats and coats were not for him: a cap and shirtsleeves or a sweatshirt were his trademarks. "He went to sea in the age of sail and left in the age of steam-but he never left his shipmates. For them he stood always ready to fight against the shipowners to win fair wages and decent working conditions and, later, against the Communist Party, who infested the waterfront. "Because he fought with whatever weapons were at hand, thousands of his fellow seamen found a new pride in their calling and a dignity denied to them before. "Harry Lundeberg left a mark on San Francisco, indeed on every American ship that sails the seven seas, a mark his death did not erase and cannot erase. Maybe he was not a gentlemen in the shallow and generally accepted use of the term; but dignity he had in plenty, and no one could say that he was not a man." Throughout the decade, the SIU remained actively involved in the affairs of its international, the SIUNA. Under Ludeberg's leadership, the SIUNA continued to gain strength. By 1951, the SIU of Canada had established itself as a full-fledged member of the international. The union's membership had grown from 200 to 6,000. The union now had 80 companies under contract. It was able to improve conditions and wages for Canadian seamen. Hal Banks, who headed the union, began an organizing drive aimed specifically at French-speaking seamen, many of whom remained unorganized. The Marine, Cooks and Stewards attended its first SIUNA Convention in 1953; the MFOW in 1955 . The MCS was headed by a protege of Harry Lundeberg, Ed Turner. The union had been chartered to compete against the communist-dominated National Union of Marine Cooks and Stewards. After a heated organizing drive, Turner and his AFL allies re-esSen. Warren Magnuson (D-Wash.) introtablished order. duced the Cargo Preference Act of 1954. At the 1953 SIUNA Convention, Turner talked about the union's early The SIU started a book drive for all ships. SIU seaman reads the Seafarers LOG to learn about the important maritime issues of the day. growth: "On April 5th, 1952, the Marine Cooks & Stewards, AFL, opened an office and hiring hall at 100 First Stree t, Sa n Fran cisco. We had trouble fo r some time keeping this office open, due ..to the .. goon squad from the NUMC&S . But we were successful. ''At the time the office was opened we had a membership of 200. (Today, a year later) ...we have issued 2 ,600 membership books. The organizers who worked on this drive up and down the coast for the Marine Cooks & Stewards had to work under the most adverse conditions. "The organizing drive as it exists today would not have existed were it not for. .. the various branches of the international." One of Turner's major accomplishments during this early period was the establishment of a training school in New job opportunities became available because of the union's political action program. Santa Rosa, Calif. Paul Hall would later use this as a prototype for the The new headquarters building became a second home to many seamen. It was where they ate, met their friends and threw in for a job. Harry Lundeberg School in Piney Point, Md. Harry Lundeberg Dies In 1957 the man who had guided the SIUNA from its inception died . Harry Lundeberg was mourned by seamen from one coast to another. Morris Weisberger was named president of the SUP. Paul Hall was elected head of the SIUNA. Speaking of the man he had replaced: Paul Hall had these things to sayat the 1959 SIUNA Convention, ''Before the convention gets under way, I would like to do something I did at the last convention, which is to read an article pertaining to Harry Lundeberg which appeared in one of the San Francisco papers upon his death. It is called, 'The Dignity of a Man.' 20 SIU Fiftieth Anniversary �Chapter Fourteen: SIU Fights for a Democratic Movement F ew leaders leave such an impression on history that their names become synonymous with a movement or a cause. George Meany, the earthy, cigarsmoking plumber from the Bronx, was such an individual. For many, he remains the personification of the American labor movement. The members and officials of the SIU served as footsoldiers in one of his most stirring campaigns. Throughout the 1950s, Meany fought for a democratic trade union movement. The fight began on the New York waterfront, where corruption had become so pervasive that it threatened the integrity of the entire labor movement. "We have to have a clean movement in these United States," he said, "and not only because we think it proper but also because of the paramount obligation to serve the members." Waterfront Commission Highlights Abuses In 1951, the New York Waterfront Commission began investigating crime on the waterfront. It uncovered an extensive pattern of graft and intimidation. After much soul-searching, Meany moved to expel the main culprit, the International LongshoremensAssociation, from theAFL. "That was the first time that the AFL had ever injected itself in any way into the internal affairs of a union," he said. Although autonomy was the most fundamental principle of trade unionism, "we were not going to let them use it as a cloak for things that were wrong, basically corrupt.'' After expelling the IIA, Meany chartered a new union, the American Federation of Longshoremen (the name was later changed to the International Brotherhood of Longshoremen). SIU Secretary-Treasurer Paul Hall was named director of the new organization. John Dwyer, left, was the inspiration for the Marlon Brando character in Ott the Waterfront. He's talking to Bill McMahon, whose brother was found dead in the Hudson River (1953). SIU official Ted Babkowski reads about corruption on the waterfront in an old AFL paper. John Dwyer According to SIU historian John Bunker, "a key figure in the new union was 38-year-old John Dwyer, a rank-and-file leader in Village Local 895, a second generation longshoreman on the Manhattan docks and a long-time fighter for a clean and democratic union. "The alliance of dissident longshoremen with the SIU occurred at a meeting at the St. George's Hotel in Brooklyn, where Dwyer (and several other members of the ILA) metwith Paul Hall and Morris Weisberger. " 'I told them we would help all we could, provided they would go with us all the way,' said Dwyer. 'We go all the way on everything,' Hall told us. 'The SIU never quit a fight yet. We go to the last bell.' " On the Waterfront Dwyer, who later came to work for the SIU as an official, was the inspiration for the Marlon Brando character in "On the Waterfront." A writer, Bud Schulberg, became interested in Dwyer 's struggle. He wrote a series of articles which he later adapted into a screenplay. SIU organizers began signing pledge cards for the new union in large numbers. In December 1953, an election was held, but the new union fell short: 7,568 votes to the IIA's 9,060. But there was so much violence and coercion that the NLRB ordered a new election. Thousands Gather at the SIU Hall "Intimidatio~, beatings and murders dominated this whole campaign, for the racketeers were fighting for survival on the waterfront," wrote Schulberg. "But on election night, May 26, 1954, the rebels were in a victory mood. With no union hall of their own, thousands of them gathered at the Seafarers Union Hall in Brooklyn to await the election returns. Paul Hall, the formidable ex-sailor president of the SIU, was the ranking AFL officer in this war against the IIA. October 1988 "Beer was on the house that night for the men who had stood up to the danger, ostracism and starvation in their effort to wrench control of the 'Waterfront from the racketeers.'' Yet the new union was to lose bya small margin out of the more than 16,000 votes cast. ''A mere 319 votes separated the old order from the new," wrote Schulberg. "In Jersey City alone, buses scheduled to carry anti-II.A dockworkers to the polls mysteriously failed to show up. One of the AFL organizers responsible for this transportation was promptly rewarded by the ILA-promoted to hiring boss. That one defection-and there were others--cost this tragic photo-finish defeat." The battle between the SIU and the ILA was to continue for several more years. In June 1958, Paul Hall met with Captain William Bradley, the new leader of the IIA, and reached an agreement to end the five-year dispute. A year later, the ILA was readmitted into the AFL-CIO. "We gave it all we had," said Hall. ''Like anything we go in for, we go in 'til the final bell. For the sake of peace on the waterfront we took off the gloves. "We didn't win the vote, but we fought for a clean union for waterfront workers and that was worth the fight." Paul Hall and Georse Meany Cement Their Friendship The new ILA that emerged from this fracas was a cleaner, more democratic union. Certain locals of the ILA have emerged as important allies of the SIU in fighting for the rights of seamen. And as a result of the beef, Paul Hall and George Meany formed a close, life-long friendship. Meany knew that anytime he had a tough campaign, he could depend on Paul Hall's support. And Hall was a strong admirer of Meany, perhaps because the two of them shared a common quality: leadership. Speaking about the AFL president years after this beef, Hall said: "George was ideally equipped at a time when he was called upon to put together varying personalities. You give me one good guy on a ship who knows what he is doing, and I'll give you a united crew with a single purpose. "If Meany comes into the room and nobody knows who he is, he has the quality to attract the attention of other men. If you go aboard a ship and meet in the mess hall over a cup of coffee, you'll soon see who the leader is. They call that built-in leadership quality, and this Meany has.'' Fighting the Teamsters The IIA beef wasn't an isolated incident. Meany would battle corruption in the trade union movement throughout the rest of the decade. The issue had aroused considerable publicity, and Sen. John L. McClellan was holding hearings on the matter. There was a political dimension to the issue. As UAW President Walter Reuther noted, "Failure to eliminate corruption would lead to a law that would make Tuft-Hartley look like a liberal, pro-labor law by comparison." The McClellan Committee uncovered extensive abuses in the Teamsters. In 1957, by a 25-4 vote, the executive council voted to expel the union. Teamsters Raid AFL-CIO Unions Unlike the ILA beef, the AFL-CIO made no attempt to set up an alternative union to the Teamsters. "It would have been impossible for us to take on the Teamsters and try to destroy their union,'' said Meany. The federation's courageous decision to expel the Teamsters came at a high cost. Outside the "House of labor," the Teamsters were free to engage in raids on other unions, which they did with increasing frequency. -continued next page 21 �Thousands gather at an outdoor rally held at the SIU hall in Brooklyn in support of the newly-formed AFL Longshoremen's Union. The fight for a free labor movement was in full swing. Paul Hall pledges to support the dissident longshoremen. The SIU came to the aid of small unions who were being raided by the Teamsters. Below, the Chicago taxi fleet. When this happened, AFL President George Meany and the heads of small, vulnerable unions who didn't want to be gobbled up by the Teamsters knew that they could turn to the Seafarers for support. Battle Lines Drawn in Puerto Rico The battle lines were drawn in Puerto Rico when Meany and Luis In Puerto Rico ... Munoz, governor of Puerto Rico, re"In Puerto Rico the SIU took on the quested help from the SIU. The fight biggest with a directive from Meany to continued stateside, in Chicago, 'stop Hoffa.' Hoffa retaliated with 'Bust Philadelphia, Detroit and St. Louis, the SIU in Puerto Rico!' where the SIU was on the front lines "The Seafarers soon discovered that the Teamsters were muscling in on SIU in the fight to keep AFL-CIO unions contracts and the fight was on Before it from being raided by the Teamsters. ended some nine years later there were Wrote John Bunker, "In the early hundreds of bitter confrontations bepart of the '60s, the International tween SIU and the Teamsters all over the island, with head-busting picket line batBrotherhood of Teamsters had more cles where white-capped sailors and than one and a half million members, green-capped Teamsters mixed it up plus a bank roll that even Chase Manwith clubs, chains, fists and baseball hattan would have envied. The membats. There were bullets and fire bombs, too. bership of the SIU at the time did not "SIU Representative Keith Terpe once exceed 75,000, including all its afstepped out of his house in the morning filiates . to be met by shots from a waiting car "Compared to Jimmy Hoffa's that then quickly sped away. The bullets missed him by inches." mighty Team ters, Paul Hall's SIU was a David with a slingshot. But little David took on Goliath and stung him with defeats from Puerto Rico to San Diego and other points in between. "The Teamsters' most decisive and embarrassing confrontation with the SIU came in Chicago where the sailors helped rebellious cab drivers (from being swallowed up by the Teamsters). " Joe Abata formed the Democratic Union Or- 22 ganizing Committee to oust Teamster Local 777 from control. After a hard and bitter campaign, the SIU and Abata won. "For the first time in 12 years," wrote Bunker, "the drivers received an increase in pay, plus benefits. And for the first time each driver received a copy of the union contract and could attend regular monthly membership meetings." Hoffa Wanted to Control the Waterfront; Great Lakes Seamen Endangered In Chicago ... "Hall's outspoken opposition to the Teamsters' chief almost cost him his life in Chicago in 1960. After a meeting of the AFL-CIO Executive Council, Hall and Steve Leslie, head of the Operating Engineers, were seated at a restaurant table when the head of a Chicago Teamster local came up, took out a gun concealed in his hat and said to Hall 'Do you want it now or outside?' "Leslie distracted the gunman's attention and brushed his arm aside, enabling Hall to take the gun. When they managed to get around the table and grab the intruder, other leamster goons invaded the joint and a real donnybrook erupted. " 'We fought our way out,' said Leslie, 'but it was a close call-a real knucklebusting brawl.' "Later that evening Hall walked into a meeting of Teamster big-wigs at a nearby hotel, gave them a revolver and said, 'Here's your gun. I don't want any leamster property!' " "It should be remembered," wrote Bunker, "that Paul Hall and the SIU had a special reason for wanting to climb into the ring against the Teamters. In 1960 Hoffa cooked up a grandiose scheme to bring all longshoremen and marine workers into the Teamsters through a proposed Conference of Transportation Unity. This plot included alliances with Joe Curran's National Maritime Union and Harry Bridge's International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's .A.s.5ociation. "As part of this plan, Hoffa moved into la.kes shipping and tried to take over one of the SIU fleets there. He also set up the Marine Officers Association to raid the Masters, Mates and Pilots and the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association jurisdictions. He was unsuccessful.. .but it was a strong signal of his overall intention. SIU Fiftieth Anniversary �"'James Hoffa,' said the Chicago American, 'is determined that the Teamsters shall boss the waterfront workers and the seamen, thus controlling all of the nation's transport facilities for freights except the railroads and the airlines.' " Defection in Philadelphia to labor's highest council. "The battle for a democratic trade union movement was one of the most stirring in this union's history," said current SIU President Mike Sacco. "Many of the people who participated in those battles are still alive today. Whenever I come across someone who was active in one of those beefs, I think to myself, here is someone who was willing to risk his life for the trade union movement. "Ultimately," said Sacco, "it all boils down to the actions of one individual. A lot of young people today take a lot of things for granted. They just don't understand the sacrifices that the people who came before them made." One of the biggest fights against the Teamsters occurred in Philadelphia, where Steve "Blackie" Cardullo, national director of the United Industrial Workers Union (the new name for the Marine Allied Workers Division) , defected to the Teamsters. At stake were the democratic rights of hundreds ofUIW members working In Philadelphi?....r: , in such shops as Hussman Refrigeration. It was a tough and bitter fight, ·~ut noon time on Feb. 24, 1962, Red campbell was waiting fot lunch and watching a basketball game on t.v. Suddenly there was a shattered glass and ~bottle came sailing through but the SIU won. The SIU almost won Teamsters Re-admitted To AFL-CIO the big front window of the union hall. Even though the battle with the another fight. It had backed the Voice uMoments later there was a crash and a shock ·that rocked the btiitding as the rest of the Teamsters had been long and bitterly of the Teamsters Organizing Commitwindow splintered in aU directions and the front end of a truck nosed into the bah, followed fought, SIU President Frank Drozak in by a barrage of bricks and bottles. tee (VOICE), a dissident group of "George McCartney had been there sining a few feet away writing a report and wishing he 1988 joined a united executive counTeamster members committed to alUld be home th.at night for his wife's birthday. cil of the AFL-CIO in voting to resecuring a democratic local in the " 'I knew right away what had happened,' he said. 'The Teamsters had come to call. I grabbed admit the Teamsters into the "House Philadelphia area. The SIU was given a bat and rushed -Out the door-li.ke the charge of the Light Brigade. I ran into four gorillas loaded with bricks and bats. 1 swung my bat and they backed away. Then I realized I was the of Labor." practically no chance of winning this only one in McCartney7s charge. l got back inside somehow without catching any bricks or ''Times change and so do one. But the final vote was 3,870 to bottles.' priorities," said Frank Drozak. "If any 3,27 4. "It was," said Business Week, By that time big Ralph Qninnonez bad charged out the door with Tom Gould, Steve Troy union had the right to vote against ad"the first real challenge to Hoffa." and some othets. The 'R!rtmstets jumped inr.o a car and sped away.n mitting the Teamsters, it was this one. The battle for a democratic trade ''And yet it was vitally important for union movement had several importhe Teamsters to be re-admitted. tant consequences. Most were good; During the '50s, the big battle was to clean up the labor movement. George one, unfortunately, was not, and it still plagues trade unionists today. In 1959 Meany, Paul Hall and others did so. Congress enacted the Landrum-Griffin Act, which imposed severe new regula'fuld now the federal government wants to go far beyond the Landrum-Griffin tions on the labor movment and created a bureaucratic nightmare. Act in its fight against the Teamsters. They say that this is a special case : don't "The entire labor movement was punished for the actions of a few, " said Arworry. chie Robinson. The SIU was luckier than most. Under the watchful eye of Howard Schulman, a one-time president of the 12,000 member Labor Law sec"If the labor movement has learned anything these past eight years of the tion of the American Bar Association, the SIU was able to minimize the effects of Reagan administration, it is that if there is any kind of loophole it will be abused. "If Ronald Reagan can appoint James Watt as Secretary of the Interior or put "harassment" suits that became commonplace after enactment of the legislation. Ann Buford in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency, then sure as I stand here, any precedent taken in connection with the Teamsters will be abused. In Hall Named to the Executive Council of the AFL-CIO the early '60s, we went to war with the Teamsters to protect the concept of democratic trade unionism. It's now the '80s, and we'll support them every inch In 1962, Paul Hall was named to the executive council of the AFL-CIO. Hall's of the way for the same reason." courageous actions during this period played an important part on his elevation • 4 In 1957, George Meany expelled the Teamsters to ensure a democratic labor movement. Paul Hall and George Meany joined forces in the battle for a democratic labor movement. - As a result of the sacrifices made by the SIU, Chicago taxi drivers made important gains. i.A\\ MEMBERSHIP MEETING October 1988 23 �Chapter Fifteen: Fight to Save the Maritime Industry B y the early '60s, technological advances were so rapid and far-reaching that they posed a serious challenge to the job security of American seamen. The rise of cross-Atlantic air travel killed off the lucrative passenger vessel industry. Eight of the few remaining American-flag passenger vessels were sold overseas or laid up in 1969. They were all under contract to the NMU, and their demise put a serious strain on that union's pension plan. In 1958, the SIU had made an attempt to create new work for its members in this area when it became involved in the American Banner Lines beef. The union implemented an innovative training program, but the company lasted only one year. training school in Brooklyn, N.Y In 1968 , the SIU got into a beefwith District 1MEBA over an apprentice engineer rating that District 1 wanted to have introduced on its Delta ships. The SIU said that it violated its jurisdiction; after a brief confrontation the rating was dropped from all SIU-contracted vessels. The apprentice engineer rating was particularly important because it represented an attack against the SIU's future. The SIU had introduced a new rating in the engine room, the QMED. During the Vietnam War there were plenty of jobs Containerization Changes Maritime l - Other changes were just as farreaching. In 1957 a new era in shipping was ushered in when the Gateway City became the first fullycontainerized vessel in the world. The technology had been pioneered by two North Carolina trucking brothers, James and Malcolm Mclean, who had bought Waterman Steamship Company in 1955. Containerization changed completely the face of the maritime industry. It placed a premium on space, which rendered ports like Manhattan obsolete. By wedding trucking and shipping it ushered in a new era of intermodalism. And it drastically cut down the amount of time that a ship needed to spend in a port. Other changes were revol utionizing the maritime industry. Automation cut down the number of people needed to crew a vessel. It also put a premium on workers who could handle sophisticated computerized equipment. Generous subsidies and favorable tax laws enabled foreign fleets to get a jump start with diesel technology. This substantially reduced their operating costs, making them more competitive. The first American company to introduce that kind of sophisticated equipment was the Falcoln Group, an SIU-contracted company headed by the visionary C. C. Wei. Richard Nixon gave maritime a reprieve with the 1970 Merchant Marine Act. In 1976,jimmy Carter pledged sup p ort for a cargo preference bill. Ford vetoed cargo preference, Paul Hall vetoed Ford. SIU lobbyist Phil Carlip w as a fix t u re on Capitol Hill. Vietnam War Creates New Jobs for American Seamen .L:.. American shipping was given a reprieve of sorts by the Vietnam War. Once again, demand for shipping increased. Once again, it was a mad scramble to provide properly trained crews for all the vessels. Manpower became the catch-all phrase among port officials . "We didn't actually shanghai anybody," said one SIU official, "but there were times when I wished it were a viable option." The battle to man all the vessels was two-fold. If vessels consistently sailed short-handed, an operator would argue that the manning scales were out of line. And if the work were done by licensed officers, the SIU would lose the slot altogether. A lot of new members came into the SIU during this time. The demand for shipping made it possible for many members to gain 'il books and advanced ratings in record time . Bobby McKay became the youngest deck officer in the history of the maritime industry. He had started with the SIU as a teenager and worked his way up. Other members made good use of the opportunities. john Adams was from Southern Maryland. "I was hanging around with no place to go . If it hadn't been for the SIU and the opportunities it presented me, I don't know what would have become of me," he said. He became a captain in 1986. In order to handle this increased demand for shipping, the SIU and District-2 MEBA opened a joint 24 for all American seamen. But everyone knew that once the war ended, the decline in shipping would resume unabated. FOC fleets did not pay taxes, nor did they have to meet the same kind of minimum safety and health standards that American companies were required to meet. Coupled with automation and other technological advances, this meant that the number of jobs available to American seamen would inevitably shrink. SIU President Paul Hall realized that the long-time job security of American seamen depended on just two things: political action and education. Throughout the sixties and seventies, he made both a priority. SPAD Gets Results for American Seamen Under Hall's direction, the SIU developed one of the most effective political action programs in the country. A new program, the Seafarers Political Action Donation program, or SPAD, was introduced. The members were told that their SIU Fiftieth Anniversary �job security depended on political action. Under American law the general funds of a union could not be used for lobbying; this meant that seamen had to make direct contributions to a separate fund. ''Politics is Porkchops" ran the headlines in the SIU LOG. The union made an all-out effort to communicate to its membership the importance of political action. The members responded in style, making voluntary contributions to the union's political action program. Thanks to their generosity, SPAD became one of the largest programs of its kind. The SIU then used it to lobby for programs that would create a steady source of cargo for American seamen. The government challenged the legality of SPAD in the courts. A federal judge eventually dismissed the case, saying that the government's actions amounted to "legal harassment" of the union, thus clearing the way for further action. The program continues to give the SIU a solid political base in Washington, D.C. place the Maritime Administration into the Department of Transportation, where he felt it would get lost in the shuffie. Like the Isthmian and Cities Service fights, Hall made political action an all-out campaign. The MID was turned into a war room, complete with charts and graphs showing how a particular senator or congressman had voted on an important issue. He again assembled one of his famous "teams." The MTD team consisted of Pete McGavin,Jean Ingrao, Phil Carlip, 0.W "Bill" Moody, John Yarmola, and a few others. New Research Center Formed In this new ballpark, knowledge was power. Hall then persuaded SIU-contracted companies to develop an independent research center, known as the Transportation Institute. It opened in 1969 under the direction of Herb Brand, one-time editor of the Seafarers LOG. SIU Becomes Leading Political Player Hall became a leading player on the national political scene. AFL-CIO President George Meany asked him to direct Hubert Humphrey's presidential campaign in California. A confident of New York Governor Hugh Carey, Hall was ranked among the 10 most powerful people in the stateh by New lf>rk Magazine. Paul Hall with two members of his "MID team." Jean Ingrao, center, John Yarmola, right. In the '70s, the MID played a pivotal political role. lbe SIU developed a sophisticated political action program. Paul Hall talking to industrial workers at a UIW membership meeting. On the executive council of the AFL-CIO, Hall was a consistent supporter of George Meany. He broke with Meany just once: in 1973 when the council voted to impeach Richard Nixon. Meany understood why: aside from Franklin Delano Roosevelt, no president in this century had done more to promote the American-flag merchant marine. Nixon had signed into law the Merchant Marine Act of 1970, an ambitious shipbuilding program which extended Title XI loan guarantees to tankers and inland equipment. Hall's role in passage of the bill earned him the title of "Father of the modern American merchant marine ." Merchant Marine Act of 1970 Only Half of the Solution MTD Plays an Increasingly Important Role During this time the Maritime Trades Department played an increasingly important role in protecting the job security of American seamen. Under the direction of MTD President Paul Hall and Secretary-Treasurer Pete McGavin, the MID vvas a major player on the national political scene. The MTD consisted of 44 international unions representing 8.5 million members. Hall had realized that there was little that 100, 000 seamen could do alone. But by engaging shore-side workers into the struggle for a stronger, more secure merchant marine, the battle lines were more evenly drawn. Throughout the sixties and seventies, the MTD became a leading voice in the fight to secure a steady supply of cargo for American companies. It was on the front lines in preventing the government from closing down the USPHS hospital system. Lyndon] ohnson once complained that the only man he couldn't beat on Capitol Hill was Paul Hall. Hall had continually frustratedJohnson's attempts to October 1988 The Merchant Marine Act of 1970 was supposed to have created 300 new ships. Fewer than one-third that amount were actually built. "People forget,'' said MTD Secretary-Treasurer Jean Ingrao, "that Paul Hall envisioned the Merchant Marine Act of 1970 as one-half of a comprehensive program. The other half was securing a steady source of cargo for the American-flag merchant manne.'' Hall spent the last nine years of his life pursuing this one goal. He came close to achieving it in 1974 when Congress enacted the Energy Transportation Act, which would have set aside a certain percentage of petroleum and bulk cargoes for American-flag vessels. He had received an assurance from President Gerald Ford that he would sign the bill into law if it passed both houses of Congress. But when it did, Ford reneged on his promise. "For years," wrote Victor Reisel, "Hall dealt in presidents and with presidents. He knew Jerry Ford when most labor leaders didn't know the Michigan congressman from a Pinto. In 1976 Hall could have re-elected Ford because he always played arithmetic politics. He had the votes to throw to his old friend Ford. But the ex-president, after having invited Paul to Vail, Colo . for a conference, refused to back a cargo preference bill which would have put considerable oil ,,.. and grain tonnage in American vessels. "Jerry Ford vetoed that on principle. Hall vetoed Ford, as he had vetoed other presidents ... Hall made certain that Jerry Ford would lose New York state. But first, Hall got candidate Jimmy Carter to sign a long letter at the Park Sheraton Hotel promising to deliver a cargo preference bill." Hall urged Congress to implement bilateral trade agreements and to develop steady sources of cargo for American-flag vessels. During the early years of 25 �Officers of the SIUNA are sworn in at the 1975 convention. Throughout the decade. the SIU remained active in the affairs of the international by helping other affiliates and pursuing mergers. detente, the United States and the Soviet Union signed a bilateral trade agreement allowing the American-flag merchant marine to carry one-third of all grain cargo to the Soviet Union. Pension Plan Adopted There was much more than just politics during these years. In 1961, in negotiations with deepsea companies, the SIU got its first pension plan. "If you ask me, this was the most important thing that Paul Hall ever did," said Vice President Red Campbell. "The other maritime unions had their pension plans long before we did . Paul waited until he knew that ours would be financially secure. He took a lot of heat on that one. But he was right, and today the members have the finest pension plan in the industry." "Paul's mother had been left destitute after a union pension plan she was supposed to have received went bust," said Rose Hall, his widow. "This made him determined to make sure that any benefit he offered the membership be secure. He didn't want his membership to be in the position that his family was put in. They had relied on the pension for their sole means of support, and when it went under they were left virtually penniless." The facility was forced to close when ship construction from the Merchant Marine Act of 1970 failed to meet projected goals. Still, the project had earned the respect of trade unionists and civil rights leaders around the country. It served as a model for other programs aimed at promoting minority employment in the highly skilled construction trades. After the SIU entered into a merger agreement with the Marine Cooks and Stewards, hundreds of culinary workers employed on the Queen Mary Hotel joined the UIW This marked a turning point in the UIW's efforts to sign up new workers in the service sector. ERISA - During this period the whole nature of union administration was changing. Congress and the government were piling one regulation on another. Sometimes, the regulations flatly contradicted one another. "On Labor Day of 1974," wrote Caroline Gentile, former administrator of the SIU Pension Plan, "Congress passed a revolutionary piece of legislation that would have a profound effect on the way employee benefit funds such as pension plans and medical plans were run. The statute was called the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). It was obvious from the beginning that ERJSA was a very complicated statute that would require a good deal of examination and careful analysis before any action could be taken, but within 12 months of the Act's passage each Seafarers employee benefit plan would have to be changed. "Unlike many other plans that would require major amendments, the Seafarers' plan had already provided for many of the protections that Congress sought to guarantee by the passage of ERISA ... Although many of the rules (mandated by ERISA) seem simple and familiar today, the statue was confusing and difficult to interpret when it was first enacted. The problems were worsened by disagreements about the meaning of the legislation between the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service." SIU Vice President Lindsey Williams, left, presents SIU member with his pension check. Olroline Gentile, former administrator of the SIU Plans, outlines ERISA for the trustees. SIU Active in International's Affairs The union continued to be active in the affairs of the international. Throughout this period, the A&G District actively pursued merging with other affiliates. In 1976, the Inland Boatmen's Union became part of the A&G District. A similar agreement was reached in 1978 with the Marine, Cooks & Stewards. The SIU continued to offer support to the other affiliates. It strongly supported the SUP and the MFOW in their dispute over the manning of the Valerie F And when the SIU of Canada was embroiled in the bitterly-contested Upper Great Lakes beef, the A&G District did everything it could to help its sister affiliate. The SIU made sure that all benefits offered under the Pension Plan were secure. United Industrial Workers Union Continues to Grow - Throughout this period, Hall supported development of the United Industrial Workers Union, which was directly affiliated to both the international and the A&G District. It had been chartered in 1949 under the name of Marine Allied Workers Division, but changed its name in 1961 to reflect a change in the composition of its membership. For the first few years of its existence, the UIW concentrated its efforts on signing up workers in marine allied trades. Gradually, however, it began to sign up more and more workers in industrial shops. In 1962, it played a pivotal role in Hall's campaign against the Teams~ers. The UIW gave the SIU an important base among shore-side workers whose support seamen needed if they were to continue to remain an important political force. Some locals of the urw, such as the one in Columbus, Ohio, were quite active in grassroots activities. In 1970, under the direction of Frank Drozak, the UIW's national director, and Ralph Quinnonez, the union's Atlantic Coast director, the UIWwas able to sign up more than 2,000 new members on the U.S. Virgin Islands. Later in the decade, the UIWwas active in getting the Brooklyn Navy Yard reopened. 26 Throughout the '60s and '70s, wages and benefits for UIW members continued to improve. In a sense, the UIW's growth was proof that the seamen's ageold struggle for equality and justice could stir workers outside the maritime industry. Later, in the 1980s, the UIW would serve as a focal point for the union's fight for legislation to promote fair trade in the international marketplace. SIU Fiftieth Anniversary �Chapter Sixteen: Lundeberg School Gives Thousands Of Seamen a Chance for a Better Life I n 1967, a small group of teenagers became front-line soldiers in a campaign that would occupy Paul Hall's attention for the last 13 years of his life. None had ever been employed onboard an American-flag vessel. Some had been born and raised in New York City ghettoes; others were from Appalachia. Few had any real job prospects for the future. They were the first group of trainees to be admitted to the union's new training school in Piney Point, Md. They were greeted by union officials who had spent nearly two years preparing for this moment. After signing in, the trainees were issued regulation uniforms-jeans, work boots, levi shirts. Their heads were shaven and they were put up in a makeshift dormitory in a rundown motel. They got up at dawn, marched in formation, learned how to tie knots and earned their lifeboat certificate. After six weeks, they were given their first job onboard an Americanflag vessel. Their careers as merchant seamen had officially begun . Came Upon the Land By Chance "They all have a special memory of Paul Hall. He met personally with every upgrader and trainee. He oversaw every detail of construction. "SIU men remember seeing him tour the base for hours on end in his electric golf car: checking, prodding and sparing no rebuke to get things done.'' Educate the Whole Person From the beginning, Paul Hall had a clear perception of what he wanted the school to become. "We want to train seamen to meet the job opportunities of the future," he said. "We have to educate the whole person." ,.-In 1970, the school began offering courses in basic education. Within eight years, more than 1,000 seafarers were able to receive their high school equivalency diplomas. Many were in their fifties and sixties; some had put off upgrading for years because they were embarrassed to admit that they couldn't read. In 1978, the school reached an agreement with St. Charles Community College to offer college-level courses. By 1985 , the school had developed its own degree program so that students could earn associate in arts degrees in Nautical Science Technology and Marine Technology. Yet Piney Point was not just another school. Its curriculum was fashioned with two goals in mind: to make the American-flag merchant marine more competitive and to enable seafarers to take advantage of any new job opportunities in the maritime industry. This marked the beginning of the Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship. For several years, the union had been exploring ways of consolidating its various training programs. The drastic changes that were engulfing the maritime industry had convinced Paul Hall that the union needed to upgrade its commitment to education. The SIU had come upon the land for the school by chance. New York Port Agent Joe DiGiorgio had gone to Piney Point to meet with a representative of Steuart Petroleum. Close by was a rundown vacation resort that New Programs, had once been a torpedo testing staNew Job Opportunities tion for the Navy. The union bought the land In 1972, the Lundeberg School through a trust set up by its conrecognized the need for trained pertracted companies. Frank Mongelli sonnel aboard the tugs, towboats and and Tom Soresi were sent down to get inland barges. In order to provide the school in shape. For several seamen with the training to take admonths, they did nothing but hard vatage of th~se new opportunities, a labor, bulldozing land, draining the special program was designed. When swampy land and working on making job opportunities arose onboard LNG the facilities habitable. ships and diesel powered vessels, it They were soon joined by other crafted a program of study to SIU officials: Bob Matthews, Mike and promote job opportunities in those The Harry Lundeberg School at Piney Point was the culmination of a dream for Paul Hall. Joe Sacco, Bob Clinton, Tom Brooks, areas. Bill Hall and others. When the school In recent years, emphasis has been SIU trainees were given the tools to compete in an increasingly complex maritime industry. was ready to accept students, Ken on training seafarers for employment Conklin, a retired marine, was put in onboard military vessels, which have charge of the trainees. provided the only new jobs in the It was rough duty. Work days lasted maritime industry. A large cargo han14 hours or more. Officials were dling crane was installed, enabling separated from their families for the school to offer a comprehensive months at a time. And yet for many it sealift mobility course. The Army and was the high point of their careers. Navy began sending people to the Within a few years Piney Point had beschool to take advantage of these come a showplace for the SIU and the facilities. maritime industry A multi-functional bridge deep-sea The growth was gradual. At first, and inland simulator is now in opera- ~ the school taught only lifeboat and tion, one of the few in the nation . basic seamanship. But by the mid This gives seafarers a chance to ac'70s, the school had a full-fledged curcumulate necessary, realistic, "handsriculum. on" experience while still in the classroom. "Hundreds of SIU members and officials have a special feeling for the school," The most important thing about the school is its adaptability. When the union wrote John Bunker, "because they helped to build it in the hot, humid days of signed a contract to crew S.S. Independence and Constitution, the SHLSS was -summer and in the frigid winter when the base was swept by winds from iceable to train skilled chefs and food-handlers to make these passenger vessels a choked St. Mary's Bay. Many a youngster who sweated there as a trainee is now culinary delight for their passengers . sailing as a mate or engineer. --continued next page October 1988 27 �I I I t The Lundeberg School was conceived with the aim of "educating the whole person." The anchor in front of the hotel, center, became a symbol for the entire school. "The union's commitment to education has been carried on through three different administrations," said Ken Conklin, vice president of the school. "First with Paul Hall, then with Frank Drozak and now with Mike Sacco." ARC Program side organizations now book conventions and seminars at the school. 1\vo years ago, SIU pensioners started living there on a full-time basis. Culmination of a Dream For Paul Hall, the Lundeberg School was a culmination of a dream. Deprived of an education, he enabled thousands of seamen to gain theirs. In 1979, a few days before he was to give the seconding speech for Lane Kirkland at the convention of the AFLCIO, he had a seizure. It was an inoperable brain tumor. He fought off dea1:h for several Lee. months. He drifted in and out of a coma; he barely knew where he was. The union ran a series of conferenThe last year of his life had been one ces on alcohol abuse at Piney Point in of his happiest. He had nurtured his 1974 to publicize this problem. There beloved wife Rose to health after a was a lot of resistance to the new serious illness. Her recovery had program, especially from those who brought him great joy. needed it the most. Yet as a result, When he fell ill she rarely left his lives have been saved. side. Every day for eight months, 12 "When I came to the ARC," said hours a day, sometimes more, she was Bill Eglinton, who now is a counselor at the hospital guarding him. Long there, "I was down to 150 lbs. I was in bad shape. I had a bleeding ulcer and after he lost consciousness, members of the hospital staff came to visit, for was experiencing black-outs. he had mesmerized them with his "I started losing jobs. I was wrinen presence. In SIU union halls across up a few times. Finally, I just couldn't the nation, old-timers would grab offitake it any more. I got off a ship and cials and ask, "How is Rosie? How's went straight to the union hall. ''I talked to Philadelphia Port Agent the Chief?" The union's Addictions Rehabilitation Center provides recovering seamen with support. When he died, there was a sense of Joe Air. He had someone pick me up loss at the hospital. Even people who and drive me down to Baltimore, had barely known him could feel their lives diminished in some unexplained way. where I went into a detox center. In many ways, that last, tragic campaign was his finest. Once, when he came "I then went to the ARC. We were one of the first groups. There were 12 out of a coma, he gave a speech, one of the best he had ever delivered. He was others guys. Afterwards, I took the A.A. books with me onboard ship. They gave going to build a town for seamen, a place that they could call their own, where us tapes to listen to. they could live and work in dignity. "There usually was another guy onboard ship who had been through the Of course, he had already done that. It vvas called Piney Point. program. No maner what _IX)rt we hit, we were usually able to get to an AA. His last lucid moment came in January 1980. A picture of George Meany meeting." flashed on the television screen. The Grand Old Man of Labor was dead at 85. "There's George," he said right before he slipped back into a coma. It was No Longer Hard Duty truly the pas.sing of an era, for maritime and for labor. At his funeral, Lane Kirkland said it best. "That big, red Alabama heart of Paul _ Piney Point is no longer hard duty. A beautiful new hotel and recreation center Hall is now still, but the strong beat of it carries on in the love of his family, in the was constructed in 1981. A library, named after Paul Hall, opened at the same memories of his friends, in the union he built, in the solid works that he did, and time. The Lundeberg School is located in an historic section of Southern in the brighter and richer lives of thousands of young people who got a bener Maryland. The school's crowning glory is its waterfront section: Piney Point is lochance in life because of him.'• cated close to where the Potomac River empties into the Chesapeake Bay. Out- The SIU was one of the first unions in America to recognize the serious threat posed by drug and alcohol addiction. More than 700 seafarers have _regained their sobriety and drug-free status by making use of the Addictions Rehabilitation Center in nearby Valley 28 SIU Fiftieth Anniversary �Chapter 17 The '80s: SIU Adjusts to Sweeping Changes, Plants Seeds of Hope B y 1979 Paul Hall had reached the zenith of his career. As senior vice president of the AFL-CIO, he was one of the most influential labor leaders in the nation. He had taken the small, struggling affiliate that Harry Lundeberg established on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and built it into one of the most powerful unions in the nation. He had battled organized crime on the waterfront and beaten the world's largest conglomerates. The wages and working conditions of American seamen, who had been among the most exploited of workers, now compared favorably with their counterparts on shore. Just one accomplishment had escaped his grasp: persuading Congress and the American people to implement a national maritime policy. 1980 Presidential Election Pivotal The USPHS hospital system, which had provived seamen with quality medical care for nearly 200 years, was shut down. The administration procrastinated in coming up with a new liner subsidy program, even though the program, which was central to the continued survival of the American maritime industry, had begun to expire. The program it eventually unveiled has failed to generate much enthusiasm. Maritime's Survival is at Stake In 1980, when the Reagan administration took power, there were 600 deep-sea vessels registered under the American flag, which was barely enough to meet this nation's sealift needs. Today, on the eve of the union's 50th anniversary, that number has fallen to just 360. The maritime industry has undergone a wrench- . ,.,... ing restructuring. Once-proud companies like U.S. Lines no longer exist. Automation has reduced manning scales. Conditions have been made worse by a decadeIong depression in the shipping industry. In order to stay afloat, shipping companies and labor unions have been forced into frenzied bidding wars. Worldwide trends for seamen and other maritime workers are ominous. In order to compete with open registries, traditional maritime nations like Norway have begun setting up their own second registries. Clearly, the continued survival of the Americanflag merchant marine presents the members of the SIU with their greatest challenge as the union faces its second 50 years. He viewed the upcoming presidential election as maritime's last chance to gain a steady supply of cargo. He was gearing up for the election when tragedy struck. Just before he was to deliver Lane Kirkland's seconding speech at the AFL-CIO Convention, he was felled by an inoperable brain tumor. FrankDrozak, his long-time associate, immediately stepped in and gave the union a strong presence during a potentially troubling period. Because of their close association, there was a smooth transition. Within months, Drozak was playing a leading role in securing support for Jimmy Carter, who was publicly committed to signing a cargo preference b. l. Carter lost the 1980 election by a wide margin, in part because of a sense of national frustration brought about by the Iranian hostage crisis. Control Chaos in the Tug of the Senate passed to the Republican Party for the and Barge Industry first time in more than 20 years. The combination of these two events helped pave the way for the soDeep-sea sailors were not the only maritime The Keystone State, one of the union's first military vessels. called Reagan Revolution, which transformed the workers to experience difficulties during this face of American politics. period. A depression in the oil industry and an explosion of corporate takeovers At first, many in the maritime industry had great hopes for the new administration. During the campaign, Reagan had issued a seven-point program to created a desperate situation in the tug and barge industry as well. A pattern "revitalize" the American-flag merchant marine. Yet this turned out to be nothing soon emerged. A company that had a long-standing relationship with the union more than an empty campaign promise. (ACBL, SONAT Marine) would be taken over by a conglomerate. Almost im· ._ mediately, the new management team would start making moves to break the union. That way they could gain access to the funds stored in multi-employer Reagan Revolution Sweeps America plans, reduce wages and welfare benefits and eliminate job descriptions, work The labor movement was faced with a new environment distinctly hostile to its rules, the seniority system and other improvements the union had won. interests. The administration made its intentions clear early on when it broke the Tug and barge companies began unilaterally reclassifying certain groups of Professional Air Traffic Controllers (PATCO) Union in a bitterly contested strike. workers as "supervisory personnel." This made good-faith bargaining nearly imIronically, PATCO had been one of the few unions to possible and threw what should have been routine support Reagan during the 1980 election. negotiations into the courts. Workers were left in Federal programs which had provided a minilimbo while the appeal process took two, three mum safety net for millions of American workers years to play itself out. were axed. The National Labor Relations Board was "It used to be that you would sit across the table packed with conservative appointees, which made it from an owner and talk to him as one human being difficult for unions to receive an impartial hearing. to another," saidSIUVicePresidentJohnFay. "Now, Business groups began holding seminars on how to he has his lawyers and his accountants, and you break unions. The percentage of the American have yours. Everything has to be in writing; even if workforce holding membership in a union dropped you trust a particular management team you know below 20 percent for the first time in the post-war that any company today can wind up being a pawn era. in some takeover bid. The flexibility and trust has Pension funds were under attack. Companies gone out of labor-management relations." sought to pull out of secure, multi-employer plans and establish their own single-employer plans. Not Jones, Cargo Preference The S.S. Constitution, one of two SIU-crewed passenger ships. one multi-employer plan has ever filed for Acts AttacK:ed bankruptcy, but in the three-year period between 1974-1977 alone, more than 8,000 single-employer plans went under. During the Reagan years, repeated attacks have been made against the two most important maritime promotional programs-the Jones Act and the Cargo Preference Act of 1954. Maritime Programs Axed In 1985, agriculture groups mounted their most serious challenge to the Initially, many maritime officials believed that their programs would escape the Cargo Preference Act of 1954. Right before one critical vote, SIU President Frank axe because of the Reagan administration's strong commitment to defense. After Drozak flooded Capitol Hill with whitecapped seamen who made unannounced visits to their elected representatives. all, they reasoned, the American-flag merchant marine plays a pivotal role in providing sealift. He later played a leading role in bringing about a compromise between They were wrong. The American-flag merchant marine was hard hit. Funding maritime and agricultural groups on this issue. This led to the restructuring of the Cargo Preference Act. Certain types of cargo were removed from the act's _ for the Construction Differential Subsidy program was halted. In addition, the administration tried to gut the Title XI Loan Guarantee Mortgage Program and the Capital Construction Fund. --continued next page October 1988 29 �jurisdiction. In return, the cargo preference requirements for other types of government-impelled cargo were raised from 50 to 75 percent over a three-year period. SIU Vice President Jack Caffey noted that management and labor could now mount a united front to resolve thorny problems relating to vessel safety, liability insurance and fishing rights in disputed international waters. Administration Seeks to Export Alaskan Oil Services Beefed Up The administration made no secret of its desire to export Alaskan oil overseas despite a ban contained in the Export Administration Act. This would have had the effect of laying up 40 tankers in the domestic trades. The maritime industry was able to gamer enough support in Congress from preventing that from happening. Many Gains Recorded Shortly after taking over the helm of the SIU, Frank Drozak took steps to improve services to the members. In order to give the union a more visible presence in the nation's capital, he relocated the headquarters building to Camp Springs, Md. He completely computerized the union's records. Not only did this facilitate the processing of claims, but it laid the foundation for a stronger, more efficient Manpower Department. Building upon the legacy of Paul Hall, Drozak made education a priority. He continued to upgrade the facilities at the Seafarers Harry · Lundeberg School. In his speeches, columns and taped messages, he urged SIU members to upgrade their skills. Under Drozak's direction, the union looked into imaginative ways of dealing with a radically changed maritime industry. The abrupt closing of the USPHS hospitals created a crisis for most welfare plans. The trustees effected savings in Unfair Trade Plagues America the Seafarers Welfare Plan without having to cut back on the benefits provided seamen. In New Orleans and Seattle, for example, a preferred provider system It was Frank Drozak's belief that the problems facing the American maritime was set up which guaranteed seamen in those ports bener medical coverage for industry were part of a larger problem. He felt that the international trading sysless money. tem was inherently unfair and that something needed to be done to protect the As president of the 8.5 million member Maritime Trades Department of the security of American workers. AFL-CIO, Drozak led a successful 11-year fight to gain recognition for the role He called upon Congress and the administration to enact an industrial policy. that American seamen played in World War II. He worked tirelessly for ratification If they didn't, he predicted a mass exodus of jobs overseas. All the American ofILO Convention 147, which set minimum international standards for seamen. workers would be left with, he said, "were Mickey Mouse jobs in places like It was the first ILO Convention to be signed by the United States in 35 years. McDonald's paying minimum wage rates." The prototype for this, he said, was The SIU worked for passage of a port development bill to stimulate activity in the formulation of the Effective U.S . Control Doctrine, which decimated the the dredging industry and opposed the imposition of user fees, which were American-flag merchant marine and the fleets of our NATO allies. During his long career in the maritime industry-he had started sailing in the viewed as posing a serious threat to the economic health of the inland waterways industry. deck department in the waning days of World War II- Drozak had witnessed drastic changes in technology and automation. Unless the SIU and the members It supported efforts to reduce the burdensome requirements heaped on the of the union adapted to the rapid changes which were engulfing the industry, he maritime industry, which is regulated by more than 75 agencies. At the same time, the union opposed the said, they would be left behind. administration's broader policy of Absent help from the federal deregulation, on the grounds that it government, he believed that the only would lead to a breakdown of safety avenue of growth was in the military standards in the transportation insector. He repeatedly called upon the dustry. federal government to contract work out to the private sector. This would The union joined others in the have a three-fold effect. It would inmaritime industry in strenuously opposing the reflagging of 11 Kuwaiti crease the sealift capability of this tankers. Rep. Helen Bentley (R-Md.) country by securing an adequatelysummed up the feelings of many in sized pool of skilled mariners. It the industry when she said that the would save the American taxpayers administration had debased the hundreds of millions of dollars. And it maritime laws of the country and would save the American-flag merturned the American registry into a chant marine. flag of convenience. In order to protect the rights of SIU Garners Military New Bedford fishermen, the SIU Work called a strike against the Seafood During a period of industry-wide ..,. Producers Association in 1985. A setdecline, the SIU was able to sign up tlement was finally reached two years hundreds of new jobs for its members SHI.SS Vice President Frank Mongelli (left) met with representatives of the Army and Navy. later. In announcing the agreement, -. 11ic SIU-contracted American Eagle was pan of the convoy foe the Grenada invasion. Member shows souvenir from invasion. 30 The SIU-contracted Falcon Leader was one of the last vessels to be built with CDS funds. Shipbuilding came to a virtual halt in U.S. yards. SIU Fiftieth Anniversary �'~ · onboard military vessels that had been contracted out to the private sector. The turning point came in 1984, when an amendment attached to the Depart· ment of Defense authorizations bill mandated that the Military Sealift Command go through an A-76 bidding process. It was a slow process made possible by the high quality of SIU crews. In 1984, for example, an SIU crew onboard the Southern Cross made a strong impression on the military, earning a letter of commendation for its flawless performance in NATO exercises. The SHLSS retooled its curriculum to include a sealift course incorporating training for helicopter operations and underway replenishments. Students admitted to the school were trained to chores onboard deck and in the engine room. Drozak brought management, labor and government together at a sealift conference, the first of which was held in May 1986 in Piney Point. Frank Drozak Dies The various affiliates of the SIUNA met in August 1987 at one of the intemational's regularly scheduled conventions to deal with the many problem's facing the maritime industry. On the first day of the convention, SIUNA President Frank Drozak fell ill. It was cancer. By April 1988, his condition had become so grave that he called SIU Executive Vice President Michael Sacco to headquarters to begin taking over the helm of the union. Speaking at the union's April membership meeting, Sacco praised Drozak for his many accomplishments. He also urged the membership to reflect upon the meaning of the union's upcoming 50th anniversary He said that the labor movement had enabled American seamen to materially improve the quality of their lives. The wages and conditions that workers now take for granted were gained over the course of several decades. People had given their "blood, sweat and tears" so that future generations would have a benerway of life. Seamen's Struggle Enters a New Phase The struggle, said Sacco, is not over. It is just entering a new phase. Today's members are writing a new chapter. History will record their sacrifices and battles, just as it has recor ed those made by the SIU memrs who served in World War II and built a new union out of the ashes of the ISU. In June 1988, Frank Drozak died. His agenda had been shaped by an historical accident. He assumed office during the 1980 presidential campaign. He died just as the "Reagan Revolution'' was winding down, when the shipping industry was still mired in a decade-long depression. Red Campbell, vice president in charge of contracts, put his career in perspective. "Frank Drozak's enduring legacy is that he enabled this Frank Drozak union to stay afloat during one of the darkest periods in the history of the maritime industry. The union signed up hundreds of new jobs in the military sector and upgraded its services and training program. Unlike others in the maritime industry, it never gave up hope." A Plan For Maritime's Survival "The point is rapidly approaching when the United States will have to decide once and for all if it wants a merchant fleet capable of meeting its security needs," said Campbell. The same conclusion was reached by the Commission on Merchant Marine and Defense, which recently released a seven-point program aimed at revitalizing the maritime industry. "There is a clear and growing danger to the national security," said the report, "in the deteriorating condition of America's maritime industries. "There is today insufficient strategic sealift, both ships and trained personnel, for the United States using only its own resources as required by the defense planning assumptions, to execute a major deployment in contingent operations in a single theater such as Southwest Asia. Without decisive action, the situation will worsen substantially by the year 2000. "Major government effort is urgently required, indeed overdue, to revise our national objectives, policies and commitments in order to reverse the decline of the maritime industry" Maritime Must Unite In his first report to the membership, SIU President Michael Sacco had this to say on the maner: "We are now at the brink of a new administration. At this point, no one can tell what's in store for U.S. shipping. In these days of non-issue campaigning, no one knows where candidates stand on specifics. "But that doesn't mean that the industry can afford to sit still and wait. It had better get itself together, and I mean all of it-all of management and labor-and begin discussing and examining ways and means of using all resources available, to be certain U.S. shipping is not allowed to continue downward without a mighty effort on our part to tum things around. "It can be done, it's been done before. It's going to take good sense and hard work on the part of every section of the industry. The alternatives make it an absolute must for us to take a good hard ~hot at the challenge. We of the SIU stand ready to do our share!'' Michael Sacco ... ... i Anniversary Supplement Editor Max Hall Special thanks to Herb Brand, George McCartney, Red Campbell, and the staffs of the Paul Hall Archives, the SIU Hiscorical Research Deparcment and the Seafarers LOG. SIU Executive Board Michael Sacco President Joseph Sacco Joseph DiGiorgio Exec11t11ie Vice President Secretary Angus "Red" Campbell John Fay Vice President Vice President George McCartney Thomas Glidewell Vice President Vice President Roy Mercer Steve Edney Vice President Vice President Jack Caffey SIU President Frank Drozak was able to improve SIU services during a period of industry-wide decline. The new headquarters building. October 1988 Vice President 31 �----------•a 1-' i'i "We have an educated and informed membership. Together we will forge new programs to meet the challenges of the future. " -Michael Sacco � 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 Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. 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 Special Edition 1988 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES SIU CELEBRATES FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY THE SEAMEN’S STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY THE LAW WAS STACKED AGAINST SEAMEN BUCKO MATES AND CRUELTY AT SEA LIFE AT SEA SEAMEN’S ACT OF 1915 BRINGS FREEDOM MARITIME ENTERS DARK AGE RED SCARE SWEEPS COUNTRY AN ILL-FATED STRIKE BREAKS THE ISU THE GROWTH OF RADICAL ORGANIZATIONS ON THE WATERFRONT THE FIRST AMERICAN-OWNED PANAMANIAN-REGISTERED VESSELS THE GREAT DEPRESSION THE SEAMEN’S MOVEMENT IS REBORN SPLIT IN ORGANIZED LABOR BLOODY THURSDAY THE SIU IS BORN OUT OF THE ASHES OF ISU SIU LAYS STRONG FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE SIU FACES OMINOUS POST-WAR TRENDS PAUL HALL TAKES OVER THE HELM OF SIU THE SIU BECOMES A WATERFRONT POWER SIU SEAMEN MOUNT SEALIFT IN KOREA THE FIFTIES: SIU MAKES RAPID PROGRESS SIU FIGHTS FOR A DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT FIGHT TO SAVE THE MARITIME INDUSTRY LUNDEBERG SCHOOL GIVES THOUSANDS OF SEAMEN A CHANCE FOR A BETTER LIFE THE ‘80S: SIU ADJUSTS TO SWEEPING CHANGES, PLANTS SEEDS OF HOPE 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 10/1/1988 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. 50, No. SE 1988 Periodicals Seafarers Log