Media
Issue Date
1939-04-28
Volume
1
Issue Number
9
Plaintext
• 7
SECURITY
I N
UNITY Seafarers' International Union of North America
Official Organ of the Atlantic^ Gulf and Gteat Lakes Seamen
vol.. I NEW YORK, N. Y., FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 1939 **s No. 9
EASTERN COMPANY ABSOLUTELY REFUSES
JUSTIFIED DEMANDS OF MEMBERSHIP
LOCAL INSPECTORS CHARGE
SEATRAIN NEWjrORK CREW
. Skipper Becomes Confused in Testimony
: When Liiwyer CrossQuestions Him
CREW DID NOT REFUSE DUTY ^
New York, April 13—The Local Bureau of Marino Inspec
tion and NavigatlQii, in an eft'ort to eauKe some unnecessarj
trouble to the men who struck the Sea train NCAV York in
Hoboken on March 29, last week (April 5) sent the entire
crew notice to appear at their local office for investigation
on April 12, 1939. The specifications for the investigation
were as follows:
" While employed under the authority of the certifieate
issued to you l>y this Bureau and signed under shipping
Articles on the steamer SEATRAIN NEW YORK, said
ateeamer being fully stored ^ ^
equipped, undet steam, and In all
other reapecta; ready to proceed
to sea on March 92, 1939, between
the hoiirS of 3:50 P.M. and 6:00
,:PJVL, did: .
Phoney Charge
"1. Refuse to obey , the lawful
comnianda of the master.
"2. Refuse to proceed to sea on
the vessel without reasonable
cause, and absented yourself from
the vessel within twentyfour
hours.oif sailing time without per
m).shion, in violation of Section
4596, U. S. Revised Statutes 46
tJSC701.
"3. To the hinderance of com
merce, you did wrongfully and un
reasonably refuse to perform your
duties after having signed Arth
cles as authorized by the terms
df your certificate in violation of
SectToh 4449, U. S. Revised Sta
tutes, Title 46, Section 240, there
by preventing said steamer SEA
TRAINNEW YORK from depart
ing as scheduled.
"Your t^iial on the above charge
and specifications will bfe conduct
ed at 45 Broadway, New York
City, Room 900, on Wednesday,
April 12, 1939, at 10:00 A.M., at
which time and place you are di
rected to appear to show cause
why your certificate issued to you
by this Bureau should not be sus
(Continued on Pane Four)
,9
SlU MEMBERSHIP VOTES TO
RESPECT NMU PICKB LINES
Membership Resents Propaganda Being
. Circulated by Waterfront Gossips
NMU CLEARANCE NOT NEEDED
At New York Headquarters meeting on April 17, the assembled
memhership iinanimously endorsed the following Resolution:
• * WHERAS: The shipowners have forced a lockout on tankers
.by TOfuaina to renew the agreement, so therefore
BE IT^hESOLVED: That we, the members of the Seafarers'
• Intematlohhl Union of North America, reaffirm our previous
stand, and respect any picket line established against the bosses
. for wages or conditions.
r
t
iii
TIKT Resoliitidh was signed* by
Matthew Dushane and Roland
Disan, and,, the membership enthu
siaHtically voted in ith favor.
Vicious Propaganda
Certain elements within the
NMU have been circulating propa
ganda that the STU was planning
to ship finks on the tankers, and
tlieforegoing Resolution gives the
lie to these vicious statements.
The STU has never had any inten
tion, ofattempting to move in on
the NMU *wh6ii hav»8. legi
timate strike: in progress, and
does not endorsenor condone Buch
tactics. ' ,
However, we understand that
the NMU powersthatbe have
taken it upon themselves to de
mand that all men shipping out,
regardless of Union affiliation,
must get a clearance card froin
the NMU! Needless to say, we do
uot endorse any such dictatorial
policy. When a man ships from
the STU Hall, and has in his pos
session assignment cards indicat
ing to what ship he is being senf,
it should most certainly be evi
dence enough that he is not going
aboard any NMU tanker!
(Cohiinued on Page Four)
NMU Member Flays
Phoney Pollcles
Questions Actions
Of Officiafs
WHY LOAD "HOT" OIL
yS TANKERS SAIL, N.M.U.
ASSERTS 37 ARE TIED UP"
(Headline in the N. Y. Herald
Tribune, April 21.) '
It is a fine state of affairs when
striking tankermen are compelled
to rely on the Capitalist press for
news pertaining to the progress
made in their struggle with the
oil companies. Without bias, one
can ea.sily state that the, only offi
ciel news put out by the N.M.U.
comes on par with the news found
in'the "Ladies Home Journal". It
there ever was a time when
Joseph and the rest of the brhin
trust (?) owed the rank and file
some clear and definite inforiba
tion, now is the time. The men. on
the picket lines have a daifiUfid
good explanation, coming to them
for the strange antics, arid theo
ries that their representatives
have cbine biit' with so far. Frank
ly, from the viewpoint of men
who have been through a few
strikes, the question: "What is it,
stupidity of deliberate sabotage
that Is behind the policy of the
N.M.U. in its present stand on the
tanker strike?" is not out of place,
nor impertinent.
"Hot Oil" Question
Why has there not been proper
preparations made to get' the
picketlines funtioning at top
speed from the moment the strike
was called? Why has Joe Curran
permitted the SS Exchorda to sail
with "hot oil," thereby making
(Continued on Page Four)
Further Evidence
Against Eastern
Refusb to Ad^st
Condttions in
Stewards Dept.
COMPANY PROFITS
Further evidence of the Eastern
Steamship' Co.'s unwillingness to
grant any concessions whatsoever
to the Negotiating Committee, was
their reaction to the following con
ditions asked for in the steward's
department:
1. An increase in the personnel
of the steward's department on all
ships.
2. Adjustment of pay for all
ships, bringing them up to the
scale of the BostonNew York
ships. ,
3. Eight hours in port, and
nine hours at sea for passenger
ships.
4. Vacations.
(Continued on Page Four)
WILL MAKE NO CONCESSIONS
TO NEGOTIATING COMMinEE
Fifteen Day Extension Gave G>mpany
* Time to Stalband Plant Stooges
MAKE JOB ACTION WATCHWORD '
The Eastern Steamship Go. has flatly refused to deal with
the Negotiating Committee on terms any other than their
own, and put up the phoney plea that if they are forced to
sign any agreement for increased wages or overtime, they
will go broke! They claim that if the contract is altered in
any way from the one under which we have been working
for the past year, they will have to tie their ships up. This
is plain unadulterated bunk! With the advent of the World's
Fair here, this company is quite naturally anticipating a de
cided increase in the passenger traffic, and we understand
th^ they are Jilready hooked up solid for practically the
wHol" summer. THERE IS NO VALID REASON WHY
THE SEAMEN SHOULD NOT ALSO SHARE IN THESE
PROFITS! WE HAVE PUT UP WITH THE COMPANY'S
PLEA OF POVERTY MUCH TOO LONG!
No Un,just Demands
The Negotiating Committee did
NOT make any unjust demands of
the EastCTn Steamship Co., and
asked oliiy fbr what the men on
the ships had ;^already stated they
wanted. They are now circulat
ing the phoney propaganda that
we are deliberately trying to
break them through alleged exor
bitant demands, in a vicious at
tempt to descredlt your officials!
Place absolutely no credence in
any such rumors, because they are
false!
The Committee asked that the
working hours for the steward's
department be adjusted to a more
reasonable standard. The Com
pany refused to even consider this,
and made the statement that the
men In this department do not
actually, work over an average of
six hours a day. When asked to
back this statement up by putting
in. the agreement that the work
ing hours of the steward's depart
ment s.hall not be more than six
hours a day, they immediately
craweled out from under!
Overtime Refused
The Cofaipany inriists that one
hour in twentyfour be allowed for
the purpose of docking and un
docking, and also insist that it
must apply to both deck and en
gine departments. Why should
any man work an extra hour with
out compensatiori? This particu
lar condition has long been a bone
of contention, and must be
stopped!
The Company flatly refuses to
pay overtime to the deck depart
ment for work performed after
5:00 P.M. and^ before 8:00 A.M., or
on Saturday afternoons, Sundays
or holidays, for the wat'ch on deck,
't'he system of sailors performing
manual work at night has long
been outmoded, and there is no
good reason why the ESSCO
should not also get up tq date.
On the New YorkBoston rim
ships, we asked for a double day
for both Saturday afternoons and
Sundays, but the company will
grant the double day for Sunday
only.
Extension Granted
We were gracious enough to
grant the Eastern Steamship Co.,
a fifteen day extension of the:
agreement, but^—what came of it?
Nothing was accomplished during ,
that fifteen days, other than the
fact that it afforded the company
a further opportunity to sta'U
around, and plant a few more
stooges on their ships. Now—
after this extension of time—they
don't want to grant any of our '
perfectly just demands!
RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE NO
AGREEMENT WITH THE EAST
ERN STEAMSHIP CO., SO
THERE IS NO LEGAL CON.
TRACT TO BE BROKEN
THROUGH ANY ACTION YOU
MAY TAKE!
Efforts Abandoned
The Negotiating Committee has
abandoned all further efforts to
reach a satisfactory agreement
with the Company, as they are
well aware that they do not in
tend to accede to any of our de ,
m'ands, and have assumed an ada
mant, dictatorial pose! They have
flritly refused to grant any in
crease in wages!!
The questibn noyv copfrontinffM
us Is: ARE WE WILLING TO
CONTINUE TO WORK UNDER
THE OLD PHONEY AGREE
MENT? Or: DO YOU WANT AN
AGREEMENT WITH INCREAS
ED WAGES, IMPROVED WORK .
ING CONDITIONS, AND MORE
OVERTIME?
IF VOU WANT THE LATTER,
—AND WE ARE SURE THAT
VOU DO,—ARE YOU WILLING
TO GO TO BAT FOR IT?
We do not believe that our mem .
(Continued on Page Four)
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'• ':.4 THE SEAFARER S ' L O G
Friday, April 2Bi 4
'• • Ai
'r
/:, i' i • '• "• ' • ^*1'
r"f • / i:'ublisheft by the
, 1 Rqwea WUarr
....465 So. Main Street
Seafarers^ iriterndtional Union
of North America
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor
HATRHY LtJN£)fiBEitG, Acting President
11 Steiiart Street, San Francisco, Calif. »
Atlantic district
HEADQUAffTERS
New York 2 Stone Street
RRANCHEi
609,tnn „.
Providence ... r.
Fhiladeiphia *" i® Street
Baltimore
Norfolk . • ..• • • • SW.^aet Main Street
San Juan, Puerto Kico u5 Tetuan Street
iSdlf'b^t^ri
HEAbQUARTERS
New Orleans t • • • • • 2^® Chartres Street
" BRAMCVifeS ,
Sarannab 218 East Bay Street
Jacksonvilie 4 • »* • r • Btreet
Miami ; 80^ N^. ̂ First Avenue
TalSspa • V, 206 Str«^t
Mobile 65 So. Conception Street
Houston ...;.1712 • 75tli Street
C7r?«/ L'flJ&k^i)/5fric/
HEADQUARTERS
Detroit .1038 Third Street
AlH>Ke88 ALL WliliFi8PM0Mc9 C'OTilbEKStNG i'HIS
plBLICATION TO:
"THE SEAFARERS' LOG"
^p. O.'BOX ^2, Church St. Annex, New York, N. Y.
EDITORIAL
Events of the past Aveeks certainly slionld have proven to
^11 and sundry tiiat the Seafarers' Interuatiohal Union of
North America is very definitely in the field to secure • the
very best wages and eotxditions possible for the seamen, and
is not going to take NO for an answer.
The agreements with the Sea train J>ines and Avith t]ie
American Range Lines are really outstanding examples of
wliat agreements should be like, and it is our oplpioh tliat
there aren't any betfer "agreements on this coast. The NMU
made an attempt to get an agreement Avith the Seatfaihs, and
failed miseiiably, arid it must eanse them ho little concern to
see tie SIU sUeOessLilly strike thhir ships, and then get a
Rfst class agreement signed on the dotted line.., (Note to Joe
Cirrran: There is also a definite clause in both agreements
calling for coffee time!)
MlLt'i'ANT ACTION SUCCESSPtJL
Along with, the signing of these agieements, the crcAvs of
several ships, through the medium of a little job action, and
the proper application of eeoiiohiic presssure, gained certain
conditions they had demanded. For iiistahec, thegreAv of the
Ofeylock of the" Robin Line,'hy 'refusing to pay off the .ship
luntil a settlement was made, obtained the payment of con
teiderable overtime that this company had never been forced
to pky previously. The overtime itself Avas legitimate, but the
Bohiu Line has been fofcuig the ercAy.s to live up to the
phoney bM 1^' agreement, and refusing to pay them over
time for,afiy such work performed in any but the home port.
This had heen going on for duite some time, and the crew of
the Greylock decided that .it had gone far enough, andthey
tdok the action necessary to put a step to ft.
The crew of the Wateiuian Line ship, Panama City, put
tUp a legitimate beef about food and quarters, and got no
action out. df the company until they threatened to AValk off
the ship. Then the owner.s were only too eager to accede to
the legitimate dehiaiids of this crew.
FORCE YOUR D'MANDS
The foregoing incidents are examples of Avhat can be ae
cdmplished through militant action, and no man lost his job
hecfiuse of it. The old fear of. losing one's job because of
probable reprisals hy the shipoivners for legitimate aetiyify,
is pn longer prevalent, and the SIU inembership has develis Qii longer jncvaieiii, aiiu uie oi u uicuiuciouijj Miaa cipie. Ji ui.s UULHI . ^
"^p'ed an aggressive attitude, and are no longer to be denied. Uiiion men oh the .ships refused to |»ut up. with such pr(^
' There are, at present, negotiations in progress with the nedure. and Avalk.ed off the ships. More power to em, an
— — . ; J •
gation Company; Naturally, Ave expect the best agreements
possible with all of these cdnipanies, and we intend to exert
f ' • _5_ L. L1.... v. AX!. i 4 lA »** 4" l« »vi I
giSr;
rjf ^
(event any of these companies refuse to agree to grant any
just demands made of them.
p. & p. GNTS'TASTE OF ACTION
f The membership in Tampa and Miami were on strike
kgainst the Peninsiilar and Occidental Steamship Company, GET TOGEIH«, AKD.GO
J j?^r, if nedessary, to gain their point. These men are to be TO TOWN!
' AFbiiiid jBastern 1
fries to deal with NMll
SEAMEN ALL WISE TO HIM
What has Dave Grange, The Rajah of Ronkonkomo'
111 doing around the Eastern Steartishipi Co. docks an
ships? This perennial phoney, this prodigous palpitatir
pain in the neck, is apparently cooking up some Sprt of
scheme, add Ave wouldn't doubt but what it is being doi
ryt Hyii PAmmlnVr.—or At IftAf
been doing around the Eastern Steairishipi Co. docks and
prodigous palpitating
sort of a
lone
Avith the aid and connivance of thb Company,—or At least,
Avith their knoAvledge! Don't be fooled by this phoney, and
again! ^ .
source, tlihf daihing Dave
wind up behind tjie eight ball
4 .~r. .
was dp to NMtJ Headquarters, wanting to maae a deal with
1, add tbfe tiem llmt^he can turn % ^ps
. \ V. it.* UJi liAJi oti Hcfma ov'rH*4
of these sh|ps muflt be handing him plenty of the old baloney,
as it is a ̂ efiM^Iy proved fact that he cant turn over even
one of this co&^ksky'i sW^s. . .
DISOll^riED FAKM
The seamen don't want any part of ^isdiseredited labor
faker, and they All know, only too we^ his odious ipcbtd!
>Vhy does he persist in ifgectifag himself into the pictuyef Is
he so much of an egoist that he believes he can ggaiiy mislead
and delude the seamen, arid sell them down the river once
more? j • *
It is quite some tipic siricc we have felt called upon to
pav any .particular atteriiipn ip. this ,leech, but we feel that
the membership would like to know tliat he is again on the
prowl. However, we predict that he won't get far, as there
is an abiindarice of sea,meri Avho entertain no particular af
feetion W bim, and wW no part of hi™
ON PROWL FOB PIE
All seambn should know, if they alreAdy don't that this
pArasitieal hypocrite does not have their interests, at heart,
^and never did! All he is intere.sted in is the matter of
Ills own .selfaggrandiAeinent. In other words,—pie! His big
sbot" (Yes, we said "shot") complex has apparently never
(^.serted him, and we dpubt that it ever will. Just anoiher
Hitler at heart,—that's Grange! ^
For some months, the ubiquitous .. Rajah has been trying
every afigie of which he can tbink, to make s»o»«
the^eafaref s! in^rn^tibn^^ tJhlnh, hilt has n»t
any sbccess. First he persuaded a con^ttep *9.
your Union officials with a plea, that he be allpwed to hold
riieWb^rship in this Union. Needless to say,this move ™
a complete flop.! Tlieh he made a teazen att^pt ̂
§tate tThemployment Ir^ance by claupi^ that he had been
employed by ^he SIU! What supreme g^R!
CAN'T FOiOL SEAiffEN
Although his haine is not listed.among the M|<;glled offi
cers of the rbcehfly disipierred I^U, he umiDtless very
active in the movcmbut. Howcecr, the pie pickings there
arc very slim, and he is trying his best Jo muscle m some
where where he figures he can once agafa be Number One
PieCard! „ . . t ^ «
A nice griy, Dave, and we'd trust.him just about as far
as we coiild tluOAV Ferdinand.the Bull by his tad! We wish
to cautibn all members to be very Avary of this charac^r,
and not to put.any stock In the bunk he^passes out. We
realize that Inr is a good talker, and is a past master in the
art of deceit, but we still don't believe that, with the reputa
tion he has, he can ioql,.,any unsuspectirig seamema^m!
Watch your step, • 'Rajah",^we're Avatchiig YOU!
highly commended for the stand they took, and we knew
inijimiH, aciiuii, iiw jv,., that, if they maintained this attitude, they couldu t lose.
The old fear of, losing one's job because of They struck these ships in protest against a direct yiolatjpn
A.T._ . company^ .of a bona fido agi*eoniont. ajid a Union pnn
ciple. Thi.s outfit shipped men off the dock, and the real
THere are, ai. present, negoiiaiiojis m progres.s wiiu uie cediire, anu Avauieu uii
Robin Line, and pending negotiations with the Colonial Navi they lihye pur,congratulations.
...A.—.—, wA ~ 4*T *» rt T1 «T twT ^ 4VA« T\/ic«F miFc* • rm A lyrm DEI A/I< BE MILITANT, BE AGGfeE^IVE,^BUT ALSO^BE
possible with an ot tnese coniparues, ana we iniena to exert pAlK AND jfU^T! ^ALWAYS REMIMBBR THAT GOOD
€vefy pbssible effort to obtain them. It is, of course, directly (iij|j';^pi'pfp^g ^D WAGE^,,G
lap to the member.ship involved to take direct action in the • 0ii|fLY TlftRbUtiH ^0'U% O^WN EF^^ ONJLY THKUUVrn *"'Vi v v*« r*
THE SHIPOWNERS HAVE NEVER
• HING UNLESS YOU FOUGHT FOE IT ! DbN^FORGET
'HAT YOUR LEADERSfflP IS ONLY; AS OTEONG^^^^
THE MEN BEHIND TNi^! iNlTUOUT
BAOElNG. 'rNFY ARE PRACTICALLY POVhSELESS TO
Bal timbl'e
Highligbts
*A,•
VI
..... :
. Baltimore, Md., April ISrShtp
ping continues fair along this >va ;
terfront, with an average turn
over of sixty members per week.
On the Qalmar Line, the Company
came through , with overtime for
the Bos'n standing a wheel watch,
and a O.S. for going into the
bilges. The mates on these Cal
mer Shipa are brokenhearted
these ̂ays aWut having to. toe the
Unj^, on the overtime question, esh
peclall^ the mate on ;.the, ^ry
mar, who had to pay overtime for
shining the binnacle, after be had
gone to a lot of trouble to scrape
the paint off It.
Ore ddriciitions Improved
Condition^ pa the Ore SS Line
are much improved. Buiik lights
and., other conveniences for the
crew are being installed as rapid
ly as imssibie, , On thje trouble
Bome iFood question, investigation
showed, ,that ihq , stewards were
.afraid , of being flred if they were
in any ,way .Ubergl. wi^ the food
put aboard, but now ttiey are pass
ing, Jt out frilly, knowing that if
tlioy doq't, charges' will be placed
against tlieih, arid then they real
ly will be out Of a job.
, Jean Straightened Out
,. On the Bull Line's .SS Jean, the
dring pf .both the Deck and En
girie Delegates at the same time
had a smell about it, and after a
battle which lasted all week, the
two brothers were put" back to
work. While taking action on this
matter, .the patrolmen cleaned up
a . few .other details on the ship
by getting new mattresses and pll
loAvs,,ventilators, to the quarters,
and having the Bos'n and Carpen
ter moved 'midships,.to glire more
space aft,, The food question on
this ship was also very thproi|gh
ly arid satisfactorily cleaned .up.
M A M Crews Waking Up
Coricentratiori on the M.orpharitB
arid Miners Line is beginriing to
have its etf^t on the crews. Last
week saw a 100 percent SIU d^k
departriient on one of the M & M
ships, and the election of a shiph
delegate. We can't Imagine, what
vicepresident Merrill of the Line,
AVho fought for the checkoff sy^
tern iri order that there would be
no need for the pafrolmeri to oori
,tact thp s^iips, will think wpen ho
that ihern. iV. a Sitr delegate
abc^rd ,the sliips at ail timesi. Mer
rill, who evidently thought fhat
all a delegate w^t .ahoard .a ship
for w^ to collect dues, 8efan«,to
be duri for a rude awakening wheg
the patrolmen start thumping do
qiands for Imprqyed working conf
ditions on his d^k.
Port Coriricil t^cers
Preparatory to the A,.F. of L.
Executive Counoirs meeting to bo
held in Washington nest month,
at which tiriie the ̂machinery for
the setting up of a National Mari
tiriie Trades Council will be set in
motion, the Baltimore, Port Gouri
eil elected protem offtcerB, with
Brother Andrew MacDidnald of
the Commercial Telegraphers _
Union as President; Charles Dl
Guardo of the Warehousenieri
Vfc'eEresiderit, and John E. Lewis
of the ILA Chetrildal Works, see:
retaiT The local Coiincfl Is ready
ilo go to town 6ri any cooperative
action necessary on the water
front,
NMU'ers strike has riot affected
this port very much so far. due
to the absence of the , vessels of
the lines on strike. However, as
was Goriflrmed unanimously at'our
last biislriedb meeting, the picket
lines of the NMU will be strictly
observed by our membership. The
Branch is also supporting the
teamsters and the Building Trades
Council in the citywide strike ac
tion against nonunion truck
drivers.
II
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Friday, April 28, 1939 T ri E S E A F A R E R S • LOG
M'
IS
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SABOTAGE POINT ARENA BEEF
TflmUGHMITED
ijji^em Inquire WKy Siicli Beefs Sliioiiid
.Not Be Settled t^'^ithout Recourse to
Headqiiart^t'd
New Orleans, Ija., April 20—The crew of the SS Point
Arena sailed from Mobile .with the wnderstAiiding from the
S & H Co.'s officials, through iUmstrong, Mobile prganizer,
that eyerythhig would be tahen care of in New Orleans. .
Bollinger, SUP peicgate dn New , Orleans, contacted the
siilB in New Orleane, and receiyeS^^ —
ft Hat wltli twenty fqur dlffereht
beets on If at a joint meeting of
the crew.,
.The SUP Betsgate took two
fthipa*. delegates to :6eC ^ahtaln
Theobold„who vae instructed, that
i'f tlaese; things not taken
care of, the qrew .would gnd
that there wfere not enough tnen
ashore to fill tlie vacahojes. Cap
tain, Tlieobold agreed to give them
twenty points, and investigate the
other four.
Wire front J?ead<|uftrter8
Buriny the abMnce .of the SUP
Delegate,, someone can tact ed Uie
Company and had theip wire the
SUP in Frisco for Instructions,
also the cdthpany paid lor tele
phone to MFOW&W and the MC&S
in Frisco. The wire from SUP
Hchdawartcvs read as follows:
"Please supply, crew for Foiht
Arena" (but does hot State that
it should be under ftnk hall cohdi
tions or the right's to quit taken
from the men). "We have con
tracts for all W.C. ships, and have
to furnish crews.. If the fijilp ties
up here,, crew .will be entitled to
usual .transportation." Foregoing
wire, from Lundeherg, received at
SIU Hall, :^ew Orleans.
Qtlier "^iyeal
Would also like to have pub
lished in the nexf issue the com
munications from lialone and
Burke, which, the.ciew.has,. which
never were shown. to the Delegate
ashore, and Malohe or , Burke
never did,know what th#. twenty
four deman^ or living conditions
were on tW ship, which were
lousyj
For the proteclfop of the few
militant men aboard, who quit a;t
the last ".minute, after, all hopes
were lost for the cause. Let it be
said tiife men who quit did so after
being overruled by the ones who
sneaked up and signed on one at
a time.
Wouldfie Militant
"When thp crew . waa, contacted
ten o'clock pn sailing and .sit
ing on day, by the SUP Dele^fe,
It fireman told him "who was run
ning the Bhip, the. crew, or the
"men ashore/' and also j,umped up
like ho was going to dujhp said
delegate, but was discpuraged by
a few militant "SUP men. Baid
flremgn, quit here, .apd said that
he WQiild go to Mobile and ship
fhrpugli the NMU. hall, because he
would not ship through this "fink"
hall herb in N.O. Nine, out of ten
were of the same opinion as this,
man, in all three, departments.
to have communications come
through the Hallls, instead of hay
ing them come through the Com
pany ofidc^, like the Ip^ disthuce
calls to Durke and Mj^lone in. re
gard to the Point. Arena in New
dfleans.
C. Col^eman, SUP No..2^39..,
L. J. Boflinger, SUP iNo. 38iS9
T. Howard, SIU No. 173
liABBENiNGS in MOBILE
handled, in this port, .instead yf U2ULUiC;tA. MA r ' — • V
having, the co^ip^ny rsending vfirps ,what they had to go throu^, dur;.
to Headquarters p .alsu. having ing the .old FinkHall days,..and
Headquarters settling .things ,by just .why we.should^ really stand
wire and telephone, and not together and .fight. ; Np one knows
the knowing wha^
beefs were?
Delegates in all ports would like
GROWS
New .Orleans, La., April
are constantly .turning down sea
men of all. departments, c«m',ing in
to our hall daily, .expecting to jpiTi
up with us. Some of these per
sons, we feet sure, are worthy of
our. membership, but, as we ppihf
out to them, we,are not being
swamped by a, 50,000 membership,
until such time comes when we
can offer, a . reasonable assurance
of furnishing each and every mem
ber a living yearly wage.
This is a Union for US. iNOT
for ME or YOU!
Naturally, we arp growing. Our
inembershlp is getting larger
every week, but our Union Halls
are practically empfy. We see fit,
atevery, meeting, to elect an in
vestigating committee to investi
gate seamen desiring to join our
tfnion, to fill, fhe vacancies left
open through better shipping con
ditions. Those who pass said com
mittees are fully dependable, and
entitled to good, faith, of member
.shlp as a result of the investiga
tion.
These investigating , coipittees
are doing more than investigatihg
new members. They are also
thinning out the fiidrs, etc., etc.,
who .got Into, the AFLSU and SIU
through various rijethods. Natur
ally, We have hot ridden ourselves
of all the undesirables, but they
will surely show their colors soon
er or later.
in the cou^se of five months,
our Tpemberehlp has risen to
proxirnately 10,d(/0= Companies, un
der our contract! know that they
are all good seameii at heart. We
believe in the true foolproof con
stitution and l)ylaiws ihtrusted tp
us by the StJP, by which we are
abiding, and under which we are
willingly being obligated.
Of course, we have a few young
sters among us who do not' know
the score. For this reaso.n/ vp.are
trying to encourage the oldtimers
Miami, Fla, April Ig—After six
days out in a walkoff, the SIU
crews of the Florida and Cuba at
taiined their demands, and the
finks were paid off the car ferries.
The action taken by the men
was taken after trying all other
methods of p^ceful settlement, at
which we got nowhere. Direct ac
tion was taken, and the results
were forthcoming. Which goes to
prove that direct action is the
best way to settle the big beefs.
This is the first time the com
pany has paid overtime in' its hifr
tory. Also, the ships are to he
drydocked shortly, and the quar
ters will be fixed over.
Oi^pizer Wants Pie
, The. great, "rgnk. and filthy" or
ganizer, Jpe Volpin, was noted for
gplng behiua.the picket lines to
organize the finks. Also, when a
ahlp's, crew wanted to, support the
BJU tnen, he Vrequested them to
Btay aboard. This 13 to be expect'
ed, as, not. long ago he u,dmitted
that he. wanted pie, and not the
iite of a sailor.
The Stht'e of Ilorida has at last
awakrtied to the fact that it pays
to be organized. All eyes wwe oh
the results'ofthis beef against
one of the most powerfifl compan
ies in the state. Bo a victory for
the SJU. ipganp, a vjctqry for all
Labor in the State of Florida.
IDA Gooperiiteh
The longshoremen cooperated
one hundred percent, and backed
the. seamen up. 'With such uqlty
as this, the SIU should go far and
fast.
iai A.F. of L. LpcaJs, respected
Qpr picket lines, and ̂ helped tie
the ships up .Frisco style.
The car ferries needed new
crews, and there not being enough
men in the, SIU^Hall i^. Mlami,
your agent had to go down, to the
NMU, and turn over the A.B.'s and
O.S.'s theie to fill out fte comple
ment. As usual, the NMU agent
ran up the street begging us not
to take his men, as he considered
it unfair.. ,Can we help, it when
fhe membership , .kpows what
Unlpn is doing something for
them besides spending their mon
ies and signing phoney agree
ments? I
, now h^ve thfngb pretty well
lined up oh the P&D:rCMh over
tipie, clo^itd shop, etc. ,^esh milk,
ah^ quarters to be renoyat^
Talked with several NMU men
on various vessels, and fhe only
argument they put up is the fact
that they say they like the NMU.
Why, I have yet.to discover!
, Do not ride Top cabs in
Miami, and also demand, and buy
at the Union sign here.
J. Gunnison
Why can't beefs like these, be ! to take the floor, fpr about five mln
utes each meeting, to .ppinf out
twentyfour better than those who fought for
our rights.
Eugene Nobles
DEPmURE
New Orleans, April 16—Fu
neral was held at MacMann's
Funeral Parlor on Sunday,
April 16, 1939 for Brother J.
H. Moller, who died at the
Marine Hospital last 'Wednes
day at 5:00 A.M.
Brother Moller served as
Chief Steward with the Missis
sippi Steamship Co.. and was
previously Port Steward for the.
DixieU.k, Line, and the Kerr
SS Co., wd was a good SIU of
NA'member, ills age was 76.
He U greatly missed by all
hands. H. Peterson represent
ed the Seafarers' at the funeral.
Finn Schefstad, Agent
Mobile, Ala., April 21—Why is
It that all of a sudden the mem
bers of MFGW are so concerned
with the militancy of the SUP?
There is ho seaman who can say
that theSUP was ever lacking, in
a legitimate beef; never have they
sold out the members of their ai
filated organizations; at"hll times
they are there when needed to
combat the eommon enemy. All
seamen wiir agree that aftrn all
the chatter and smoke clears, that
the program of the SUP was
right, ,pn the tok book fight, and
that we ire also right in oppos
ing the attempt to open fink hajls
on the We.st' b9a.st. It is under
stood by all BtJP ihemhers, and
all other militant seamen, . that
opening fini; halls .op the Co^t
WjlJ start picket, lines, fr^m San
Bi^o tq Bremertdh. Still our bro
^hera of the ̂ IFOW fear that we
mifihi take members of the ,SIU
to the Coast, • who were not mV the
picket.line? i^ '3f. As a point
l^joiTuation to all, the SIU Is oh
record to^ expel any member, of
the siU who ships through a link
hall, and to picket said halls, and
in everjy way cpmhat the .Maritime
Commission halls, and the train
ing ships. In other vrprds, they
have completely endorsed the SUP
program.
Point Salinas ̂ ef
Here, oh Wednesday, April 19,
the gang oh the Point Salinas
were all hot and botHered as to
who was going to be shipped to
fill the crew dh this ship. 1^en
thdy were fold that, to date, the
SUP has taken care of their own
business, and intend to keep on
doing so, and'as'we did not tell
them who and what to ship, tliey
should 'Wise up; and sail with the
men shipped—they did!
No member of the SUP will
ship with a. known scab, and fur
ther, pQ man in . his right .mind
will ship on a West Coast ship if
he isn't certain that he is clear.
So let's stop squawking among
Qurselyes, and unite in the fight,
against thfe shipowners, who, are.
doing everying to keep us fight
ing.
SIU Not StrikeBreakers
On the tanker question, the
word is already put that the SHJ
is shipping men on the struck
tankers. What a laugh this is!
Before anyodd gives us any more
hooey of this sort—remember that
the SIU in made up of sea.nien
who rtiH , member that the pres
ent messedup Gutf situation came
about when'the, NMU ihdved in
through a le^timafe picket line
a^inst t'he Lykes SS .Co., and
that .the ; SiU is a real UNION to
be proud of—hot to be used as a
strikebreaking agency.
Here In, Mobile, I'm r,sure that
the members of the NMU are de
voting their, fi^e, to figuring ways
and means t,o win the strike—and
are not worrying about the SIU
trying i^o fink ph theih—and that's
the way it should be in pll ports.
Sure, therp is going to be lots of
the old b&lohey thrown around,
but just remember that", in any
legitimate beef—when it's all over
—that the seamen as a whole are
fighting against the operators, and
that' we must not climb out on a
limb, and give John Boss a. saw!
Already, the Magnolia Co. have
tried to have the SIU ship men,
and were seemingly surprised to
get an emphatic "NO" for an an
swer!
A. W. Armptrong
SUP No. 2983
Mobile, Ala,, April 24—The regn
iar correspondent has shipped as
serahg on the good ship Jeaii L^
fitte, so for this week you wly
have to take what .you can get
How those girls, and the sceneft
on the other side call!
First and foremost;—this Is
convention week here in the faj.r
city of Mobile. Delegates are
flbatiiig around .thick,er .tfian
snowflakes, and the only tffing
they are all agreed upon is that
th.e.AFL is coming back stronger
than ever.' With the new y6u|ig
blood in • the Labor movement,
and fhie steadying influence of the
old tihiers, it's a cinch that the
AFL should go ahead to he,F
heights of solidarity. In this gen
eral fnovenieht, the SlU is prov
ing thail they are definitely it part
of tb^ AFL, artd are, at all tinfes,
to be reckoned With. In line With
this:—La«t week the district rtrari
ager of the Mafiholia' Oil Co.,
called the Mobile A'aent, and ask
ed about* getting* crews for the
?truck tankers. ".Sottyf told .Him
that the SIU IS A UNION,—NOT
A STRIKEBREAKING AGENCY!
Mr. Cousins, the district manager,
seemed surprised, to say the
least., t have It that the saipp
thing was tripd in New Orleans^
and the same , answer .^giyerv
Thqre they offered TEN pUpl^S
A H^AD FOR FINKS, and gonjt
forget that any rn^n who t^k<^|
a tanker is. a FkNK, and should
bo treated as such.
The upual line of petty beefs
during the week, and all, .\yere
taken cai'e of in the same old w;ay,.
It seems here fhat there are a few
mates who take.a lot of cpnyinc
ing regarding what is and what i?
not overtime: • but in time it, will
all work out to the best"advantage
of our oiganizatipn.
Re: Istbmiaii Ships
Regarding the Isthmian boats:
Was aboard the Steel Maker, and
was very surprised to see the, con
ditions that exist' aboard thes?^
ships., Some of the younger men
who have, just stavtcd to sea oq
Union ships would not believe th'af
such shjps sail the seas under pur
Flag. 'The ship's .side in the quar
ters not' sealed; steel decks, an.d
ho insulation oh the overhead.,
• 5(011 know* that this makes fprj
lousy quarters oii the tropicaj
runs, and these crews should wakf;
up and get in the Union, and
square these scows up! Trip afler
trip, around the world, intercoas
tal to the Island's, in fact, to any
port, in the world, these ship?
sail, and are never bothered, any
place. This is one of the richest
companies in America, and thelt
ships have the lousiest quarters!
So come on Tsfhmian sailors, ̂ akq
up, and join the Union, and let
these packets fixed up, so that liv
ing conditions at least chri be
brought up to t>ar. In all of fte
major U.S. ports that you hit,
there is representation oif the
SIU, and all tl^e patrolmen are
eager to give you all the assist
ance th% can. "V^eh yon arrive
in port, come to the Hall if you
can, if hot, call the Hall, and have
the patrolman come down to the
ship or the dock. Let's get to
gether on these ships, and make
them worth riding!
This week's meeting is being
postponed oh account of the Con
vention. There is a special stew,
ard's department meeting at 2:00
o'clock though, to take care of
port rules. Speaking of port rules
risnt It a bout time that some
coastwise rules were put into ef
fect? A. W. Armstrong
SUP No. 2983
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http://www.pdfcompressor.org/buy.html
THE SEAFARERS' LOG Friday,>nril 28, 19391
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f Eastern Refuses
{.Continued from Page One)
pended or revolted under the pro
visions of Section 4450, United
State Revised Statut'eSi 46, U.S.C
23S."
Company Not Responsible
The Seutrain Line officials are
on iecord that they have not asked
for this investigation, and absolve
themselves of all blame for it
However, subsequent' testimony of
the master and the chief engineer
before the examiners, certainly
indicate that they, at least, are
trying their best railroad the men
concerned, through their obviously
biased testimony.
In any event, the men appeared
at the Local Inspector's office on
the day and hour stated, accom
panted by SIU representatives.
The Inspectors were, of course, all
set to proceed: but, much to their
surprise, the ̂ SIU representative
stated that he wanted a postpone
ment of the case, in order that
the men might be represented by
legal counsel. Numerous objec
dons were raised by. members of
the Inspector's Office staff, but
when it was pointed otit that this
was the first time the men had
been gotten together, and there
hadn't been time to engage, coun
sel, a postponement^as allowed
until 1:30 P.M. Of the same day.
Po.stponed Again
Charlton Ogburn, A.F. of L. at
iforney, was immediately contact
ed, and told of the circumstances,
ahd when the investigation was
slated to proceed at 1:30, the at
torney asked for a further post
ponement", due to the fact that he
was more or less unacquainted
with the case. The proceedings
were again postponed until 9:30
A.M„ April 14,
The investigation was resumed
as per schedule, the Captain of
the New York taking the stand,
end on several occasions becom
ing a bit confused in his testi
mony. Several membere of the
crew also took the stand, and all
testified that they had not refused
to obey the commands of the mas
ter, but that they had merely quit
the ship on the natural assump
tion that it is their right to quit
a ship, in a safe harbor, whenever
they desire to do so. After fur
ther testimony, the investigation
was postponed until Monday, April
17, but due to the fact th'at..An;
other case was also scheduled for
that day, and also because the
Seatrain New York was resuming
service, and many of the men In
volved had shipped on her, the
case was again postponed until
the vessel's return voyage to this
port.
The Inspectors are, of^Course,
trying to establish the fact tfiat'
these men deliberately hindered
commerce by leaving the ship
without having given sufficient jio
tice to Uie master.
Artlclc.s Sigiied at Hea
It has been brought out that, the
men on the Seatrain New York
signed Articles at sea on January
29, 1939, and that they were dated
Ffebrua.ry 1, 1939. No Shipping
Commissioner was present at the
time, in accordance with the law."
Furthermore, January 29 was a
Sunday, and it is the contention
of the Union that any contract
signed , on a Sunday is not legal
nor binding. The Commissioners
claim that, for years, it has been
the custom to allow the_ master
to have the crew , sigdi pre dated
Articles in bis presence, arid then
have, the Commissloiier put his
seal on them when the vessel ar
rives in port, Custom or not^it
is still not ill accordance with the
law, and the ^.raqfice should ' be
discontinued! .
The Union has secured the ser
vices pf A.F. of L. attorneyjCliarl
ton Ogburn, and at present, it
looks as though the Union has an
excellent chance of winning the
caae, and establishing, once and
for all, that seamen have the right
to quit a ship at any time that a
ship is in a safe harbor! • ,
((7on finned from Page One)
bership will take this refusal .by
the company lying down, and ;it
directly up to all of us to demand
that our just demands be com
plied with!
Time Not Ripe
Right now is not the time for
strike action, as the ESSCO ships
are not yet at their busiest. How
ever. don't lose sight of the fact
that we have no agreementwitli
this outfit, and it is directly up
to those men on the ships to de
mand, and get everything they
can. A little job action will do
the trick, and it's high time that
thjs company was given a taste
of it. If strike action becomes ne
cessary at a later date, then they
will know that we mean business.
Unity Necessary
All departments are cautioned
that they, must stick together, be
cause without complete united ac
tion, all e|[urts are wasted! If
one department has a legitimate
beef, let the other two depart
ments back them"' up. Sailors,
firemen and stewards—you are all
seamen, and race, color or creed
has absolutely no place in the pic
ture! Use the strength that there
is in unity, and pull together at
all times!
IF YOU REALLY WANT
WHAT YOU ARE ENTITLED
TO, YOU WILL HAVE TO GET
UPON YOUR HIND LEGS, AND
FIGHT FOR IT! THE EASTERN
STEAMSHIP CO., NOR ANY
OTHER SHIPOWNER, IS GOING
TO GRATUITOUSLY GIVE YOU
SOMETHING FOR NOTHING!
YOU HAVE NOT ASKED FOR
MORE FROrd THIS COMPANY
THAN IS YOUR JUST DUE!
YOU HAVE MADE NO EX
ORBITANT DEMANDS!
WHY THEN, WON'T THE
ESSCO COME TO TERMS?
Witt ttennRtiie^
Curraii's Phoney Pofeles
Approved Fink Hall Shipping and
Sanctioned Training Schools
LUNDEBERG GETS QUICK ACTION
NMU MEMBER MORE EASTERN
{Continued from Page One)
N.M.U; men fink on N.M.U. men?
bo the N.M.U. officials think they
will exhaust the supply of "hot
oil" by loading it aboard the
N.M.U. freighters? "Why the holy
fear of contract violations? The
crew of the SS Malay helped a
group of oil workers to win their
demands by refusing to handle
"hot oil." The "West Coast men
aboard the SS San Vinceute, and
their Unione, were not worried
with the fear of contract viola
tions, when they refused to load
"hot oil," against which men were
pounding the picket lines. They
won their demand, and showed
the solidarity that helps win
strikes! "What was the strategy
behind the advise of N.M.U. offi
cials who tried to counsel the SUP
and the MFOW to load "hot oil"?
Where is the stewpot?. (That an
army travels on its belly is an un
contradicted fact.)
Truly, .questions like these
bannot remain unanswered. The
officials of the N.M.U. cannot, and
must not be allowed to adopt any
policy but one: "Win the strike,
even If it means tying up every
freighter, passenger and tanker
ship manned by a N.M.U. crew!"
INCIDENTALLY, WHERE IS
THE INDUSTRIAL UNIONISM
OF THE ClOi??
(Signed)
I : 8, Shalagan,
t t .N.M.U. Book No. SSSEng.
UnrroB's NOTE: The foregoing
letter was received through, the
mM, addressed to the LOG, and
is unsolicited. We have reprinted
it in its entirety, emd tpithoui any
changes or alterations.
{Continued from Page One)
5. One trip off each month.
6. Increaste in pay for all handfi.
The only concessions made to
these demands was that the Com
pany agreed to add a few men in
the steward's department, and to
adjust the pay for a few ratings—
but, for only a threemonth period.
Demands Ignored
Adjustment of hours, vacations,
trips oft, and a general increase in
pay was completely ignored; and
now this company has the soMime
gall to, say that the SIU is trying
to break them!
Despite the fact that the com
pany's books showed a net oper
ating loss for the last year, they
nevertheless also showed that they
had materially cut down the defi
cit from the previous year. In
other words—they gained'ground.
Now, because of the Fair, they
quite naturally anticipate an ap
preciable increase in business,
and will undoubtedly have a big
year.
Figures Meaningless
In any event, regardless of what
the figures in their books show,
we don't place any great credence
in them. Books can be juggled so
that the average man can't make
head nor tail of them, and assets
and Inabilities can be so manipu
lated as to mean little or nothing.
As long as the Eastern ships
continue to operate, it must na
turally follow that they must be
making money, because no com
pany is going fo continue indefin
itely to operate their ships at a
Ibss. Of coarse, the company has
built up a large reserve^ and the
men manning, their ships are as
WE HAVE TRIED TO SETTLE
THE QUESTION AMICABLY
AND PEACEFULLY, BUT CAN
MAKE NO HEADWAY WITH
THE COMPANY.
IT IS NOW DIRECTLY UP TO
YOU. WHAT ARE YOU GOING
TO DO?
MAKE JOB ACTION
WATCHWORD!
YOUR
responsible for this as any other
contributtng factor. During the
lean y^rs that ^le seamen went
throi^h, this same Company paid
starvktion wages to the seamen,
thereby realizing a nice fat" profit
for the company's stockholders.
Now, that business once again
shows tanipbie evidence of im
proving, why shouldn't seamen be
entitled to some additional remun
eration to compensate for the
many years that they went with
out?
The ESSCp's plea of poverty
has worn itself out, and now falls
upon deaf ears,! Their only alter
native now is to come across with
an increase in pay to the seamen
whom they starved for so many
years!
Thanks for Aid
The crew of the Seatrain
Havana, at a meeting held
aboard ship, voted unanimous
ly to extend thanks to those
organizations and individuals
who gave us support, both
moral and financial, in the re
cent Seatrain strike.
The crew of the Seatrain
Havana also wish to thank the
West Coast nten/Who aided us
on th« plokst iiifea' in iNew
Orleans; ,
H. N. Peterson, Gulf No. 38
Baltimore, April 19—On reading Joe Curran's "Pas.sing
the Buck" column in the last issue of the "Pileit", we note
that Uomiade Narrue has suddenly become very apprehen
sive of the Maritime Comrtiission's plans to open Fink Halls
on the "West Coast. Knowing NMU's previous stand on that
question, o,r at lea.st, Joe's stand on it, it is somewhat amus
ing to watch him, with the grace of an elephant, turn a com
plete aboutface, and although being a good Union man, we
don't wish to appear indelicate, frankly, the .sweat Iliat friend
Joe i.s working himself into in kicking the dead Fink Ilall
issue, .smells!
NMU FAVORED PINK HALL
In the OIO's gift to jrellow journalism of April 7th, Joey
tells him membership that "The NMU has at sdltimes been
willing to sit dkiwn and formnli^ a joint policy^ on tiie foes
tion of the Fink Halls, and on a general program of fighting
the Maritime Commission's policy of refusing to recognize
the right of unions to bargain collectively for the unlicensed
personnel aboard their ships." But, such a statement comes
a little too late. The seamen,—SUP, SIU or NMU,—know
that the NMU leadership have been looking forward eai^rly
to the opening of the Fink Halls. IT ISN'T FORGOTTEN
THAT THE MISI^D NMU MEMBERSHIP WERE SENT,
ON ORDERS FROM THE "TOP FLIGHT", TO DO WPA
ON THE TRAINING SCHOOL AT HOFFMAN ISLAND,
AND UPON IT'S COMPLETION, THE "PILOT " OPENLY
APPROVED OF THE TRAINING PLANS OF THE COWL
MISSION, AND NMU MEMBERS WERE SENT TO THE
SCHOOL IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT EVERYONE
CONNECTED WITH THE WATERFRONT KNEW THAT
SUCH TRAINING WOULD BE UNIONBUSTING!
IT ISN'T FORGOTTEN THAT. ALL WINTER T^ONG,
AND UNDER ORDERS, THE NMU MEMBERSHIP
WALKED THROUGH THE PICKET LINES OP THE SUP,
SIU AND MFOW AROUND THE PINK HALLS! And it
isn't being forgotten that the reconditioning of the SS Ameri
can Seaman is being done in a CIO shipyard.
LUNDEBERG GETS RESULTS
_ Last week^dpwn in Wa.shington, Brother Harry Lunde
berg, chief executive officer of the SIUSUP, with the one
hundred precent backing of his own organizations, and the
MFOW, CTU, and other bona fide militant maritime unions,
took the floor; said in a few words what had to he said,
AND THE FINK HALL ISSUE TOOK IT ON THE CHIN,
"AND NOSEDIVED TO THE DECK! Now that the battle
is over and the victory won, we find, as nsual, Currah and
the commissars jumping into the ring and kicking the stink
ing corpse, BUT YOU'RE WASTING YOUR TIME, JOE.
THE SUP KNOWS HOW YOU STOOD ON THE FINK
HALL BUSINESS: THE SIU KNOWS, THE MFOW
KNOWS, THE MTW KNOWS, THE MEBA KNOWS, THE
GTU KNOWS, THE MM&P KNOWS, AND—WORST OP
ALL, JOE,—THE NMU KNOWS, AND DESPITE ALL, OF'
YOUR BLAHBLAH IT'S GOING TO COME HOME TO
BOOST ONE OP THESE DAYS!
SIU Bngine, No. 90
PICKETJ.INES
{Continued from Page One)
Clearance Demanded
The other day, a SUP man, liv
ing in the Seamen's Institute,
shipped out' of the SUP Hall.
When he went to the Institute to
get his gear, he was accosted by
NMU pickets, who. demanded that
he go to the NMU Hall and get a
clearance card. This man returned
to the SUP Hall and informed the
Agent what had happened. The
Agent then accompanied him back
to the Institute, and informed the
NMU picket captain that this man
did not need any clearance card
from the NMU; that he was a
SUP man, and that he had the
proper afisignment cards in his
possession. Thie picket oaptUia stHl
insisted that the man get a. clear
aniee card, hut the SUP Agent was
just as obstinate in his demand
that theman be allowed to pro
peed on his way to the ship." Need
less to say, the man went on tb
the ship .without any further hin
drance!
Will Respect Picket Lines
• Now:—we are perfectly willing
and agreeable to playing ball with
the NMU, as far as respecting
their picket lines is concerned,
but we will not allow them to in
sist. upon any of our members hav
ing Clearance cards from their or
ganization. "We feel that we are
well able to take care of that mat
ter ourselves, and resent any such
Intereferenee on the part of the
NMU. "We have pledged ourselves
that our members will not violate
the NMU picket lines, and that
should moqt certainly be enough
assurance df our good wilL
In closing, we wish the best oF;:
lock ttorihe NMU in their Sgiit oat
the tankers, and hope thot they;
are euecess^d in gaining all their
demands?
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SECURITY
I N
UNITY Seafarers' International Union of North America
Official Organ of the Atlantic^ Gulf and Gteat Lakes Seamen
vol.. I NEW YORK, N. Y., FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 1939 **s No. 9
EASTERN COMPANY ABSOLUTELY REFUSES
JUSTIFIED DEMANDS OF MEMBERSHIP
LOCAL INSPECTORS CHARGE
SEATRAIN NEWjrORK CREW
. Skipper Becomes Confused in Testimony
: When Liiwyer CrossQuestions Him
CREW DID NOT REFUSE DUTY ^
New York, April 13—The Local Bureau of Marino Inspec
tion and NavigatlQii, in an eft'ort to eauKe some unnecessarj
trouble to the men who struck the Sea train NCAV York in
Hoboken on March 29, last week (April 5) sent the entire
crew notice to appear at their local office for investigation
on April 12, 1939. The specifications for the investigation
were as follows:
" While employed under the authority of the certifieate
issued to you l>y this Bureau and signed under shipping
Articles on the steamer SEATRAIN NEW YORK, said
ateeamer being fully stored ^ ^
equipped, undet steam, and In all
other reapecta; ready to proceed
to sea on March 92, 1939, between
the hoiirS of 3:50 P.M. and 6:00
,:PJVL, did: .
Phoney Charge
"1. Refuse to obey , the lawful
comnianda of the master.
"2. Refuse to proceed to sea on
the vessel without reasonable
cause, and absented yourself from
the vessel within twentyfour
hours.oif sailing time without per
m).shion, in violation of Section
4596, U. S. Revised Statutes 46
tJSC701.
"3. To the hinderance of com
merce, you did wrongfully and un
reasonably refuse to perform your
duties after having signed Arth
cles as authorized by the terms
df your certificate in violation of
SectToh 4449, U. S. Revised Sta
tutes, Title 46, Section 240, there
by preventing said steamer SEA
TRAINNEW YORK from depart
ing as scheduled.
"Your t^iial on the above charge
and specifications will bfe conduct
ed at 45 Broadway, New York
City, Room 900, on Wednesday,
April 12, 1939, at 10:00 A.M., at
which time and place you are di
rected to appear to show cause
why your certificate issued to you
by this Bureau should not be sus
(Continued on Pane Four)
,9
SlU MEMBERSHIP VOTES TO
RESPECT NMU PICKB LINES
Membership Resents Propaganda Being
. Circulated by Waterfront Gossips
NMU CLEARANCE NOT NEEDED
At New York Headquarters meeting on April 17, the assembled
memhership iinanimously endorsed the following Resolution:
• * WHERAS: The shipowners have forced a lockout on tankers
.by TOfuaina to renew the agreement, so therefore
BE IT^hESOLVED: That we, the members of the Seafarers'
• Intematlohhl Union of North America, reaffirm our previous
stand, and respect any picket line established against the bosses
. for wages or conditions.
r
t
iii
TIKT Resoliitidh was signed* by
Matthew Dushane and Roland
Disan, and,, the membership enthu
siaHtically voted in ith favor.
Vicious Propaganda
Certain elements within the
NMU have been circulating propa
ganda that the STU was planning
to ship finks on the tankers, and
tlieforegoing Resolution gives the
lie to these vicious statements.
The STU has never had any inten
tion, ofattempting to move in on
the NMU *wh6ii hav»8. legi
timate strike: in progress, and
does not endorsenor condone Buch
tactics. ' ,
However, we understand that
the NMU powersthatbe have
taken it upon themselves to de
mand that all men shipping out,
regardless of Union affiliation,
must get a clearance card froin
the NMU! Needless to say, we do
uot endorse any such dictatorial
policy. When a man ships from
the STU Hall, and has in his pos
session assignment cards indicat
ing to what ship he is being senf,
it should most certainly be evi
dence enough that he is not going
aboard any NMU tanker!
(Cohiinued on Page Four)
NMU Member Flays
Phoney Pollcles
Questions Actions
Of Officiafs
WHY LOAD "HOT" OIL
yS TANKERS SAIL, N.M.U.
ASSERTS 37 ARE TIED UP"
(Headline in the N. Y. Herald
Tribune, April 21.) '
It is a fine state of affairs when
striking tankermen are compelled
to rely on the Capitalist press for
news pertaining to the progress
made in their struggle with the
oil companies. Without bias, one
can ea.sily state that the, only offi
ciel news put out by the N.M.U.
comes on par with the news found
in'the "Ladies Home Journal". It
there ever was a time when
Joseph and the rest of the brhin
trust (?) owed the rank and file
some clear and definite inforiba
tion, now is the time. The men. on
the picket lines have a daifiUfid
good explanation, coming to them
for the strange antics, arid theo
ries that their representatives
have cbine biit' with so far. Frank
ly, from the viewpoint of men
who have been through a few
strikes, the question: "What is it,
stupidity of deliberate sabotage
that Is behind the policy of the
N.M.U. in its present stand on the
tanker strike?" is not out of place,
nor impertinent.
"Hot Oil" Question
Why has there not been proper
preparations made to get' the
picketlines funtioning at top
speed from the moment the strike
was called? Why has Joe Curran
permitted the SS Exchorda to sail
with "hot oil," thereby making
(Continued on Page Four)
Further Evidence
Against Eastern
Refusb to Ad^st
Condttions in
Stewards Dept.
COMPANY PROFITS
Further evidence of the Eastern
Steamship' Co.'s unwillingness to
grant any concessions whatsoever
to the Negotiating Committee, was
their reaction to the following con
ditions asked for in the steward's
department:
1. An increase in the personnel
of the steward's department on all
ships.
2. Adjustment of pay for all
ships, bringing them up to the
scale of the BostonNew York
ships. ,
3. Eight hours in port, and
nine hours at sea for passenger
ships.
4. Vacations.
(Continued on Page Four)
WILL MAKE NO CONCESSIONS
TO NEGOTIATING COMMinEE
Fifteen Day Extension Gave G>mpany
* Time to Stalband Plant Stooges
MAKE JOB ACTION WATCHWORD '
The Eastern Steamship Go. has flatly refused to deal with
the Negotiating Committee on terms any other than their
own, and put up the phoney plea that if they are forced to
sign any agreement for increased wages or overtime, they
will go broke! They claim that if the contract is altered in
any way from the one under which we have been working
for the past year, they will have to tie their ships up. This
is plain unadulterated bunk! With the advent of the World's
Fair here, this company is quite naturally anticipating a de
cided increase in the passenger traffic, and we understand
th^ they are Jilready hooked up solid for practically the
wHol" summer. THERE IS NO VALID REASON WHY
THE SEAMEN SHOULD NOT ALSO SHARE IN THESE
PROFITS! WE HAVE PUT UP WITH THE COMPANY'S
PLEA OF POVERTY MUCH TOO LONG!
No Un,just Demands
The Negotiating Committee did
NOT make any unjust demands of
the EastCTn Steamship Co., and
asked oliiy fbr what the men on
the ships had ;^already stated they
wanted. They are now circulat
ing the phoney propaganda that
we are deliberately trying to
break them through alleged exor
bitant demands, in a vicious at
tempt to descredlt your officials!
Place absolutely no credence in
any such rumors, because they are
false!
The Committee asked that the
working hours for the steward's
department be adjusted to a more
reasonable standard. The Com
pany refused to even consider this,
and made the statement that the
men In this department do not
actually, work over an average of
six hours a day. When asked to
back this statement up by putting
in. the agreement that the work
ing hours of the steward's depart
ment s.hall not be more than six
hours a day, they immediately
craweled out from under!
Overtime Refused
The Cofaipany inriists that one
hour in twentyfour be allowed for
the purpose of docking and un
docking, and also insist that it
must apply to both deck and en
gine departments. Why should
any man work an extra hour with
out compensatiori? This particu
lar condition has long been a bone
of contention, and must be
stopped!
The Company flatly refuses to
pay overtime to the deck depart
ment for work performed after
5:00 P.M. and^ before 8:00 A.M., or
on Saturday afternoons, Sundays
or holidays, for the wat'ch on deck,
't'he system of sailors performing
manual work at night has long
been outmoded, and there is no
good reason why the ESSCO
should not also get up tq date.
On the New YorkBoston rim
ships, we asked for a double day
for both Saturday afternoons and
Sundays, but the company will
grant the double day for Sunday
only.
Extension Granted
We were gracious enough to
grant the Eastern Steamship Co.,
a fifteen day extension of the:
agreement, but^—what came of it?
Nothing was accomplished during ,
that fifteen days, other than the
fact that it afforded the company
a further opportunity to sta'U
around, and plant a few more
stooges on their ships. Now—
after this extension of time—they
don't want to grant any of our '
perfectly just demands!
RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE NO
AGREEMENT WITH THE EAST
ERN STEAMSHIP CO., SO
THERE IS NO LEGAL CON.
TRACT TO BE BROKEN
THROUGH ANY ACTION YOU
MAY TAKE!
Efforts Abandoned
The Negotiating Committee has
abandoned all further efforts to
reach a satisfactory agreement
with the Company, as they are
well aware that they do not in
tend to accede to any of our de ,
m'ands, and have assumed an ada
mant, dictatorial pose! They have
flritly refused to grant any in
crease in wages!!
The questibn noyv copfrontinffM
us Is: ARE WE WILLING TO
CONTINUE TO WORK UNDER
THE OLD PHONEY AGREE
MENT? Or: DO YOU WANT AN
AGREEMENT WITH INCREAS
ED WAGES, IMPROVED WORK .
ING CONDITIONS, AND MORE
OVERTIME?
IF VOU WANT THE LATTER,
—AND WE ARE SURE THAT
VOU DO,—ARE YOU WILLING
TO GO TO BAT FOR IT?
We do not believe that our mem .
(Continued on Page Four)
I
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Mo:.':
'• ':.4 THE SEAFARER S ' L O G
Friday, April 2Bi 4
'• • Ai
'r
/:, i' i • '• "• ' • ^*1'
r"f • / i:'ublisheft by the
, 1 Rqwea WUarr
....465 So. Main Street
Seafarers^ iriterndtional Union
of North America
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor
HATRHY LtJN£)fiBEitG, Acting President
11 Steiiart Street, San Francisco, Calif. »
Atlantic district
HEADQUAffTERS
New York 2 Stone Street
RRANCHEi
609,tnn „.
Providence ... r.
Fhiladeiphia *" i® Street
Baltimore
Norfolk . • ..• • • • SW.^aet Main Street
San Juan, Puerto Kico u5 Tetuan Street
iSdlf'b^t^ri
HEAbQUARTERS
New Orleans t • • • • • 2^® Chartres Street
" BRAMCVifeS ,
Sarannab 218 East Bay Street
Jacksonvilie 4 • »* • r • Btreet
Miami ; 80^ N^. ̂ First Avenue
TalSspa • V, 206 Str«^t
Mobile 65 So. Conception Street
Houston ...;.1712 • 75tli Street
C7r?«/ L'flJ&k^i)/5fric/
HEADQUARTERS
Detroit .1038 Third Street
AlH>Ke88 ALL WliliFi8PM0Mc9 C'OTilbEKStNG i'HIS
plBLICATION TO:
"THE SEAFARERS' LOG"
^p. O.'BOX ^2, Church St. Annex, New York, N. Y.
EDITORIAL
Events of the past Aveeks certainly slionld have proven to
^11 and sundry tiiat the Seafarers' Interuatiohal Union of
North America is very definitely in the field to secure • the
very best wages and eotxditions possible for the seamen, and
is not going to take NO for an answer.
The agreements with the Sea train J>ines and Avith t]ie
American Range Lines are really outstanding examples of
wliat agreements should be like, and it is our oplpioh tliat
there aren't any betfer "agreements on this coast. The NMU
made an attempt to get an agreement Avith the Seatfaihs, and
failed miseiiably, arid it must eanse them ho little concern to
see tie SIU sUeOessLilly strike thhir ships, and then get a
Rfst class agreement signed on the dotted line.., (Note to Joe
Cirrran: There is also a definite clause in both agreements
calling for coffee time!)
MlLt'i'ANT ACTION SUCCESSPtJL
Along with, the signing of these agieements, the crcAvs of
several ships, through the medium of a little job action, and
the proper application of eeoiiohiic presssure, gained certain
conditions they had demanded. For iiistahec, thegreAv of the
Ofeylock of the" Robin Line,'hy 'refusing to pay off the .ship
luntil a settlement was made, obtained the payment of con
teiderable overtime that this company had never been forced
to pky previously. The overtime itself Avas legitimate, but the
Bohiu Line has been fofcuig the ercAy.s to live up to the
phoney bM 1^' agreement, and refusing to pay them over
time for,afiy such work performed in any but the home port.
This had heen going on for duite some time, and the crew of
the Greylock decided that .it had gone far enough, andthey
tdok the action necessary to put a step to ft.
The crew of the Wateiuian Line ship, Panama City, put
tUp a legitimate beef about food and quarters, and got no
action out. df the company until they threatened to AValk off
the ship. Then the owner.s were only too eager to accede to
the legitimate dehiaiids of this crew.
FORCE YOUR D'MANDS
The foregoing incidents are examples of Avhat can be ae
cdmplished through militant action, and no man lost his job
hecfiuse of it. The old fear of. losing one's job because of
probable reprisals hy the shipoivners for legitimate aetiyify,
is pn longer prevalent, and the SIU inembership has develis Qii longer jncvaieiii, aiiu uie oi u uicuiuciouijj Miaa cipie. Ji ui.s UULHI . ^
"^p'ed an aggressive attitude, and are no longer to be denied. Uiiion men oh the .ships refused to |»ut up. with such pr(^
' There are, at present, negotiations in progress with the nedure. and Avalk.ed off the ships. More power to em, an
— — . ; J •
gation Company; Naturally, Ave expect the best agreements
possible with all of these cdnipanies, and we intend to exert
f ' • _5_ L. L1.... v. AX!. i 4 lA »** 4" l« »vi I
giSr;
rjf ^
(event any of these companies refuse to agree to grant any
just demands made of them.
p. & p. GNTS'TASTE OF ACTION
f The membership in Tampa and Miami were on strike
kgainst the Peninsiilar and Occidental Steamship Company, GET TOGEIH«, AKD.GO
J j?^r, if nedessary, to gain their point. These men are to be TO TOWN!
' AFbiiiid jBastern 1
fries to deal with NMll
SEAMEN ALL WISE TO HIM
What has Dave Grange, The Rajah of Ronkonkomo'
111 doing around the Eastern Steartishipi Co. docks an
ships? This perennial phoney, this prodigous palpitatir
pain in the neck, is apparently cooking up some Sprt of
scheme, add Ave wouldn't doubt but what it is being doi
ryt Hyii PAmmlnVr.—or At IftAf
been doing around the Eastern Steairishipi Co. docks and
prodigous palpitating
sort of a
lone
Avith the aid and connivance of thb Company,—or At least,
Avith their knoAvledge! Don't be fooled by this phoney, and
again! ^ .
source, tlihf daihing Dave
wind up behind tjie eight ball
4 .~r. .
was dp to NMtJ Headquarters, wanting to maae a deal with
1, add tbfe tiem llmt^he can turn % ^ps
. \ V. it.* UJi liAJi oti Hcfma ov'rH*4
of these sh|ps muflt be handing him plenty of the old baloney,
as it is a ̂ efiM^Iy proved fact that he cant turn over even
one of this co&^ksky'i sW^s. . .
DISOll^riED FAKM
The seamen don't want any part of ^isdiseredited labor
faker, and they All know, only too we^ his odious ipcbtd!
>Vhy does he persist in ifgectifag himself into the pictuyef Is
he so much of an egoist that he believes he can ggaiiy mislead
and delude the seamen, arid sell them down the river once
more? j • *
It is quite some tipic siricc we have felt called upon to
pav any .particular atteriiipn ip. this ,leech, but we feel that
the membership would like to know tliat he is again on the
prowl. However, we predict that he won't get far, as there
is an abiindarice of sea,meri Avho entertain no particular af
feetion W bim, and wW no part of hi™
ON PROWL FOB PIE
All seambn should know, if they alreAdy don't that this
pArasitieal hypocrite does not have their interests, at heart,
^and never did! All he is intere.sted in is the matter of
Ills own .selfaggrandiAeinent. In other words,—pie! His big
sbot" (Yes, we said "shot") complex has apparently never
(^.serted him, and we dpubt that it ever will. Just anoiher
Hitler at heart,—that's Grange! ^
For some months, the ubiquitous .. Rajah has been trying
every afigie of which he can tbink, to make s»o»«
the^eafaref s! in^rn^tibn^^ tJhlnh, hilt has n»t
any sbccess. First he persuaded a con^ttep *9.
your Union officials with a plea, that he be allpwed to hold
riieWb^rship in this Union. Needless to say,this move ™
a complete flop.! Tlieh he made a teazen att^pt ̂
§tate tThemployment Ir^ance by claupi^ that he had been
employed by ^he SIU! What supreme g^R!
CAN'T FOiOL SEAiffEN
Although his haine is not listed.among the M|<;glled offi
cers of the rbcehfly disipierred I^U, he umiDtless very
active in the movcmbut. Howcecr, the pie pickings there
arc very slim, and he is trying his best Jo muscle m some
where where he figures he can once agafa be Number One
PieCard! „ . . t ^ «
A nice griy, Dave, and we'd trust.him just about as far
as we coiild tluOAV Ferdinand.the Bull by his tad! We wish
to cautibn all members to be very Avary of this charac^r,
and not to put.any stock In the bunk he^passes out. We
realize that Inr is a good talker, and is a past master in the
art of deceit, but we still don't believe that, with the reputa
tion he has, he can ioql,.,any unsuspectirig seamema^m!
Watch your step, • 'Rajah",^we're Avatchiig YOU!
highly commended for the stand they took, and we knew
inijimiH, aciiuii, iiw jv,., that, if they maintained this attitude, they couldu t lose.
The old fear of, losing one's job because of They struck these ships in protest against a direct yiolatjpn
A.T._ . company^ .of a bona fido agi*eoniont. ajid a Union pnn
ciple. Thi.s outfit shipped men off the dock, and the real
THere are, ai. present, negoiiaiiojis m progres.s wiiu uie cediire, anu Avauieu uii
Robin Line, and pending negotiations with the Colonial Navi they lihye pur,congratulations.
...A.—.—, wA ~ 4*T *» rt T1 «T twT ^ 4VA« T\/ic«F miFc* • rm A lyrm DEI A/I< BE MILITANT, BE AGGfeE^IVE,^BUT ALSO^BE
possible with an ot tnese coniparues, ana we iniena to exert pAlK AND jfU^T! ^ALWAYS REMIMBBR THAT GOOD
€vefy pbssible effort to obtain them. It is, of course, directly (iij|j';^pi'pfp^g ^D WAGE^,,G
lap to the member.ship involved to take direct action in the • 0ii|fLY TlftRbUtiH ^0'U% O^WN EF^^ ONJLY THKUUVrn *"'Vi v v*« r*
THE SHIPOWNERS HAVE NEVER
• HING UNLESS YOU FOUGHT FOE IT ! DbN^FORGET
'HAT YOUR LEADERSfflP IS ONLY; AS OTEONG^^^^
THE MEN BEHIND TNi^! iNlTUOUT
BAOElNG. 'rNFY ARE PRACTICALLY POVhSELESS TO
Bal timbl'e
Highligbts
*A,•
VI
..... :
. Baltimore, Md., April ISrShtp
ping continues fair along this >va ;
terfront, with an average turn
over of sixty members per week.
On the Qalmar Line, the Company
came through , with overtime for
the Bos'n standing a wheel watch,
and a O.S. for going into the
bilges. The mates on these Cal
mer Shipa are brokenhearted
these ̂ays aWut having to. toe the
Unj^, on the overtime question, esh
peclall^ the mate on ;.the, ^ry
mar, who had to pay overtime for
shining the binnacle, after be had
gone to a lot of trouble to scrape
the paint off It.
Ore ddriciitions Improved
Condition^ pa the Ore SS Line
are much improved. Buiik lights
and., other conveniences for the
crew are being installed as rapid
ly as imssibie, , On thje trouble
Bome iFood question, investigation
showed, ,that ihq , stewards were
.afraid , of being flred if they were
in any ,way .Ubergl. wi^ the food
put aboard, but now ttiey are pass
ing, Jt out frilly, knowing that if
tlioy doq't, charges' will be placed
against tlieih, arid then they real
ly will be out Of a job.
, Jean Straightened Out
,. On the Bull Line's .SS Jean, the
dring pf .both the Deck and En
girie Delegates at the same time
had a smell about it, and after a
battle which lasted all week, the
two brothers were put" back to
work. While taking action on this
matter, .the patrolmen cleaned up
a . few .other details on the ship
by getting new mattresses and pll
loAvs,,ventilators, to the quarters,
and having the Bos'n and Carpen
ter moved 'midships,.to glire more
space aft,, The food question on
this ship was also very thproi|gh
ly arid satisfactorily cleaned .up.
M A M Crews Waking Up
Coricentratiori on the M.orpharitB
arid Miners Line is beginriing to
have its etf^t on the crews. Last
week saw a 100 percent SIU d^k
departriient on one of the M & M
ships, and the election of a shiph
delegate. We can't Imagine, what
vicepresident Merrill of the Line,
AVho fought for the checkoff sy^
tern iri order that there would be
no need for the pafrolmeri to oori
,tact thp s^iips, will think wpen ho
that ihern. iV. a Sitr delegate
abc^rd ,the sliips at ail timesi. Mer
rill, who evidently thought fhat
all a delegate w^t .ahoard .a ship
for w^ to collect dues, 8efan«,to
be duri for a rude awakening wheg
the patrolmen start thumping do
qiands for Imprqyed working conf
ditions on his d^k.
Port Coriricil t^cers
Preparatory to the A,.F. of L.
Executive Counoirs meeting to bo
held in Washington nest month,
at which tiriie the ̂machinery for
the setting up of a National Mari
tiriie Trades Council will be set in
motion, the Baltimore, Port Gouri
eil elected protem offtcerB, with
Brother Andrew MacDidnald of
the Commercial Telegraphers _
Union as President; Charles Dl
Guardo of the Warehousenieri
Vfc'eEresiderit, and John E. Lewis
of the ILA Chetrildal Works, see:
retaiT The local Coiincfl Is ready
ilo go to town 6ri any cooperative
action necessary on the water
front,
NMU'ers strike has riot affected
this port very much so far. due
to the absence of the , vessels of
the lines on strike. However, as
was Goriflrmed unanimously at'our
last biislriedb meeting, the picket
lines of the NMU will be strictly
observed by our membership. The
Branch is also supporting the
teamsters and the Building Trades
Council in the citywide strike ac
tion against nonunion truck
drivers.
II
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Friday, April 28, 1939 T ri E S E A F A R E R S • LOG
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SABOTAGE POINT ARENA BEEF
TflmUGHMITED
ijji^em Inquire WKy Siicli Beefs Sliioiiid
.Not Be Settled t^'^ithout Recourse to
Headqiiart^t'd
New Orleans, Ija., April 20—The crew of the SS Point
Arena sailed from Mobile .with the wnderstAiiding from the
S & H Co.'s officials, through iUmstrong, Mobile prganizer,
that eyerythhig would be tahen care of in New Orleans. .
Bollinger, SUP peicgate dn New , Orleans, contacted the
siilB in New Orleane, and receiyeS^^ —
ft Hat wltli twenty fqur dlffereht
beets on If at a joint meeting of
the crew.,
.The SUP Betsgate took two
fthipa*. delegates to :6eC ^ahtaln
Theobold„who vae instructed, that
i'f tlaese; things not taken
care of, the qrew .would gnd
that there wfere not enough tnen
ashore to fill tlie vacahojes. Cap
tain, Tlieobold agreed to give them
twenty points, and investigate the
other four.
Wire front J?ead<|uftrter8
Buriny the abMnce .of the SUP
Delegate,, someone can tact ed Uie
Company and had theip wire the
SUP in Frisco for Instructions,
also the cdthpany paid lor tele
phone to MFOW&W and the MC&S
in Frisco. The wire from SUP
Hchdawartcvs read as follows:
"Please supply, crew for Foiht
Arena" (but does hot State that
it should be under ftnk hall cohdi
tions or the right's to quit taken
from the men). "We have con
tracts for all W.C. ships, and have
to furnish crews.. If the fijilp ties
up here,, crew .will be entitled to
usual .transportation." Foregoing
wire, from Lundeherg, received at
SIU Hall, :^ew Orleans.
Qtlier "^iyeal
Would also like to have pub
lished in the nexf issue the com
munications from lialone and
Burke, which, the.ciew.has,. which
never were shown. to the Delegate
ashore, and Malohe or , Burke
never did,know what th#. twenty
four deman^ or living conditions
were on tW ship, which were
lousyj
For the proteclfop of the few
militant men aboard, who quit a;t
the last ".minute, after, all hopes
were lost for the cause. Let it be
said tiife men who quit did so after
being overruled by the ones who
sneaked up and signed on one at
a time.
Wouldfie Militant
"When thp crew . waa, contacted
ten o'clock pn sailing and .sit
ing on day, by the SUP Dele^fe,
It fireman told him "who was run
ning the Bhip, the. crew, or the
"men ashore/' and also j,umped up
like ho was going to dujhp said
delegate, but was discpuraged by
a few militant "SUP men. Baid
flremgn, quit here, .apd said that
he WQiild go to Mobile and ship
fhrpugli the NMU. hall, because he
would not ship through this "fink"
hall herb in N.O. Nine, out of ten
were of the same opinion as this,
man, in all three, departments.
to have communications come
through the Hallls, instead of hay
ing them come through the Com
pany ofidc^, like the Ip^ disthuce
calls to Durke and Mj^lone in. re
gard to the Point. Arena in New
dfleans.
C. Col^eman, SUP No..2^39..,
L. J. Boflinger, SUP iNo. 38iS9
T. Howard, SIU No. 173
liABBENiNGS in MOBILE
handled, in this port, .instead yf U2ULUiC;tA. MA r ' — • V
having, the co^ip^ny rsending vfirps ,what they had to go throu^, dur;.
to Headquarters p .alsu. having ing the .old FinkHall days,..and
Headquarters settling .things ,by just .why we.should^ really stand
wire and telephone, and not together and .fight. ; Np one knows
the knowing wha^
beefs were?
Delegates in all ports would like
GROWS
New .Orleans, La., April
are constantly .turning down sea
men of all. departments, c«m',ing in
to our hall daily, .expecting to jpiTi
up with us. Some of these per
sons, we feet sure, are worthy of
our. membership, but, as we ppihf
out to them, we,are not being
swamped by a, 50,000 membership,
until such time comes when we
can offer, a . reasonable assurance
of furnishing each and every mem
ber a living yearly wage.
This is a Union for US. iNOT
for ME or YOU!
Naturally, we arp growing. Our
inembershlp is getting larger
every week, but our Union Halls
are practically empfy. We see fit,
atevery, meeting, to elect an in
vestigating committee to investi
gate seamen desiring to join our
tfnion, to fill, fhe vacancies left
open through better shipping con
ditions. Those who pass said com
mittees are fully dependable, and
entitled to good, faith, of member
.shlp as a result of the investiga
tion.
These investigating , coipittees
are doing more than investigatihg
new members. They are also
thinning out the fiidrs, etc., etc.,
who .got Into, the AFLSU and SIU
through various rijethods. Natur
ally, We have hot ridden ourselves
of all the undesirables, but they
will surely show their colors soon
er or later.
in the cou^se of five months,
our Tpemberehlp has risen to
proxirnately 10,d(/0= Companies, un
der our contract! know that they
are all good seameii at heart. We
believe in the true foolproof con
stitution and l)ylaiws ihtrusted tp
us by the StJP, by which we are
abiding, and under which we are
willingly being obligated.
Of course, we have a few young
sters among us who do not' know
the score. For this reaso.n/ vp.are
trying to encourage the oldtimers
Miami, Fla, April Ig—After six
days out in a walkoff, the SIU
crews of the Florida and Cuba at
taiined their demands, and the
finks were paid off the car ferries.
The action taken by the men
was taken after trying all other
methods of p^ceful settlement, at
which we got nowhere. Direct ac
tion was taken, and the results
were forthcoming. Which goes to
prove that direct action is the
best way to settle the big beefs.
This is the first time the com
pany has paid overtime in' its hifr
tory. Also, the ships are to he
drydocked shortly, and the quar
ters will be fixed over.
Oi^pizer Wants Pie
, The. great, "rgnk. and filthy" or
ganizer, Jpe Volpin, was noted for
gplng behiua.the picket lines to
organize the finks. Also, when a
ahlp's, crew wanted to, support the
BJU tnen, he Vrequested them to
Btay aboard. This 13 to be expect'
ed, as, not. long ago he u,dmitted
that he. wanted pie, and not the
iite of a sailor.
The Stht'e of Ilorida has at last
awakrtied to the fact that it pays
to be organized. All eyes wwe oh
the results'ofthis beef against
one of the most powerfifl compan
ies in the state. Bo a victory for
the SJU. ipganp, a vjctqry for all
Labor in the State of Florida.
IDA Gooperiiteh
The longshoremen cooperated
one hundred percent, and backed
the. seamen up. 'With such uqlty
as this, the SIU should go far and
fast.
iai A.F. of L. LpcaJs, respected
Qpr picket lines, and ̂ helped tie
the ships up .Frisco style.
The car ferries needed new
crews, and there not being enough
men in the, SIU^Hall i^. Mlami,
your agent had to go down, to the
NMU, and turn over the A.B.'s and
O.S.'s theie to fill out fte comple
ment. As usual, the NMU agent
ran up the street begging us not
to take his men, as he considered
it unfair.. ,Can we help, it when
fhe membership , .kpows what
Unlpn is doing something for
them besides spending their mon
ies and signing phoney agree
ments? I
, now h^ve thfngb pretty well
lined up oh the P&D:rCMh over
tipie, clo^itd shop, etc. ,^esh milk,
ah^ quarters to be renoyat^
Talked with several NMU men
on various vessels, and fhe only
argument they put up is the fact
that they say they like the NMU.
Why, I have yet.to discover!
, Do not ride Top cabs in
Miami, and also demand, and buy
at the Union sign here.
J. Gunnison
Why can't beefs like these, be ! to take the floor, fpr about five mln
utes each meeting, to .ppinf out
twentyfour better than those who fought for
our rights.
Eugene Nobles
DEPmURE
New Orleans, April 16—Fu
neral was held at MacMann's
Funeral Parlor on Sunday,
April 16, 1939 for Brother J.
H. Moller, who died at the
Marine Hospital last 'Wednes
day at 5:00 A.M.
Brother Moller served as
Chief Steward with the Missis
sippi Steamship Co.. and was
previously Port Steward for the.
DixieU.k, Line, and the Kerr
SS Co., wd was a good SIU of
NA'member, ills age was 76.
He U greatly missed by all
hands. H. Peterson represent
ed the Seafarers' at the funeral.
Finn Schefstad, Agent
Mobile, Ala., April 21—Why is
It that all of a sudden the mem
bers of MFGW are so concerned
with the militancy of the SUP?
There is ho seaman who can say
that theSUP was ever lacking, in
a legitimate beef; never have they
sold out the members of their ai
filated organizations; at"hll times
they are there when needed to
combat the eommon enemy. All
seamen wiir agree that aftrn all
the chatter and smoke clears, that
the program of the SUP was
right, ,pn the tok book fight, and
that we ire also right in oppos
ing the attempt to open fink hajls
on the We.st' b9a.st. It is under
stood by all BtJP ihemhers, and
all other militant seamen, . that
opening fini; halls .op the Co^t
WjlJ start picket, lines, fr^m San
Bi^o tq Bremertdh. Still our bro
^hera of the ̂ IFOW fear that we
mifihi take members of the ,SIU
to the Coast, • who were not mV the
picket.line? i^ '3f. As a point
l^joiTuation to all, the SIU Is oh
record to^ expel any member, of
the siU who ships through a link
hall, and to picket said halls, and
in everjy way cpmhat the .Maritime
Commission halls, and the train
ing ships. In other vrprds, they
have completely endorsed the SUP
program.
Point Salinas ̂ ef
Here, oh Wednesday, April 19,
the gang oh the Point Salinas
were all hot and botHered as to
who was going to be shipped to
fill the crew dh this ship. 1^en
thdy were fold that, to date, the
SUP has taken care of their own
business, and intend to keep on
doing so, and'as'we did not tell
them who and what to ship, tliey
should 'Wise up; and sail with the
men shipped—they did!
No member of the SUP will
ship with a. known scab, and fur
ther, pQ man in . his right .mind
will ship on a West Coast ship if
he isn't certain that he is clear.
So let's stop squawking among
Qurselyes, and unite in the fight,
against thfe shipowners, who, are.
doing everying to keep us fight
ing.
SIU Not StrikeBreakers
On the tanker question, the
word is already put that the SHJ
is shipping men on the struck
tankers. What a laugh this is!
Before anyodd gives us any more
hooey of this sort—remember that
the SIU in made up of sea.nien
who rtiH , member that the pres
ent messedup Gutf situation came
about when'the, NMU ihdved in
through a le^timafe picket line
a^inst t'he Lykes SS .Co., and
that .the ; SiU is a real UNION to
be proud of—hot to be used as a
strikebreaking agency.
Here In, Mobile, I'm r,sure that
the members of the NMU are de
voting their, fi^e, to figuring ways
and means t,o win the strike—and
are not worrying about the SIU
trying i^o fink ph theih—and that's
the way it should be in pll ports.
Sure, therp is going to be lots of
the old b&lohey thrown around,
but just remember that", in any
legitimate beef—when it's all over
—that the seamen as a whole are
fighting against the operators, and
that' we must not climb out on a
limb, and give John Boss a. saw!
Already, the Magnolia Co. have
tried to have the SIU ship men,
and were seemingly surprised to
get an emphatic "NO" for an an
swer!
A. W. Armptrong
SUP No. 2983
Mobile, Ala,, April 24—The regn
iar correspondent has shipped as
serahg on the good ship Jeaii L^
fitte, so for this week you wly
have to take what .you can get
How those girls, and the sceneft
on the other side call!
First and foremost;—this Is
convention week here in the faj.r
city of Mobile. Delegates are
flbatiiig around .thick,er .tfian
snowflakes, and the only tffing
they are all agreed upon is that
th.e.AFL is coming back stronger
than ever.' With the new y6u|ig
blood in • the Labor movement,
and fhie steadying influence of the
old tihiers, it's a cinch that the
AFL should go ahead to he,F
heights of solidarity. In this gen
eral fnovenieht, the SlU is prov
ing thail they are definitely it part
of tb^ AFL, artd are, at all tinfes,
to be reckoned With. In line With
this:—La«t week the district rtrari
ager of the Mafiholia' Oil Co.,
called the Mobile A'aent, and ask
ed about* getting* crews for the
?truck tankers. ".Sottyf told .Him
that the SIU IS A UNION,—NOT
A STRIKEBREAKING AGENCY!
Mr. Cousins, the district manager,
seemed surprised, to say the
least., t have It that the saipp
thing was tripd in New Orleans^
and the same , answer .^giyerv
Thqre they offered TEN pUpl^S
A H^AD FOR FINKS, and gonjt
forget that any rn^n who t^k<^|
a tanker is. a FkNK, and should
bo treated as such.
The upual line of petty beefs
during the week, and all, .\yere
taken cai'e of in the same old w;ay,.
It seems here fhat there are a few
mates who take.a lot of cpnyinc
ing regarding what is and what i?
not overtime: • but in time it, will
all work out to the best"advantage
of our oiganizatipn.
Re: Istbmiaii Ships
Regarding the Isthmian boats:
Was aboard the Steel Maker, and
was very surprised to see the, con
ditions that exist' aboard thes?^
ships., Some of the younger men
who have, just stavtcd to sea oq
Union ships would not believe th'af
such shjps sail the seas under pur
Flag. 'The ship's .side in the quar
ters not' sealed; steel decks, an.d
ho insulation oh the overhead.,
• 5(011 know* that this makes fprj
lousy quarters oii the tropicaj
runs, and these crews should wakf;
up and get in the Union, and
square these scows up! Trip afler
trip, around the world, intercoas
tal to the Island's, in fact, to any
port, in the world, these ship?
sail, and are never bothered, any
place. This is one of the richest
companies in America, and thelt
ships have the lousiest quarters!
So come on Tsfhmian sailors, ̂ akq
up, and join the Union, and let
these packets fixed up, so that liv
ing conditions at least chri be
brought up to t>ar. In all of fte
major U.S. ports that you hit,
there is representation oif the
SIU, and all tl^e patrolmen are
eager to give you all the assist
ance th% can. "V^eh yon arrive
in port, come to the Hall if you
can, if hot, call the Hall, and have
the patrolman come down to the
ship or the dock. Let's get to
gether on these ships, and make
them worth riding!
This week's meeting is being
postponed oh account of the Con
vention. There is a special stew,
ard's department meeting at 2:00
o'clock though, to take care of
port rules. Speaking of port rules
risnt It a bout time that some
coastwise rules were put into ef
fect? A. W. Armstrong
SUP No. 2983
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THE SEAFARERS' LOG Friday,>nril 28, 19391
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{.Continued from Page One)
pended or revolted under the pro
visions of Section 4450, United
State Revised Statut'eSi 46, U.S.C
23S."
Company Not Responsible
The Seutrain Line officials are
on iecord that they have not asked
for this investigation, and absolve
themselves of all blame for it
However, subsequent' testimony of
the master and the chief engineer
before the examiners, certainly
indicate that they, at least, are
trying their best railroad the men
concerned, through their obviously
biased testimony.
In any event, the men appeared
at the Local Inspector's office on
the day and hour stated, accom
panted by SIU representatives.
The Inspectors were, of course, all
set to proceed: but, much to their
surprise, the ̂ SIU representative
stated that he wanted a postpone
ment of the case, in order that
the men might be represented by
legal counsel. Numerous objec
dons were raised by. members of
the Inspector's Office staff, but
when it was pointed otit that this
was the first time the men had
been gotten together, and there
hadn't been time to engage, coun
sel, a postponement^as allowed
until 1:30 P.M. Of the same day.
Po.stponed Again
Charlton Ogburn, A.F. of L. at
iforney, was immediately contact
ed, and told of the circumstances,
ahd when the investigation was
slated to proceed at 1:30, the at
torney asked for a further post
ponement", due to the fact that he
was more or less unacquainted
with the case. The proceedings
were again postponed until 9:30
A.M„ April 14,
The investigation was resumed
as per schedule, the Captain of
the New York taking the stand,
end on several occasions becom
ing a bit confused in his testi
mony. Several membere of the
crew also took the stand, and all
testified that they had not refused
to obey the commands of the mas
ter, but that they had merely quit
the ship on the natural assump
tion that it is their right to quit
a ship, in a safe harbor, whenever
they desire to do so. After fur
ther testimony, the investigation
was postponed until Monday, April
17, but due to the fact th'at..An;
other case was also scheduled for
that day, and also because the
Seatrain New York was resuming
service, and many of the men In
volved had shipped on her, the
case was again postponed until
the vessel's return voyage to this
port.
The Inspectors are, of^Course,
trying to establish the fact tfiat'
these men deliberately hindered
commerce by leaving the ship
without having given sufficient jio
tice to Uie master.
Artlclc.s Sigiied at Hea
It has been brought out that, the
men on the Seatrain New York
signed Articles at sea on January
29, 1939, and that they were dated
Ffebrua.ry 1, 1939. No Shipping
Commissioner was present at the
time, in accordance with the law."
Furthermore, January 29 was a
Sunday, and it is the contention
of the Union that any contract
signed , on a Sunday is not legal
nor binding. The Commissioners
claim that, for years, it has been
the custom to allow the_ master
to have the crew , sigdi pre dated
Articles in bis presence, arid then
have, the Commissloiier put his
seal on them when the vessel ar
rives in port, Custom or not^it
is still not ill accordance with the
law, and the ^.raqfice should ' be
discontinued! .
The Union has secured the ser
vices pf A.F. of L. attorneyjCliarl
ton Ogburn, and at present, it
looks as though the Union has an
excellent chance of winning the
caae, and establishing, once and
for all, that seamen have the right
to quit a ship at any time that a
ship is in a safe harbor! • ,
((7on finned from Page One)
bership will take this refusal .by
the company lying down, and ;it
directly up to all of us to demand
that our just demands be com
plied with!
Time Not Ripe
Right now is not the time for
strike action, as the ESSCO ships
are not yet at their busiest. How
ever. don't lose sight of the fact
that we have no agreementwitli
this outfit, and it is directly up
to those men on the ships to de
mand, and get everything they
can. A little job action will do
the trick, and it's high time that
thjs company was given a taste
of it. If strike action becomes ne
cessary at a later date, then they
will know that we mean business.
Unity Necessary
All departments are cautioned
that they, must stick together, be
cause without complete united ac
tion, all e|[urts are wasted! If
one department has a legitimate
beef, let the other two depart
ments back them"' up. Sailors,
firemen and stewards—you are all
seamen, and race, color or creed
has absolutely no place in the pic
ture! Use the strength that there
is in unity, and pull together at
all times!
IF YOU REALLY WANT
WHAT YOU ARE ENTITLED
TO, YOU WILL HAVE TO GET
UPON YOUR HIND LEGS, AND
FIGHT FOR IT! THE EASTERN
STEAMSHIP CO., NOR ANY
OTHER SHIPOWNER, IS GOING
TO GRATUITOUSLY GIVE YOU
SOMETHING FOR NOTHING!
YOU HAVE NOT ASKED FOR
MORE FROrd THIS COMPANY
THAN IS YOUR JUST DUE!
YOU HAVE MADE NO EX
ORBITANT DEMANDS!
WHY THEN, WON'T THE
ESSCO COME TO TERMS?
Witt ttennRtiie^
Curraii's Phoney Pofeles
Approved Fink Hall Shipping and
Sanctioned Training Schools
LUNDEBERG GETS QUICK ACTION
NMU MEMBER MORE EASTERN
{Continued from Page One)
N.M.U; men fink on N.M.U. men?
bo the N.M.U. officials think they
will exhaust the supply of "hot
oil" by loading it aboard the
N.M.U. freighters? "Why the holy
fear of contract violations? The
crew of the SS Malay helped a
group of oil workers to win their
demands by refusing to handle
"hot oil." The "West Coast men
aboard the SS San Vinceute, and
their Unione, were not worried
with the fear of contract viola
tions, when they refused to load
"hot oil," against which men were
pounding the picket lines. They
won their demand, and showed
the solidarity that helps win
strikes! "What was the strategy
behind the advise of N.M.U. offi
cials who tried to counsel the SUP
and the MFOW to load "hot oil"?
Where is the stewpot?. (That an
army travels on its belly is an un
contradicted fact.)
Truly, .questions like these
bannot remain unanswered. The
officials of the N.M.U. cannot, and
must not be allowed to adopt any
policy but one: "Win the strike,
even If it means tying up every
freighter, passenger and tanker
ship manned by a N.M.U. crew!"
INCIDENTALLY, WHERE IS
THE INDUSTRIAL UNIONISM
OF THE ClOi??
(Signed)
I : 8, Shalagan,
t t .N.M.U. Book No. SSSEng.
UnrroB's NOTE: The foregoing
letter was received through, the
mM, addressed to the LOG, and
is unsolicited. We have reprinted
it in its entirety, emd tpithoui any
changes or alterations.
{Continued from Page One)
5. One trip off each month.
6. Increaste in pay for all handfi.
The only concessions made to
these demands was that the Com
pany agreed to add a few men in
the steward's department, and to
adjust the pay for a few ratings—
but, for only a threemonth period.
Demands Ignored
Adjustment of hours, vacations,
trips oft, and a general increase in
pay was completely ignored; and
now this company has the soMime
gall to, say that the SIU is trying
to break them!
Despite the fact that the com
pany's books showed a net oper
ating loss for the last year, they
nevertheless also showed that they
had materially cut down the defi
cit from the previous year. In
other words—they gained'ground.
Now, because of the Fair, they
quite naturally anticipate an ap
preciable increase in business,
and will undoubtedly have a big
year.
Figures Meaningless
In any event, regardless of what
the figures in their books show,
we don't place any great credence
in them. Books can be juggled so
that the average man can't make
head nor tail of them, and assets
and Inabilities can be so manipu
lated as to mean little or nothing.
As long as the Eastern ships
continue to operate, it must na
turally follow that they must be
making money, because no com
pany is going fo continue indefin
itely to operate their ships at a
Ibss. Of coarse, the company has
built up a large reserve^ and the
men manning, their ships are as
WE HAVE TRIED TO SETTLE
THE QUESTION AMICABLY
AND PEACEFULLY, BUT CAN
MAKE NO HEADWAY WITH
THE COMPANY.
IT IS NOW DIRECTLY UP TO
YOU. WHAT ARE YOU GOING
TO DO?
MAKE JOB ACTION
WATCHWORD!
YOUR
responsible for this as any other
contributtng factor. During the
lean y^rs that ^le seamen went
throi^h, this same Company paid
starvktion wages to the seamen,
thereby realizing a nice fat" profit
for the company's stockholders.
Now, that business once again
shows tanipbie evidence of im
proving, why shouldn't seamen be
entitled to some additional remun
eration to compensate for the
many years that they went with
out?
The ESSCp's plea of poverty
has worn itself out, and now falls
upon deaf ears,! Their only alter
native now is to come across with
an increase in pay to the seamen
whom they starved for so many
years!
Thanks for Aid
The crew of the Seatrain
Havana, at a meeting held
aboard ship, voted unanimous
ly to extend thanks to those
organizations and individuals
who gave us support, both
moral and financial, in the re
cent Seatrain strike.
The crew of the Seatrain
Havana also wish to thank the
West Coast nten/Who aided us
on th« plokst iiifea' in iNew
Orleans; ,
H. N. Peterson, Gulf No. 38
Baltimore, April 19—On reading Joe Curran's "Pas.sing
the Buck" column in the last issue of the "Pileit", we note
that Uomiade Narrue has suddenly become very apprehen
sive of the Maritime Comrtiission's plans to open Fink Halls
on the "West Coast. Knowing NMU's previous stand on that
question, o,r at lea.st, Joe's stand on it, it is somewhat amus
ing to watch him, with the grace of an elephant, turn a com
plete aboutface, and although being a good Union man, we
don't wish to appear indelicate, frankly, the .sweat Iliat friend
Joe i.s working himself into in kicking the dead Fink Ilall
issue, .smells!
NMU FAVORED PINK HALL
In the OIO's gift to jrellow journalism of April 7th, Joey
tells him membership that "The NMU has at sdltimes been
willing to sit dkiwn and formnli^ a joint policy^ on tiie foes
tion of the Fink Halls, and on a general program of fighting
the Maritime Commission's policy of refusing to recognize
the right of unions to bargain collectively for the unlicensed
personnel aboard their ships." But, such a statement comes
a little too late. The seamen,—SUP, SIU or NMU,—know
that the NMU leadership have been looking forward eai^rly
to the opening of the Fink Halls. IT ISN'T FORGOTTEN
THAT THE MISI^D NMU MEMBERSHIP WERE SENT,
ON ORDERS FROM THE "TOP FLIGHT", TO DO WPA
ON THE TRAINING SCHOOL AT HOFFMAN ISLAND,
AND UPON IT'S COMPLETION, THE "PILOT " OPENLY
APPROVED OF THE TRAINING PLANS OF THE COWL
MISSION, AND NMU MEMBERS WERE SENT TO THE
SCHOOL IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT EVERYONE
CONNECTED WITH THE WATERFRONT KNEW THAT
SUCH TRAINING WOULD BE UNIONBUSTING!
IT ISN'T FORGOTTEN THAT. ALL WINTER T^ONG,
AND UNDER ORDERS, THE NMU MEMBERSHIP
WALKED THROUGH THE PICKET LINES OP THE SUP,
SIU AND MFOW AROUND THE PINK HALLS! And it
isn't being forgotten that the reconditioning of the SS Ameri
can Seaman is being done in a CIO shipyard.
LUNDEBERG GETS RESULTS
_ Last week^dpwn in Wa.shington, Brother Harry Lunde
berg, chief executive officer of the SIUSUP, with the one
hundred precent backing of his own organizations, and the
MFOW, CTU, and other bona fide militant maritime unions,
took the floor; said in a few words what had to he said,
AND THE FINK HALL ISSUE TOOK IT ON THE CHIN,
"AND NOSEDIVED TO THE DECK! Now that the battle
is over and the victory won, we find, as nsual, Currah and
the commissars jumping into the ring and kicking the stink
ing corpse, BUT YOU'RE WASTING YOUR TIME, JOE.
THE SUP KNOWS HOW YOU STOOD ON THE FINK
HALL BUSINESS: THE SIU KNOWS, THE MFOW
KNOWS, THE MTW KNOWS, THE MEBA KNOWS, THE
GTU KNOWS, THE MM&P KNOWS, AND—WORST OP
ALL, JOE,—THE NMU KNOWS, AND DESPITE ALL, OF'
YOUR BLAHBLAH IT'S GOING TO COME HOME TO
BOOST ONE OP THESE DAYS!
SIU Bngine, No. 90
PICKETJ.INES
{Continued from Page One)
Clearance Demanded
The other day, a SUP man, liv
ing in the Seamen's Institute,
shipped out' of the SUP Hall.
When he went to the Institute to
get his gear, he was accosted by
NMU pickets, who. demanded that
he go to the NMU Hall and get a
clearance card. This man returned
to the SUP Hall and informed the
Agent what had happened. The
Agent then accompanied him back
to the Institute, and informed the
NMU picket captain that this man
did not need any clearance card
from the NMU; that he was a
SUP man, and that he had the
proper afisignment cards in his
possession. Thie picket oaptUia stHl
insisted that the man get a. clear
aniee card, hut the SUP Agent was
just as obstinate in his demand
that theman be allowed to pro
peed on his way to the ship." Need
less to say, the man went on tb
the ship .without any further hin
drance!
Will Respect Picket Lines
• Now:—we are perfectly willing
and agreeable to playing ball with
the NMU, as far as respecting
their picket lines is concerned,
but we will not allow them to in
sist. upon any of our members hav
ing Clearance cards from their or
ganization. "We feel that we are
well able to take care of that mat
ter ourselves, and resent any such
Intereferenee on the part of the
NMU. "We have pledged ourselves
that our members will not violate
the NMU picket lines, and that
should moqt certainly be enough
assurance df our good wilL
In closing, we wish the best oF;:
lock ttorihe NMU in their Sgiit oat
the tankers, and hope thot they;
are euecess^d in gaining all their
demands?
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