Media
Issue Date
1940-07-20
Volume
2
Issue Number
7
Plaintext
S. S. Algic Struck for War Bonus
The Seafarers^ Log
SeafaremVJbternatumalUiiiaii^ofN^N^ America
Officiid Organ of the Atlantic^ Gulf and GreatLakes Seamen
VOL. II NEW YORK, N. Y., SATURDAY, JULY 20, 1940 ,446 No. 7
SIU WINS WAGE RAISE m
y FOR NMU MEMBERSHIP!
IC
Seafarers
Crew Pickets
For War Bonus
To So. Africa
Shipowners Apologize for Insulting SIU
^gQjtiqting Committee Negotiations
Respmed—Picket Line Going Strong!
The crew of the SS ALGlC, operated by the Seas Shipping
Co., hung thehook on the tub in a dispute over the war
bonus to be pa4d by the company for the run to South Africa.
This action was taken when the chairman of the shipowners'
committee, Mr. Mullen, objei^ed to the presence of Morris
Weisberger, a member of the SIU negotiating committee.
Brother Weisberger, Agent for the SUP in the port of. New
York, is a member of the organization committee of the SIU.
The union took the position that it reserved the right to
select its own negotiators without any dictation from the
shipowners, and negotiations broke down following this high
handed action by the shipowners' committee. Following this,
the crew of the ALGIC hit the bricks and established a picket
line around the ship. The picket line is being observed by
the International Longshoremen's Association who ceased
loading the vessel when the picket line was established, also
S.S. COMET
the AFL TeamstersUriion. ^
Shipowners Apologize
Later the same day, the
company ofhcials called the
Union office and requested
that negotiations be resmned.
THE SIU AGREED TO RE
SUME NEGOTIATIONS AF
TER THE SHIPOWNERS
HAD APOLOGIZED TO
BROTHER WEISBERGER
AND THE UNION'S COM
MITTEE FOR THEIR IN
SULTING ATTITUDE. Our
opinion of the reason for the
shipowner's objection to the
presence of brother Weis
berger is that the SUP had
already established a TOP
bonus rate for the run to
South Africa negotiated by
Weisberger on other ships in
the same run and they knew
Weisberger had the goods on
them.
Bonus Demand!
The SIU Is demanding a one
dollar per day; bonus from the
day the ship leaves the last load
ing port In the United States
until her return to the first Uni
ted States port. This demand Is
amply justified by the fact that
{Continued on Page 4)
IN THESE
PERILOUS
TIMES!
iNothIng is safe in these un
settled times as witness the case
of Brother Daniel Duffy. The
brother, deciding he was as good
as Steve Brodie any day, dived
gracefully from a second story
window In a neighboring hotel
and on coming to at the Marine
Hospital found that his suitcase
and other gear which he had In
adverently left behind in his
room at the hotel had been taken
to headquarters, by the police.
However, upon his release from
the hospital and application at
headquarters for his suitcase, the
police informed Brother Dan that
some lowljfe had stolen his suit
case from the police storage
room. Brother Duffy Is of the
opinion that it's getting to be a
helluva world when a man can't
jump out of a window without
buying his gear stolen, especially
when It's being watched by a
couple of hundred cops.
S.I.U. Crew
Stmts It's
Stuff!
One of our SIU crews are strut
ting around like pouted pig
eons and are going to be hard
to talk to after what happened
the other day. The U.S. Steam
boat Inspector went aboard the
COMET Of the COLONIAL
LINE and after making his in
spection had the foilowliig com
ment to make:
A Union that puts out ^nen oj
the kind J find on the "COMET'
should get credit. I have been on
many ships, but have not found
a better lot of men in every de
partment than I now have before
me.
Captain Strickland and his
crew, are, in my estimation, as
good a setup as can be found on
any ship. And as for service in
the Stewards Department, I find
it OK and on this trip I have had
many of the passengers compli
ment the Stewards Department
for their courteous efficiency.
The SS COMET carries a com
plement of 65 men, S9 of whom
are in the Stewards Department
and the Union delegate reports
that all are good union men and
a credit to the organization.
N OC E
ALL AGENTS AND
MEMBERS 1
Under no circumstances
is WILLIAM E. MOSLEY
to be shipped by any offi
cial of the SIU. If he ifi
now on a ship he is to bd
taken off at the first port
in the United States. CON
TACT NEW YORK where
his book is being held! This
man has pulled a number
of phoney moves against
theunion and must answer
to the Union before he can
sail on SIU ships.
Record Proves NMU Owes
Debt of Gratitude
To Seafarers!
Honest^* Joe Bites the Hand That Helped Him
Get Wage Raise on Coatswise Lines!
Tlie RECORD of the past few months of negotiations
mth the Coastwise operators for an increase in wages and
overtime proves CONCLUSIVELY that the wage increase of
$5 per mouth granted the NMU members sailing on the
Coastwise ships was due SOLELY and ENTIRELY to the
militant action taken by the Seafarers International who
WON an increase of from $7.50 to $10 per month PLUS 10
cents an hour in the overtime rate, in the faee of the conten
tion of the Curran clique that IT COULDN'T BE DONE!
Read the Record! <9
Don't take our word for it I
READ THE RECORD! You
will find it in the pages of the
NMU Pilot and in the official
minutes of the NMU over the
period from May 1 to July 12.
That record PROVES beyond
a shadow of a doubt that the
NMU "leadership" was PRE
VENTED from putting across
an even worse sellout, ONLY
because the SIU showed BY
ACTION that the coastwise
operators
WOULD pay
an intelligent
FILE policy
and followed
COULD and
an increase if
RANK AND
were adopted
through. For
the benefit of those who have
neither the time nor the incli
nation to wade through the
entire record, we give a sum
mary of the (3vents up to date,
with DIRECT q u o t a t i o n s
taken FROM THE RECORD!
OuiT'an Lacks "Proof!"
In the May 3rd issue of the Pi
lot it was announced that: "The
coastwise operators refused to
consider ANY wage increase.
They have agreed, however, to
continue negotiations." Three
weeks later, in the Pilot of May
24, the NMU Negotiating Com
mittee listed five reasons why the
operators could not afford to pay
any increase and why fhe union
couldn't do anything about it.
One reason was that: "We
(NMU) have not been able to dis
prove that there is a wide differ
ential between profits of the off
shore and coastwise operators."
In other words, Cuiran couldn't
PROVE that the operators could
afford to pay an increase and
lacking such PROOF, he could tf
fer the membership no. other
policy than "to continue negotia
tions." On June 17, the SEAFAR
ERS' LOG announced that the
SIU had won an increase of ^10
per month, plus 10 cents per hour
in overtime, from the RANGE
LINES, operating in the coastwise
trade. Here was the PROOF that
they COULD afford an increase!
What more did Curran want?
Curran Gets Proof!
Did Curran and Co. want more
PROOF? On June 19, the SIU
won an agreement from the SEA
TRAIN LINES, INC., for an in
creaseof $10, plus 10 cents, and
the LOG publicly announced In
the issue of June 29 that similar
increases had been won from the
C & G Lines, Fall River Naviga
tion and Waterman S.S. Co., all
operating In the coastwise trade.
WHAT OTHER PROOF DID
CURRAN WANT? Yet, in the
Pilot of June 28. the NMU Nego
tiating Committee of Curran and
McKenzle, RECOMMENDED that
the NMU membership accept an
offer of a $2.50 Increase, WITH
NO INCREASE IN OVERTIME!
Remember, this $2.50 offer came
AFTER the SIU had already won
increases of $10 and 10 cents
from a number of coastwise
operators!
A Proven Liar!
CURRAN NOW DENIES THAT
HE RECOMMENDED THAT HIS
MEMBERSHIP ACCEPT THE
$2.50 INCREASE! In the Pilot of
July 12 Curran states: "We In
formed tke operators that we
were not making any recommen
dations that the $2.50 be accepted
and demanded that negotiations
continue." CURRAN IS A PROV
EN LIAR BY THE RECORD!
For in the Pilot of June 28, the
official report of the negotiating
comiuittPB signed by McKcnzio
{Continued from Page 3)
• 'LV
'• i
• m
i a
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THE S E A F A H E R S • L O G Saturday* JAly 20, 19^
• , I^bllsbed bjr tie
Seafarers' International Union
of North America
r * 'Affiliated with the AmericM Federation io^ Labor
HARKY LUNDERERG;' A'Jitlng President'
110 MarkOt Street, RObm 462, Sad Francisco, CaUf.
I Atlantic DistriSt
f HEADQUABTERS
l Now York <Phon©c BOwling GreCn 93437) ... .2 Ston'e Street'
t r .^RANCHES
Bostoa 3?3 Atlantic Avenue.
Prbvidence ...465 So. Main Street
<Philadelphia ......... v.iO North 6th Btreet
Baltimore ....14 North Gay Street
Norfolk ..................60 Commercial Place
San Juan, Puerto Rinb^ ...8 Covadbtiga Street
ifistricf
HHE>^^Q^ARtE^S
New Orleans ... .»...... .309 Chartres Street
BRANCHES *
S&TSiHHS'li • • • • 4a• it*• '2IS^ Str^6j6t
JabkBonrillo . 13S Bay Street
Tampa 206 South Franklin Street.
Mobile .....V.......V .....55 So! Cohceptiod Street
Texas City .........105 4th Street'N.
Great Lakes District
HEADQUARTERS
Detroit 1038 Third Street
., ADDREm ALL CORRESPONDENGE CORdERNlNQ THIS
PUBLICATION TO:
"THE SEAFARERS' LOG" ,,
P. O. B;px 522,1 Qiurch St. Annexi New Yorki N. Y.
Editor'. Tom Kerry—Former Editor of "West Coast Firemen"
REVEALS'.
FOUR WftfOH
lESUS'"
Hatwksliaw the Beagle
Unearths Huge Plot!
HAWKSHAW CURRAN has unearthed the most gigantic
PLOT of the eentiiry! Let Ilawkshaw the. Beagle tell you
about it. It'.s absolutely hair raising! Commence firing Hawlt
^shaw, we're all a'twitter! Well, here's de dope:
"The coastwise operators had been adamant in re
fusing to increasb their offer (to the NMU) of $2.50. Un
der the circumstances, your committee had no choibe but
to report back to the membership and submit the pro
posal of a $2.50 a month wage increase.
"We were not unaware of the possibilities that after
wfe had submitted this increase for a coastwise vote, cer
tain shipowners in conjunction with the SIU would at
tempt to whipsaw and discredit the Union's Negotiating
Committee." (NMU Pilot, June 12, 1940.)
Unearthing the "Coraspiracy/"
There you have it! Ilawkshaw Curran suspected all the
time, according to the above statement, that "certain .ship
owners in conjunction with the SIU would attempt to whip
saw (!) and discredit the NMU Negotiating Committee."
And how was this dastardly deed aeenmplished ? Elementary,
my dear Watsou! You see, the shipowners "conspired" to
discredit Curran and Co. by "giving" the SIU membership
from $5 to $7.50 ipore per month than the $2.50 that Curran
"had no choice but to report back to the membership" with
a recommendation for its acceptance.
fjiaivkshaw Does His Stuff!
In order to fully appreciate the brilliance of Hawk
shaw's powers of deduction and observation, which contrib
uted in no small measure to the unravelling of the PLOT, it
is well to reconstruct the crime for the benefit of our readers.
From' the l.st of May to the latter part of June the NMU Ne
gotiating Coifimittee impressed upon its membership that
tho coastwise operators " were iti no position to grant an in
crease.'' Then on June IT, thb Seafarers' LOO came out with
the'annbuneemeiit that the SIU had won an increase of $10'
per month plfis 10 ebnts per hour oil the overtime rate from
the Range Lines. The PLOT was beginning to thicken!
So He W^fi't Talk!
On the 19lh day of June, the SIU signed anaddendum
to.the agreement with the Seatrain Lines, Inc., prbVldin^ fof
the $10 and 10eent increase; retfoadtive to May 1st. In| the
intervening penod,' similar agreenients were signed with the
: G & G Lihds, Waterman,, and Fall River Navigation . Co:
tPuring this, period,. Ufawkshaw the Beagle was apparently
^gathering hisevidence that aplot wah being hatched, to'
UwhipsaW and disdfedit the NMU Negotiating Cpmrrtittee.^'
Rut hd' wasn't' saying a ny thing about, it—yet I Not Hawk
,Bha!#^!'.IId doesn't talk until it's in the bag!
(C'ontintietl, on Column 4) .iiyj;
One of oui* members, delv
ing deep into the history of
the seamen, has unearthed
the interesting fact that the
four watch system prevailed
aboard .ships in' the early
da^ui of hist'ory, when Jesiis
walked the eaifh. The' evi
derfde is cbntained' in thd'
Book of Matthew, 15:
I "And. straightaway Jesus
co'nstrdined his disciples to
get infp a ship; and to go B'e
f o're h^ihi ithto' th'e other sidP,
while he sent the multitudes
away.
"And when he had sent
the multitudes away,he went
up into a mountain apart to
pray, arid when Hit ehehihg
wets come, he w^ds theie
alone.
"Biit tUe ship was hdie in
the ttiidsi of the sea; tossed
with waves: for the wind was
contrary.
'ANDiSTH^ Pot RTH
WA TCH OF THE NIGHT
Jesus went unto them, walk
ing on the sea."
We sincerely trust that tho
Amerieaji .seanien will not he
constrained to await the sec
ond coming of Christ before
getting the four watch sys
tem on earth again!
Hawkshaw the Beagle
Unearths Huge Plot!
(Continued from Column 1)
iWMpsmt Bhicitshaw! .
In tiie meantime, the SIU entered into negotiations with
ih order tb "whipsa#" thW menihershf
it, addelf: '' Furthdfmp^d tfie c'bhstwiy
On the bOw oi: a' .ship a sailoi'
stood and scanned the night as
best he could,
For he was new and ^yished to
show that he'd soon learn what
he didn't know.
» • «
One for the starboard three dead,
two on the port Is what they
said,
Answer to the helmsman's bell
with the bell on the how that
all is wdll.
w * •
Then check the lights arid with
ample power, holler (lights
are bright sir) each half hour.
So staring hard with all his
might, it seemed to him he saw
a light.
* • •
prirt without delay,
light should fade
Two for the
before the
away.
It was bigger now, would soon be
past, what'manner of ship colild
be so fast?
* •
Then drifting cloiid'a showed' to
his dismay, by a* siriiplb manner
he'd been led astray.
It was all too evident he'd ma.de
a slip; the lii^ht he*d seen was
not a s hip;
• • •
The Male oii' the'bridib Aspied it
soori aild'i learned he too hE'd
been fooled' by the mobn!
S. di Flaherty/ 5211
330 Atlantic Ave.
DON'T iVdRRf :
' Wealthy whaf
will becoihe '6t all my wealth
when I pass on?
! \V'ifey^—Jiisi leave, every
rthmg to me, dfijjrling.
the Billl Line, one of the'largest eoastwisa operators, for
tenaudten increa,se. In the midst of the.se negotiations, thq
NMU Pilot ea,rae out with the announcement that the NMU
Negotiating Committee Avas recommending the acceptance of
a $2.50 per month offer by the coa.stwi.se lines under contract
to the NIVfU, with no ihcrease in' overtime. In tfilat Issub,
June 28, 11 driy.s after the LOU had annolinebu t}\ri Ran^
Line inefcrise pf tch^au'dten, HriWard McKcn^re, repbhting
for the NMf] Negotiating Committee, stated':
"Your negotiiating committee recommends the ac
ceptance of this $2.50 because it is our opinion we are not
' in the best pbsitioif to'abcu?e at this time." And
into accepting ,
operators ap
peared too willing to face the consequences of whatever
action the union might see fit to take in the event the in
crease is not acceptable."
ISot Done With Mirrors !
'J'iic Bull Line officials had a copy;^pf this issue of the
Pilbl with Avhibh they confionted' th% sfu Negoti'atin'g Cphi
mittee. DiVl they say: "Come on, boys, let's 'whipsaw' Cur
riui and sign up for the tenandten in'crease!" They did—
in a pig's CJT! lYhat thby did .say AVjis*': "Where in'the hell
do you guys get off demaudiug a tenandten increa.se, Avith
the NMU committee recommending $^.50 witftbtft any over
time increase!" And it took some battling on' the part of
the member.ship to get th'b Bull Line to up their offer from
$2.50 to $7.50, plus the 10 cents in overtime.
'^They Can't Afford ItV'
On July 9, the LOG ,eame out Avith the aunouncement of
the Bull Line iri'erea.se. Thaf Avas' enou'gh for IfaAVkshaw Cur
ran ! Nobody Avas going to di.screclil IITM by gelling a raise
foi>the seamen! A rai.se that he had said could not be gotten!
If Avas a PLOT, that's Avhat it Avas—a plot, to discredit the
NMU Negotiating Committee! Isn't it remarkable to AA'hat
lehgth.s the .shipoAvners will go to "whip.saAv" Curran? But
there's one thing they won't, get aAvaj' AA'ith Avhile HaAvkshaAV.
the Beagle is on the job, and that is to raise the AA'ages and
overtime rate AAdren Curran says they can't afford it.
Curran Gets '^^Whipsawed!"
We have searched several dictionaries of the English Jdtli
guage in an attempt to learn the definiiidn of the word "whipsato"
used by Curran in describing what "certain shipowners in cdtu
junction with the SIU" were trying to do to hint. To nO avail!
It mvsf be an expression coined by Curran to coiivey the fad
that he was caught with his pants down.
HearingB Scheduled
On Maffining Sealfe!
The Mai'itime Comrtiissioh lias
announced that it will hold hear
ings on the necessity for cliariges
in the mliirium" iriarinirig scales
for v^sols receiving an operat
ingdiqfferential subsidy from the
governmerit. Hriafihgs f6r unli
censed personnel will be held in
San Francisco oh Jiiiy 16, in
New Orleans on July 23, and in
New York on July 36! The hear
ings AViir be attended by repre
sentatives of thb SIU and 'SUP to
testify on behalf of the meiriber
ship of those" organlzatidris.
Now
Anudgiffhdtwii and
Unif orm MMpping .
In ' Menioriam
CHARLES (PATRICK)
O'KEEFE
Died at' United States Marine
Hospital at New York City.
LUCAS ARTURO HAU
Killed on board the S.S.
BEATRICE in Salt Juan,
. ^ July 10, 1940 1
IMPORfANt!
Members musf' be iri gbot^
sfaiiding irt order to be eli
gible for any benefits from
the organization. See that
you keep paid up! Don't
waft until the last minute!
r,'.
B. Cirtahdula ;.
S; SI Hlinbre
S, S; ....
Mas^ar\.. • ........;,, ,.,. . f .
Beach ........... *... ' ;
Total
4^4
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"'.T^viTari
oaluro^ay, July ^ur 1940 THE S E A F A R E R S ' LOG
• Y
\l
K
#fcrf «' s' D o i n g
Around
TEmS CITY
E^ditof Seafarers IjOg:;
The Texaa r6^on id h6o'niing;
more jobs^ a^enalnddy more ships
all the time. Since the hall was
put In here I believe that a check
baek will prove th&t therd is a
bigger turnovef thafi therd has
been here foh some tiih'e. This
businesa of getting men iS a real
problem! Was forced to sa!ll
shin minus' a second oook, tried
all the regular spots, taf rooms',
flop houses, etc., etc., no smoke
The only reason that I bring this
up is because a lol^ of the men
that pay off a ship here head for
the timber. Now sohie of course
have reasons tO do' so, biit the
majority of the members are go
ing to ship right out a'hyway 90
for Pete's sake stick arduhd the
port ybu'pay off in, (uhless of
course you pay oft some
eiae and come doVn here, that's
O.K.?
* « *
A.B;S.? I've turned' ev6r^
stump aha cactus in the state
over looking for them . . . in the
vvindup of course, di'sgtuntlecl
iMMUers Who have a belly full of
the top fraction's policies, ate
pleased to get a perrhi't, and I'm'
sure that with this system v/e
would be able to vbry effectively
eliminate the Stalinites,
• • •
Tush, tush, the seagull on the
stringer was telling me that the
Range Line is on another econ
omy drive. For inhtdhCe,' the' buy
ing price of coffee is lowered
from twohitd td sixteen cpnts,
what mud thai will be! Thtee
cases of milk for a twenty dhy
period. As this is thfe. Philadelphia
navy I refered this to Brn. Collins
and believe that I'm safe iir say
ing this will be nipped in the bud
before it gathers any momentum.
After all, we pay tax on $36.00 a
month for chow and flop which
sure entities a man to the SlU
standard, of course from Avhat
I've seen of some NMU ships
$5.00 w'ould overpay the sleeping
end of it.
• • «
I notice here lately that a lot
of the members are taking ad
vantage of the fact that shipping
Is very good and performih'g'
seems to be on the upbeat. Re
member on this that the same
thing applied 12 to 15 years ago,
also remember the period just be
fore the '34 strike. We cSh at
present make and maintain condi
tions; the only way possible for
us to continue this is for each
and every member to remember
that just because you didn't hap
pen to signthe agreement under
which you are working it is Just
as binding on you as a member
as if you had put your John
Henry on it The old timers that
know that fight needed to get
these conditions should need no
reminder and the young bUdka
just starting to sea, who never
worked field days, etc., should
spend a fey/ hours reading the
working rules and the Constitu
tion. This is a serious subject, so
think it over and dOn't faring your
orshrthratibn irttb illreputd Just
bedatis"e sKlpjiih'g i^ good and yoii
figdfe, whht the hell, I' ckn't bfe'
fired',' thdre'fif' rt'd* replacefemhtsf
Tb^ beslT 'kCgUmehl I'Ve seeh
yet T#gai'db thp carrying of A
the Seatrain ag'reemeht It cfefl
nitely states, it will hot be the
g'eneral practise to hold fire and
lief boat drills oh Sundays^ Sat
urday afternoon and holidays.
Plain eh? Well on the Texas
they hold the drill on a week day
goihg North and on Sunday cpm
ins Sooth. Talk about sailing
into the wind, I think this takes
the cake.
« « «
BOS'Q' oli these small cbastwikh'
ships, is tm pmvir CliV; is
actually Starting tio' sblhe' sirice
the' Serang'haS beSa added' to' the
cr^m Don't believe it'? Lbbk hfei^
ovef'Yh'Sfi you SSS Her next; • • • • <
Talk about cutting corners. In
Editor, Seafarers' Log: :
wen, well, well like hell it is!
I start the week with four A.B.s
add what happens? They all ship
out on me and now I'm right back
wheie I started from. Shipping
is plckliig up right along here
and pretty soon at the rate that
we are going we will be shipping
more men than New York not to
mention these other small ports!
« 4i «
It' seems fhat s'onl^ of the mein
b'^'rs that are'sailing this coast
take a Ib'tig tlmfe to learn simple
thi'ngS. The S.S; Tulsa came out
of New Orleans' and there were
tvi^'o m'^h that miSsed the ship nt
the las't nilnutfe. One of these, ari
A; B., had' the agSnt advance him
the mPiiey to catch the ship in
Houston and he was very sur
prised to find a man in his place
wfieh' he' got to the ship. Eor the"
benefit of the members up and
dbWn the coast I wish you would
print the foUowing excerpt from
the Constitution:
* • •
Article XX.^Offerise and Pun
ishment.
Section 7. Any member found
guilty of violafing the working
rules shall forfeit hl's job. Any
member found guilty of violating
the shipping rales shall forfeit his
sbippliig cafd arid shall not have
another issuSd prior to the ex
piration of thirty (30) days.
*
If the members will take time
to read this and think it oVer for
a while, it will eliminate a lot of
uriiiecessary beefs.
« If *
One other thing—in Houston
yesterday, I went there to mdke
a ship that was due in arid found
that a few men \vere bristling the
docks for their own jobs, so all
members, take note that in' the
Texas distrfct the Hall is in
Texas City, Phone 722^ the mail
ing' address" is P. O. 152. And if
any men come around trying to
get a job, give them one swim
ming or foot exercise.
* * *
Der Tag (I driri't know the Riis
slari) has come and gone, remem
ber, Jun'e th'e 18th, when the
great po'wer had a tentatlvo
meeting with the coastwise ship
owners for the raise, on the
cbasfaf ships. I think I have the
answer to thb problem though!
The' shipowners are so' afraid of
Cuffan's powbr that they just
won't take' a ch'ah'ce of gettiiig
into'the same ofllce Willi hiili (of
course, this only happens when
the men on th'e ships want some
little thing like the ten and ten;
other times they must have their
messenger boy) for fear this
power of which he rants might
get away from him. This power
'might and should get away. The
simplest way to do this is for the
honest seameri in" the Nliltr to get
wise to • thenrselves. After all,
these' a¥e' the' nieu' with the'
power. Th'e sooner the seariien
realize this arifl gef in the or
garilkatlbh thitt uses' this power
fbr thb' ihhmbefa' beri'efft instead
6f rigalhst the if benefit; the
soohbV will we' do aWay with this
• eomiiiy style bt seathkid fight shk
nion. There ik atill plbrity of fight
left in the old shipowner and as
fACKSONriLLEi FLAi
Dear sir and brothers::
There were several Bull Line
ships in this week, and only one
of theiri voted to accept the 7.50
and 10 cents an hour increase.
Both of these ships held meetings
aboard them, and they will either
be accepted or rejected in Mon
day night's meeting in this
branch.
* * «
Debt of Gratitude
(Continued from pmje 1)
states: "Your nbgbtfatirig com
mittee recommend the accept
ance of this $2.50, becarise it
is our opinion we are not in the
best position to secure more at
this time." Further, the SAME
recbmmeridatiori waS made to the
NMU meiribefship meetirig on.
Jilnri 27 arid what iS more, TKE
RECOklMENDATION OF THE
NEGOTIATING COMMfTTEE,
COMPOSED OF CURRAN AND
MCKENZIE^ "VYAS ACCEPTED'
BY THE MEMBERSHIP! (Min
utes of NMU membership meet
j ing of June 27. New York.)
Some of the members aboard | Have No Program
these ships are taking quite a
little interest and voting the.
the amalgamation and revised
shipping ni)e.s ballot. Each and
every member of the S.I.U. must
vote on any issue that the Union
may bring up from time to time.
This way, we have a Union run
by seamen, for seamen, and not
by a few top officials.
* * «
Shippings wasn't so hot this
In the minutes of the June 27
meeting, McKenzie, reporting for
the negotiating committee, ampli
fie.s the recommendation with the
following statementr "YoUr com
mittee took the position thrit un
less officials of the Union could
come before the membership and
give them some guarantee that
they could' get more, th'e best that
we could do, to be honest with
, the meriibershlp, if wc could rec
week, with only four members be ommend a program at this time
ing dispatched to various ships.
There are 16 meriibers on the
three shipping lists at the present
time.
Respectfully submitted,
Fred Lauritano
TSEW ORLEANS
Editor: The Seafarers' Log,
Shipping'for the past week was
gbod .especially on deck.
* • *
Minb'r beefs on sevefal ships
were taken care of in the usual
manner.
* !|t
The S.S. "VYilliam Salman came
in to rate as the biggest headache
of the week. She had her, usual,
oVeflTme beefs but it was well
taken care of. Ske shipped nearly
a new Black Gang arid" several on
deck.
• • *
The Carolyn carrie in with a
chief cook who'had pulled a knife
on one of the sailors. He w^s
trea,ted like his type are usally
with a new Chief Cook.
Buck Stephens
:SAVAt(NAH
Seafarers' Log,
New York, N. Y. ,
Dear FUr und nrothdr:
Considering the number of
ships coming into this port now,
shipping has been fair the past
couple of weeks. Besides the regu
lar Savannah Line ships, we have
had. thq S.S. DE SOTO, STEEL
AGE, Beatrice and Tug Sampson,
of the Elastern Transportation Co.
in recently, each calling for a cou
ple of replacements.
* * #
Voting on the amalgamation
and uniform shipping rules was
started here last meeting; CreWS
on all ships coming in are In
structed to come up and vote as
soon as possible.
Fraternally, yours,
Charles Waid, Agent.
he is ouf na^ral dpybnehl, the
Soorifer stooging for th'e. Moscow
dpesm nec^sam we shall present a solid frpilti." . ,
against'all' the phoney moyes the
operator^ are puilirig out of their
hats. ,
Steady a'S 'She goes!
A. W. Armstforig
t
On Amcdg^mciitdn dtM
Uniform Shipping
which we felt would get more,
was to put it up to them fairly
and squarely and if can't see any,
way out. TO TELL TIIEM THAT
THE $2.50 BE ACCEPTED." (Ap
plause.) What the "applarise" was
for ishard to figure out, unless
it was for McKerizie's ."honesty"
in informing the membership that
they had no "program at this
time which we felt w'ould get
more," and that "we can't, see any
way out," except to accept the
recommendation of the cbm'mi'ttee
to accept the $2.50.
Pie in the sfey
More proof that Curran is a
liar when he states that they did
not recommend an acceptance oi
the $2.50? We risk boring our
rea^ders'by quoting a lengthy sec.
tiori of the speech made by Cur
ran at the June 27 membership
meeting, but it illustrates the
method in consistent use by the
"great leader" to' discourage ef
fective action on the part of the
rank and file and put across the
old sellout.
Curran: (NMU idmutes, June
27) "The membership should
think very cafefiilly and very
seriously when there's an offer
of a gain. Not much of a gain,
it is true biit it's a gain and
not a loss'. That fact should be
taken into consideration, that'
there are more days coming,
there are probably (probably!)
better days coming, and we
may (may!) have a stronger or
ganization and then be able to
get more gains."
{That's the old "pie in the slcy"
line—don't get impatient, hoys,
you will get your reward in
heaven! Better days are coining
prosperity is just around the cor
ner! Be patient! It'll all come
"oitf in the wash!)
Good Old'' Proverb!''
Culran' continues:' "Arid I re
peat the old proverb, that you
have to learn to crawl (Just
like a louse, eh Joe!) before
you can run or walk. Vori have
to take a little bit at a time in
order to get more as you go
along."
, (Proverb Joe should have made
pTdin tiiat "Wannng t6 crawl"
ari id emu
the louse and do your craic
on the body of another in or
to eke out a parijSiiicdl exis
tence by sucking th'e blood of
ydur benefactor.)
Wby tbe Denial?
^ "A'sfflke'rirthls bri
the '"mearis 6f sacrificing the
• gain's thbt w'ri' have' made ...
in'the'tanker atrikie the" meii
on the freighters and passenger
Ships took the position that
late
• ling
why should we picket gas sta
tions, why should we picket
anything. We're not on the tank
ers, we're on the freighters and
passenger shipff. AND VOLT
MIGHT RUN UP AGAINST
THAT SiTLTATION AGAIN TO
DAY.
"Because the Negotiating
Committee took all these' farit'S
info crirfsi'derafion, they come
in ori this flrior arid telf you and
recommend that you accept
the $2.50 Increase. . . ."
Pathot Confessor
Curran's speeches, like the ona
quoted aboVe, reek of the pater
nal attitude of a "Father Clonfe^'
sor" talking tohis flock. It's like
getting a pat on the back from
someone who is just looking fpr
a good place to stick a knife. The
central theme is, you've got tq
take what you can get—and wait!
For what? For the "probable bet
ter days" that are to come—
MAYBE! And all this passes as
"trade union policy!"
A FevY Crumbs
If the above quotations were
the, expressed attitude of theEN
TIRE NMU leadership, how was
it possible for the membership to
get; the five dollar raise;which
they were told they couldn't get?
On July 9, (remeiriher the date),
the LOG catae out with the an
nouncement that in spite of the
fact that the NMU Negotiating
Coririmittee were recommending a
$2.50 sellout, the SIU had suc
ceeded in upping the' offer of the
Bull, Line from their original
$2.50 with no Increase jri over..,
time to $7.50 per month, PLUS
10 cents per hour overfinie. Cur
ran and Co. were in "a panic! On'
the basis of their reconinienda'
tion, the NMU membership had
ACCEPTED the $2.50 increase
with no overtime raise. Unless
they could get a few moi'e crumbs
from the shipowners, as an addi
tinal sop to their membership, it •
would be difficult to keep the
members in line.
A Plain Gift!
In the July 12 1 • of the P^,
lot, we are told tlm.; "The NMU
Negotiating Committee on July
10 succeeded in boosting the
wage increase offer of the coast
wise operators from $2.50 to $5."
That is, ONE DAY after the ap
pearance of the Seafarers' LOG,
the shipowners kicked in with an
additional $2.50 AFTER the first
$2.50 HAD ALREADY BEEN AC
CEPTED! It^ as plain as the"
nose on Curran's face that the
shipowners were investing in a
little insurance to prevent the
men that sail their ships frorii de
manding top union wages. At the
same time. It was a facecaving
device for Curran and Co. to en
able them to keep their member
ship in line.
More "Proof!"
A number of questions arise
which have not yet' been ,an
swered. After repeating the story
over and over again for the past,
two months that the "NMU could
not PROVE" that' the coastwise
operators were able to pay an in
crease, WHAT PROOF did Cut
fari: suddenly discover to' justify
the" increase of five dollars? Ha
doesn't say! In fact, the ONLY
PPOOF that existed then, as iipw,
WAS' THE .FAClT THAT THE
SIU HAD FORCED INCREASES
FROM THE COABTWISE OP
ERATORS! That' proof kept pil
ing up with each additional vic
tory of' the SIU so that Curran
could no longer pretend not to srie
it! And if he had one ounce of
HONESTY ill his entire makeup,
he wo'uW be corripelled to admit
that: it was trie ACTION of the
SItr' whiich' won for the '^lU
membership on the' ' cbastwiso •
(Continued on page 4}
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THE SEAFARERS' LOG
I S;..;;
I&C
Saturday, July 20, i94w'= ,
POLICY REGARDING THE TAKING IN OF NEW MEMBERS AND THE
ISSUANCE OF PERMIT CARDS AND THE SYSTEM OF HANDLING SAME
The Union shall determine from time to time on a monthly
basis the number of different rated men to be taken into the Union.
No new members shall be taken into the S.I.U. of N.A., Atlantic
District, without first having been issued Permit Cards and who^ with
such Permit Cards, have performed and met the requirements listed
thereon under '"rules governing Permit men."
MORE ilSOUT;
Men who are employed on ships considered unorflanired or not
already under the Immediate jurisdiction of the S.I.U. of N.A. may
be taken into the Union directly without having to go thru the
Union's permit system providing that, at the time of their Joining,
they agree to stay on the same ship or sail on any other ship in
such companies for organizational and representative purposes.
Men who have been issued Permit Cards and have performed
and met the requirements listed thereon under "Rules governing
Permit men" and have duly filed application for membership, the
acceptance of their application shall be governed according to the
iXTnion's decision as to the number of new members to be taken into
the Union each month.
All applications and applicants for membership are to be sub
Ject to an investigation by a committee as per the Union's constb
tuiion. (This means that all future new members will be thoroughly
Investigated before they are allowed to Join the Union and that
they will be Joined directly thru the Union's offices and not thru
the Patrolmen on the beat).
' Permit Cards are to be Issued ONLY to nonmembers being
Chipped to fill jobs because no book members or Permit Card men
are available to fill such jobs. They are to be Issued Permit Cards
at the time they are dispatched to the. job and at no other time.
PERMIT CARDS ARE TO BE ISSUED TO .NO OTHER PER
SONS—NO PERSON SHALL BE ISSUED MORE THAN ONE
PERMIT CARD—THEY SHALL BE REQUIRED TO RETAIN AND
USE THE ONE PERMIT CARD ISSUED THEM.
Permit Cards are to be issued under the local S.I.U, Agent's sig
liatqrp only. Agents will be held responsible for all Permit Cards
issued thra his Branch. Agents are to make sure that Permit Cards
are. issued to only those who are worthy of spch^ and that they
are ohly issued to men needed to fill jobs because no book members
or Permit Card men are available to fill the jobs; and that they are
only issued at the time such persons are dispatched to .thq jobs.
Permit Card men shall be required to pay only reg^ular monthly,
fides on their Permit Cards; such dues to.^be. paid from the date of
the Permit Card's issuance until such, time as they become reguia''
book members. They shall be required to keep their dues In good
(Standing at all times.
Permit Card men who are shipped to jobs are to be ial.lowe^ to
make at least one complete round trip but after such round trip Is
Completed, they may be required to relinquish their jobs, upon de
mand of any book member desiring such job. Such demand shall
• be made thru the Union's oflices, and the dispatching of such jobs
ehall be done in accordance to the regular system of dispatching
book member to jobs.
On coastwise ships, Permit Card menshall be allowed to remain
at least 30 days on the Job before being required to relinquish their
Jobs to book members.
J^en who are neither book members or Permit Card men who
^hrd'jBhipped in out ports where the Union does , not maintain a Branch
,iin tl^V vicinity because neither a book member or Penpit Card
man is available, such men shipped shall berequired to take out a
iPerpfit Card in the first port the ship touches where £he Union
inhiiitaihs a Branch. All ships' delegates are to fry to ship a hook
member or a Permit Card man to these jobs if possible and they
dlb^l he jequired, in these cases, to file a report on same with the
Patrolman who boards the ship at the first port where the
maintains a Branch. These men shall be required to reporl
to f^geUnion Hall In person to secure their Permit Card.
f fpAny man shipped to a Job who is already a member of an or
;0anization affiliated with the Seafarers International Union of North
America shall not be required to take out a Permit Card. He shall
be allowed to sail on .his affiliated organization membership book as
per the shipping rules.
, . All Patrolmen shall he required to file with their respective
Agent the names and ratings of all Permit Card men completing
lound trips thru the ship's arrival in that particular port.
Ships' delegates shall be required to list the names and ratings
of all Permit Card men on board and such list shall be turned over
to the Union Patrolman for his inspection u.non the ship's arrival
fn port.
Men who have been issued Shipping Permits prior to the Invoca
tion of the new Permit Cards shall be reijuired to exchange their
Shipping Permits: for the new Peiniit Cards. Permit Cards Issued
them in lieu of their Shipping Permits shall be dated as of the date
the Shipping Permit was Issued and they shall bfe required to pay
monthly dues from that day on.
Permit shipping list^ shall be kept in all Branches in the same
manner as the regular shipping list In order that Permit Card men
may register for Jobs.
Permit Card men shall have preference for Jobs when no book
members are available for such jobs, and they shall he dispatched
to these jobs from the Permit Shipping List in the sanae manner
as book members are dispatched from the regular shipping list. •
' When no Permit Card man Is available for a Job then the local
Agent shall dispatch an outside man to the Job and issue him a
Iregulation Permit Card. AJI Agents are to make sure that such men
are of the right sort and who are dssircus and capable of becoming
good members.
Record Proves
NMU Owes Debt
BALTIMORE
(Continued from Page 3)
ships, whatever wage increase
they received. Our only regret is
that the men in the NMU who
sail the ships failed to get the
TOP wages AND overtime in
crease established by the SIU.
"Honest Joe!"
Far from being honest, Curran
throws sand in the eyes ,of his
membership by trying to make
them believe that they too could
have gotten as large an increase
as the SIU by sacrificing certain
overtime provisions! It won't
work, Joe! Here is wbnt He says:
(NMU Pilot, July 12.)
"The operators Jumped at the
opportunity to continue nego
tiations to consider additional
wage increases on the iNMU
ships, provided, however, that
your committeiii would give
some consideration to giving
up certain overtime conces
sions in our contracts which
are not included In the agree
ments of the phoney SIU. in
fact^ they even intimated that
we might secure a much larger
wage Increase, provided we
would consider dropping cer
tain overtime clauses a ia SIU."
"Overtime Clauses!"
That's the alibi for recommend
ing the accejmnce of a. JLiOWER
inqrease., and NO increase in ovei^
time to the membership. WHAT
concessions did the shipowners
ask for in exchange for TOP
wages? WHAT "overtime clauses"
were they asked to drop from
their agreement "a la SIU?" Cur
ran's iuouth is full of water—^he
cannot speak, because if he did,
he would convict' himself as a
boldface LIAR! You can search
the record from stem to stern—
from May 1st down to July 12,
and NOWHERE—rwe repeat—^NO
WHERE will you find one single
solitary word of intimation from
Curran or anyone else that the
shipowners had offered the NMU
an increase in exchange for over
time concessions!
Just A Gag
Curran needed an "explanation"
for his sellout, and he hit on the
"overtime concessions" gagl The
fact of the matter is.that the SIU
has established working condi
tions, INCLUDING OVERTIME
CLAUSES, in our agreements so
far superior to ANYTHING the
NMU has that the "alibi" would
be laughable if it were not so
tragic. So splendid are Curran'S
"overtime clauses" that the Isth
mian S.S. Co., one of the worst
antiunion, openshop outfits in
the country, have adopted the
NMU working rules on their
4h1p5::.^ogether with the NMU
wage scale I
The Pacts!
The FACTS stand out like a
sore thumb! When the SUP es
tablished a new TOP wage and
overtime for the seamen, the
NMU leaders rode on the backs
of the SUP and were GIVEN an
increase of |10 per month in
some of their offshore ships
WITH NO INCREASE IN OVER
TIftiE! Like parisites who live on
a stronger body they sucked some
bloo(?. into fhelr own veins, at the
same time weakening the body
upon which they feed. When the
SIU fought and succeeded in es
tablishing TOP wages and condi
tions in the coastwise trade, once
again the parisites fastened
themselves on the body of' men
carrying on the struggle and
filled their veins by sucking our
blood and weakening our fight. In
News And Views
BALTIMORE, Md., Jlily, 8, 1340.
rBbipping. slowed, dowii. soma,
what during the past week with
the Beach Lists showing 70
shipped, 93 registered, and a total
of 197 Brothers registered in all
three departments. SUP and CTU
shipping is likewise slower than
usual, with no great pickup ex
pected until the ships shut off
from the Mediterranean runs are
shuffled into other services.
Jammed shipyards prevent the re.
conditioning of most of the ships
coming up from the tiedup fieets
in the James River, but once this
work really gets going, there are
prospects of the Branch having to
crew up at least one ship a week.
New Freighters
Down at Sparrows Point, the
first of the six new fast freighters
being built for the Robin Line is
about due for launching^ while
over at the flttingup dock the
DELORLEANS Is beginning to
look like she might be ready for
her trials by the end of this
month. Invoking the Neutrality
Act to apply to Mediterranean
waters is proving especially hard
on the tanker fleets, and there is
a steady stream of the iiedup
anchorage at Solomon's island
The MC has aeeeptsd the bid of
the Bull Line for tho MONROE
and BARREADO and a new C1
cargo ehip now building in
Philadelphia yard. We have no
report on when the two oldtimers
bought by the Bull Line will be
ready for service.
Commie Blitzlorieg
Activity on the part of the
Commies to force Government in
tervention or Glovernment control
over all maritime workers is
growing in all ports. As usual,
the beginning of the Commie
Blitzkrieg is centered against the
radio operators whom, generally
being considered keymen, ordi
narily feel the effects of any
Commie drive or change In the
Party Line before it is felt in the
other Maritime Unions. The
strategy of the Party leaders in
this particular case is much the
same as that followed in their at
tempts to disrupt or nullify the
work of other groups or organize
t'lons such as the National Youth
Congress, which has been brought
into such disrepute in tho eyes of
the general public.
Danger Involved
The Commies, therefore, by
having their stooges violate
agreements, and in general delay
or disrupt the services of well
known ships such as the MON
TEREY case, cause the public
and the Government to cast sus
picious eyes on the radio oper
ators and suspect them of being
in league with the "Fifth Col
umn." The next step is self evi
dent. Shipboard communications
are too important in time of
j
each case, and it is inevitable
that it be so, the parisitic organ
ism does not attain the stature of
the body upon which it feeds. In
each case, the strength of the
body is drained to keep the pari
sites alive!
"Learn to Crawl?"
Unless the vermin who have
attached themselves to the body
of the American seamen are
shaken off, they will be de
stroyed! "Learn to crawl," says
Curran! Rid yourself of the craw
lers, say we, so that with undim
ished strength, we can march for
ward to greater gains with TOP
wages and conditions for alll
emergency: to take any.«hances,on
aAd. either the Jflavy or Coast
guard will step in and take over
in that particular department. We
have it on good authority that at
the time of the MONTEREY in
cident when the company asked
the Navy to supply them with ra
dio operators, the request was
turned down with the statement
that the Navy could not take over
In the Radio Room unless thfty
took over ALL THE MERCHANT
MARINE.
Ballotiiig On!
Balloting on the regulations
drawn , up at the Agents' Confer,
ence is being conducled here
daily at noon and on meeting
nights. The Bull Line's offer to
the negotiating committee is be
ing taken to the membership on
these ships and voting is now in
progress. The Branch has re
ceived a supply of the new Permit
Cards, but due to the slowdown
in shipping the issuing of these
cards has been stopped. Last Fri
day saw 17 SIU and four SUP
ships in port. In line with this,
members should remember that if
is an impossibility some days for
the palrolmen to make every ar
rival. Ships with a short stay in
port are usually made first and
those with longer stays or in dry
dock left until later.
Fraternally,
W. H. Elkln*.
MOBE ABOUT:
Crew Pickets
For War Bonus
(Continued from Page l)
the Germany Navy has recently
announced that the South African
coast had been heavily mined.
Also, the freight rates on tba
South African run have been in
creased FOR THE SECOND
TIME on July 13^ 1940. If tha
company feels that it is justified
in asking higher fpeight rates fof
the additional risk, we see no
reason why the crew should not
be compensated for risking life
and limbTwhich is more impor
tant to them than are the profits
of the shipowners.
Negotiations Continue
Negotiations continued until
late Wednesday night, "The com
pany insisted that the picket line
be taken off before continuing,
negotiations but the Union said
no soap to that one! Once the
line was off we kuow what would
happen. The line stays, on until
the beef is settled. Then the
company wanted the ship to sail
and to submit the dispute to an
impartial' 'arbitrator. The Union
turned that one down too and ^
countered by proposing that a
conciliator froia the Department
of Labor he requested to partici
pate in the negotiations but the
company refused to accept the
Union's proposal.:
Picket Line On!
At the time of going to press,
the. picket, line. Is still goinf
strong. The Union Is also keep
Ing a weather eye open for a pes.
sible repetition of the finky ac
tion of the commissars in the
NMU because we still remember
when we hung up the 8S ROBIN
ADAIR last fall for a war bonus,
the NMU shipped a gang of finks
aboard and sailed the ship with
out a bonus. .The ALGIC and the ,
ROBIN ADAIR are operated by
the same company.
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The Seafarers^ Log
SeafaremVJbternatumalUiiiaii^ofN^N^ America
Officiid Organ of the Atlantic^ Gulf and GreatLakes Seamen
VOL. II NEW YORK, N. Y., SATURDAY, JULY 20, 1940 ,446 No. 7
SIU WINS WAGE RAISE m
y FOR NMU MEMBERSHIP!
IC
Seafarers
Crew Pickets
For War Bonus
To So. Africa
Shipowners Apologize for Insulting SIU
^gQjtiqting Committee Negotiations
Respmed—Picket Line Going Strong!
The crew of the SS ALGlC, operated by the Seas Shipping
Co., hung thehook on the tub in a dispute over the war
bonus to be pa4d by the company for the run to South Africa.
This action was taken when the chairman of the shipowners'
committee, Mr. Mullen, objei^ed to the presence of Morris
Weisberger, a member of the SIU negotiating committee.
Brother Weisberger, Agent for the SUP in the port of. New
York, is a member of the organization committee of the SIU.
The union took the position that it reserved the right to
select its own negotiators without any dictation from the
shipowners, and negotiations broke down following this high
handed action by the shipowners' committee. Following this,
the crew of the ALGIC hit the bricks and established a picket
line around the ship. The picket line is being observed by
the International Longshoremen's Association who ceased
loading the vessel when the picket line was established, also
S.S. COMET
the AFL TeamstersUriion. ^
Shipowners Apologize
Later the same day, the
company ofhcials called the
Union office and requested
that negotiations be resmned.
THE SIU AGREED TO RE
SUME NEGOTIATIONS AF
TER THE SHIPOWNERS
HAD APOLOGIZED TO
BROTHER WEISBERGER
AND THE UNION'S COM
MITTEE FOR THEIR IN
SULTING ATTITUDE. Our
opinion of the reason for the
shipowner's objection to the
presence of brother Weis
berger is that the SUP had
already established a TOP
bonus rate for the run to
South Africa negotiated by
Weisberger on other ships in
the same run and they knew
Weisberger had the goods on
them.
Bonus Demand!
The SIU Is demanding a one
dollar per day; bonus from the
day the ship leaves the last load
ing port In the United States
until her return to the first Uni
ted States port. This demand Is
amply justified by the fact that
{Continued on Page 4)
IN THESE
PERILOUS
TIMES!
iNothIng is safe in these un
settled times as witness the case
of Brother Daniel Duffy. The
brother, deciding he was as good
as Steve Brodie any day, dived
gracefully from a second story
window In a neighboring hotel
and on coming to at the Marine
Hospital found that his suitcase
and other gear which he had In
adverently left behind in his
room at the hotel had been taken
to headquarters, by the police.
However, upon his release from
the hospital and application at
headquarters for his suitcase, the
police informed Brother Dan that
some lowljfe had stolen his suit
case from the police storage
room. Brother Duffy Is of the
opinion that it's getting to be a
helluva world when a man can't
jump out of a window without
buying his gear stolen, especially
when It's being watched by a
couple of hundred cops.
S.I.U. Crew
Stmts It's
Stuff!
One of our SIU crews are strut
ting around like pouted pig
eons and are going to be hard
to talk to after what happened
the other day. The U.S. Steam
boat Inspector went aboard the
COMET Of the COLONIAL
LINE and after making his in
spection had the foilowliig com
ment to make:
A Union that puts out ^nen oj
the kind J find on the "COMET'
should get credit. I have been on
many ships, but have not found
a better lot of men in every de
partment than I now have before
me.
Captain Strickland and his
crew, are, in my estimation, as
good a setup as can be found on
any ship. And as for service in
the Stewards Department, I find
it OK and on this trip I have had
many of the passengers compli
ment the Stewards Department
for their courteous efficiency.
The SS COMET carries a com
plement of 65 men, S9 of whom
are in the Stewards Department
and the Union delegate reports
that all are good union men and
a credit to the organization.
N OC E
ALL AGENTS AND
MEMBERS 1
Under no circumstances
is WILLIAM E. MOSLEY
to be shipped by any offi
cial of the SIU. If he ifi
now on a ship he is to bd
taken off at the first port
in the United States. CON
TACT NEW YORK where
his book is being held! This
man has pulled a number
of phoney moves against
theunion and must answer
to the Union before he can
sail on SIU ships.
Record Proves NMU Owes
Debt of Gratitude
To Seafarers!
Honest^* Joe Bites the Hand That Helped Him
Get Wage Raise on Coatswise Lines!
Tlie RECORD of the past few months of negotiations
mth the Coastwise operators for an increase in wages and
overtime proves CONCLUSIVELY that the wage increase of
$5 per mouth granted the NMU members sailing on the
Coastwise ships was due SOLELY and ENTIRELY to the
militant action taken by the Seafarers International who
WON an increase of from $7.50 to $10 per month PLUS 10
cents an hour in the overtime rate, in the faee of the conten
tion of the Curran clique that IT COULDN'T BE DONE!
Read the Record! <9
Don't take our word for it I
READ THE RECORD! You
will find it in the pages of the
NMU Pilot and in the official
minutes of the NMU over the
period from May 1 to July 12.
That record PROVES beyond
a shadow of a doubt that the
NMU "leadership" was PRE
VENTED from putting across
an even worse sellout, ONLY
because the SIU showed BY
ACTION that the coastwise
operators
WOULD pay
an intelligent
FILE policy
and followed
COULD and
an increase if
RANK AND
were adopted
through. For
the benefit of those who have
neither the time nor the incli
nation to wade through the
entire record, we give a sum
mary of the (3vents up to date,
with DIRECT q u o t a t i o n s
taken FROM THE RECORD!
OuiT'an Lacks "Proof!"
In the May 3rd issue of the Pi
lot it was announced that: "The
coastwise operators refused to
consider ANY wage increase.
They have agreed, however, to
continue negotiations." Three
weeks later, in the Pilot of May
24, the NMU Negotiating Com
mittee listed five reasons why the
operators could not afford to pay
any increase and why fhe union
couldn't do anything about it.
One reason was that: "We
(NMU) have not been able to dis
prove that there is a wide differ
ential between profits of the off
shore and coastwise operators."
In other words, Cuiran couldn't
PROVE that the operators could
afford to pay an increase and
lacking such PROOF, he could tf
fer the membership no. other
policy than "to continue negotia
tions." On June 17, the SEAFAR
ERS' LOG announced that the
SIU had won an increase of ^10
per month, plus 10 cents per hour
in overtime, from the RANGE
LINES, operating in the coastwise
trade. Here was the PROOF that
they COULD afford an increase!
What more did Curran want?
Curran Gets Proof!
Did Curran and Co. want more
PROOF? On June 19, the SIU
won an agreement from the SEA
TRAIN LINES, INC., for an in
creaseof $10, plus 10 cents, and
the LOG publicly announced In
the issue of June 29 that similar
increases had been won from the
C & G Lines, Fall River Naviga
tion and Waterman S.S. Co., all
operating In the coastwise trade.
WHAT OTHER PROOF DID
CURRAN WANT? Yet, in the
Pilot of June 28. the NMU Nego
tiating Committee of Curran and
McKenzle, RECOMMENDED that
the NMU membership accept an
offer of a $2.50 Increase, WITH
NO INCREASE IN OVERTIME!
Remember, this $2.50 offer came
AFTER the SIU had already won
increases of $10 and 10 cents
from a number of coastwise
operators!
A Proven Liar!
CURRAN NOW DENIES THAT
HE RECOMMENDED THAT HIS
MEMBERSHIP ACCEPT THE
$2.50 INCREASE! In the Pilot of
July 12 Curran states: "We In
formed tke operators that we
were not making any recommen
dations that the $2.50 be accepted
and demanded that negotiations
continue." CURRAN IS A PROV
EN LIAR BY THE RECORD!
For in the Pilot of June 28, the
official report of the negotiating
comiuittPB signed by McKcnzio
{Continued from Page 3)
• 'LV
'• i
• m
i a
http://www.pdfcompressor.org/buy.html
THE S E A F A H E R S • L O G Saturday* JAly 20, 19^
• , I^bllsbed bjr tie
Seafarers' International Union
of North America
r * 'Affiliated with the AmericM Federation io^ Labor
HARKY LUNDERERG;' A'Jitlng President'
110 MarkOt Street, RObm 462, Sad Francisco, CaUf.
I Atlantic DistriSt
f HEADQUABTERS
l Now York <Phon©c BOwling GreCn 93437) ... .2 Ston'e Street'
t r .^RANCHES
Bostoa 3?3 Atlantic Avenue.
Prbvidence ...465 So. Main Street
<Philadelphia ......... v.iO North 6th Btreet
Baltimore ....14 North Gay Street
Norfolk ..................60 Commercial Place
San Juan, Puerto Rinb^ ...8 Covadbtiga Street
ifistricf
HHE>^^Q^ARtE^S
New Orleans ... .»...... .309 Chartres Street
BRANCHES *
S&TSiHHS'li • • • • 4a• it*• '2IS^ Str^6j6t
JabkBonrillo . 13S Bay Street
Tampa 206 South Franklin Street.
Mobile .....V.......V .....55 So! Cohceptiod Street
Texas City .........105 4th Street'N.
Great Lakes District
HEADQUARTERS
Detroit 1038 Third Street
., ADDREm ALL CORRESPONDENGE CORdERNlNQ THIS
PUBLICATION TO:
"THE SEAFARERS' LOG" ,,
P. O. B;px 522,1 Qiurch St. Annexi New Yorki N. Y.
Editor'. Tom Kerry—Former Editor of "West Coast Firemen"
REVEALS'.
FOUR WftfOH
lESUS'"
Hatwksliaw the Beagle
Unearths Huge Plot!
HAWKSHAW CURRAN has unearthed the most gigantic
PLOT of the eentiiry! Let Ilawkshaw the. Beagle tell you
about it. It'.s absolutely hair raising! Commence firing Hawlt
^shaw, we're all a'twitter! Well, here's de dope:
"The coastwise operators had been adamant in re
fusing to increasb their offer (to the NMU) of $2.50. Un
der the circumstances, your committee had no choibe but
to report back to the membership and submit the pro
posal of a $2.50 a month wage increase.
"We were not unaware of the possibilities that after
wfe had submitted this increase for a coastwise vote, cer
tain shipowners in conjunction with the SIU would at
tempt to whipsaw and discredit the Union's Negotiating
Committee." (NMU Pilot, June 12, 1940.)
Unearthing the "Coraspiracy/"
There you have it! Ilawkshaw Curran suspected all the
time, according to the above statement, that "certain .ship
owners in conjunction with the SIU would attempt to whip
saw (!) and discredit the NMU Negotiating Committee."
And how was this dastardly deed aeenmplished ? Elementary,
my dear Watsou! You see, the shipowners "conspired" to
discredit Curran and Co. by "giving" the SIU membership
from $5 to $7.50 ipore per month than the $2.50 that Curran
"had no choice but to report back to the membership" with
a recommendation for its acceptance.
fjiaivkshaw Does His Stuff!
In order to fully appreciate the brilliance of Hawk
shaw's powers of deduction and observation, which contrib
uted in no small measure to the unravelling of the PLOT, it
is well to reconstruct the crime for the benefit of our readers.
From' the l.st of May to the latter part of June the NMU Ne
gotiating Coifimittee impressed upon its membership that
tho coastwise operators " were iti no position to grant an in
crease.'' Then on June IT, thb Seafarers' LOO came out with
the'annbuneemeiit that the SIU had won an increase of $10'
per month plfis 10 ebnts per hour oil the overtime rate from
the Range Lines. The PLOT was beginning to thicken!
So He W^fi't Talk!
On the 19lh day of June, the SIU signed anaddendum
to.the agreement with the Seatrain Lines, Inc., prbVldin^ fof
the $10 and 10eent increase; retfoadtive to May 1st. In| the
intervening penod,' similar agreenients were signed with the
: G & G Lihds, Waterman,, and Fall River Navigation . Co:
tPuring this, period,. Ufawkshaw the Beagle was apparently
^gathering hisevidence that aplot wah being hatched, to'
UwhipsaW and disdfedit the NMU Negotiating Cpmrrtittee.^'
Rut hd' wasn't' saying a ny thing about, it—yet I Not Hawk
,Bha!#^!'.IId doesn't talk until it's in the bag!
(C'ontintietl, on Column 4) .iiyj;
One of oui* members, delv
ing deep into the history of
the seamen, has unearthed
the interesting fact that the
four watch system prevailed
aboard .ships in' the early
da^ui of hist'ory, when Jesiis
walked the eaifh. The' evi
derfde is cbntained' in thd'
Book of Matthew, 15:
I "And. straightaway Jesus
co'nstrdined his disciples to
get infp a ship; and to go B'e
f o're h^ihi ithto' th'e other sidP,
while he sent the multitudes
away.
"And when he had sent
the multitudes away,he went
up into a mountain apart to
pray, arid when Hit ehehihg
wets come, he w^ds theie
alone.
"Biit tUe ship was hdie in
the ttiidsi of the sea; tossed
with waves: for the wind was
contrary.
'ANDiSTH^ Pot RTH
WA TCH OF THE NIGHT
Jesus went unto them, walk
ing on the sea."
We sincerely trust that tho
Amerieaji .seanien will not he
constrained to await the sec
ond coming of Christ before
getting the four watch sys
tem on earth again!
Hawkshaw the Beagle
Unearths Huge Plot!
(Continued from Column 1)
iWMpsmt Bhicitshaw! .
In tiie meantime, the SIU entered into negotiations with
ih order tb "whipsa#" thW menihershf
it, addelf: '' Furthdfmp^d tfie c'bhstwiy
On the bOw oi: a' .ship a sailoi'
stood and scanned the night as
best he could,
For he was new and ^yished to
show that he'd soon learn what
he didn't know.
» • «
One for the starboard three dead,
two on the port Is what they
said,
Answer to the helmsman's bell
with the bell on the how that
all is wdll.
w * •
Then check the lights arid with
ample power, holler (lights
are bright sir) each half hour.
So staring hard with all his
might, it seemed to him he saw
a light.
* • •
prirt without delay,
light should fade
Two for the
before the
away.
It was bigger now, would soon be
past, what'manner of ship colild
be so fast?
* •
Then drifting cloiid'a showed' to
his dismay, by a* siriiplb manner
he'd been led astray.
It was all too evident he'd ma.de
a slip; the lii^ht he*d seen was
not a s hip;
• • •
The Male oii' the'bridib Aspied it
soori aild'i learned he too hE'd
been fooled' by the mobn!
S. di Flaherty/ 5211
330 Atlantic Ave.
DON'T iVdRRf :
' Wealthy whaf
will becoihe '6t all my wealth
when I pass on?
! \V'ifey^—Jiisi leave, every
rthmg to me, dfijjrling.
the Billl Line, one of the'largest eoastwisa operators, for
tenaudten increa,se. In the midst of the.se negotiations, thq
NMU Pilot ea,rae out with the announcement that the NMU
Negotiating Committee Avas recommending the acceptance of
a $2.50 per month offer by the coa.stwi.se lines under contract
to the NIVfU, with no ihcrease in' overtime. In tfilat Issub,
June 28, 11 driy.s after the LOU had annolinebu t}\ri Ran^
Line inefcrise pf tch^au'dten, HriWard McKcn^re, repbhting
for the NMf] Negotiating Committee, stated':
"Your negotiiating committee recommends the ac
ceptance of this $2.50 because it is our opinion we are not
' in the best pbsitioif to'abcu?e at this time." And
into accepting ,
operators ap
peared too willing to face the consequences of whatever
action the union might see fit to take in the event the in
crease is not acceptable."
ISot Done With Mirrors !
'J'iic Bull Line officials had a copy;^pf this issue of the
Pilbl with Avhibh they confionted' th% sfu Negoti'atin'g Cphi
mittee. DiVl they say: "Come on, boys, let's 'whipsaw' Cur
riui and sign up for the tenandten in'crease!" They did—
in a pig's CJT! lYhat thby did .say AVjis*': "Where in'the hell
do you guys get off demaudiug a tenandten increa.se, Avith
the NMU committee recommending $^.50 witftbtft any over
time increase!" And it took some battling on' the part of
the member.ship to get th'b Bull Line to up their offer from
$2.50 to $7.50, plus the 10 cents in overtime.
'^They Can't Afford ItV'
On July 9, the LOG ,eame out Avith the aunouncement of
the Bull Line iri'erea.se. Thaf Avas' enou'gh for IfaAVkshaw Cur
ran ! Nobody Avas going to di.screclil IITM by gelling a raise
foi>the seamen! A rai.se that he had said could not be gotten!
If Avas a PLOT, that's Avhat it Avas—a plot, to discredit the
NMU Negotiating Committee! Isn't it remarkable to AA'hat
lehgth.s the .shipoAvners will go to "whip.saAv" Curran? But
there's one thing they won't, get aAvaj' AA'ith Avhile HaAvkshaAV.
the Beagle is on the job, and that is to raise the AA'ages and
overtime rate AAdren Curran says they can't afford it.
Curran Gets '^^Whipsawed!"
We have searched several dictionaries of the English Jdtli
guage in an attempt to learn the definiiidn of the word "whipsato"
used by Curran in describing what "certain shipowners in cdtu
junction with the SIU" were trying to do to hint. To nO avail!
It mvsf be an expression coined by Curran to coiivey the fad
that he was caught with his pants down.
HearingB Scheduled
On Maffining Sealfe!
The Mai'itime Comrtiissioh lias
announced that it will hold hear
ings on the necessity for cliariges
in the mliirium" iriarinirig scales
for v^sols receiving an operat
ingdiqfferential subsidy from the
governmerit. Hriafihgs f6r unli
censed personnel will be held in
San Francisco oh Jiiiy 16, in
New Orleans on July 23, and in
New York on July 36! The hear
ings AViir be attended by repre
sentatives of thb SIU and 'SUP to
testify on behalf of the meiriber
ship of those" organlzatidris.
Now
Anudgiffhdtwii and
Unif orm MMpping .
In ' Menioriam
CHARLES (PATRICK)
O'KEEFE
Died at' United States Marine
Hospital at New York City.
LUCAS ARTURO HAU
Killed on board the S.S.
BEATRICE in Salt Juan,
. ^ July 10, 1940 1
IMPORfANt!
Members musf' be iri gbot^
sfaiiding irt order to be eli
gible for any benefits from
the organization. See that
you keep paid up! Don't
waft until the last minute!
r,'.
B. Cirtahdula ;.
S; SI Hlinbre
S, S; ....
Mas^ar\.. • ........;,, ,.,. . f .
Beach ........... *... ' ;
Total
4^4
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http://www.pdfcompressor.org/buy.html
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"'.T^viTari
oaluro^ay, July ^ur 1940 THE S E A F A R E R S ' LOG
• Y
\l
K
#fcrf «' s' D o i n g
Around
TEmS CITY
E^ditof Seafarers IjOg:;
The Texaa r6^on id h6o'niing;
more jobs^ a^enalnddy more ships
all the time. Since the hall was
put In here I believe that a check
baek will prove th&t therd is a
bigger turnovef thafi therd has
been here foh some tiih'e. This
businesa of getting men iS a real
problem! Was forced to sa!ll
shin minus' a second oook, tried
all the regular spots, taf rooms',
flop houses, etc., etc., no smoke
The only reason that I bring this
up is because a lol^ of the men
that pay off a ship here head for
the timber. Now sohie of course
have reasons tO do' so, biit the
majority of the members are go
ing to ship right out a'hyway 90
for Pete's sake stick arduhd the
port ybu'pay off in, (uhless of
course you pay oft some
eiae and come doVn here, that's
O.K.?
* « *
A.B;S.? I've turned' ev6r^
stump aha cactus in the state
over looking for them . . . in the
vvindup of course, di'sgtuntlecl
iMMUers Who have a belly full of
the top fraction's policies, ate
pleased to get a perrhi't, and I'm'
sure that with this system v/e
would be able to vbry effectively
eliminate the Stalinites,
• • •
Tush, tush, the seagull on the
stringer was telling me that the
Range Line is on another econ
omy drive. For inhtdhCe,' the' buy
ing price of coffee is lowered
from twohitd td sixteen cpnts,
what mud thai will be! Thtee
cases of milk for a twenty dhy
period. As this is thfe. Philadelphia
navy I refered this to Brn. Collins
and believe that I'm safe iir say
ing this will be nipped in the bud
before it gathers any momentum.
After all, we pay tax on $36.00 a
month for chow and flop which
sure entities a man to the SlU
standard, of course from Avhat
I've seen of some NMU ships
$5.00 w'ould overpay the sleeping
end of it.
• • «
I notice here lately that a lot
of the members are taking ad
vantage of the fact that shipping
Is very good and performih'g'
seems to be on the upbeat. Re
member on this that the same
thing applied 12 to 15 years ago,
also remember the period just be
fore the '34 strike. We cSh at
present make and maintain condi
tions; the only way possible for
us to continue this is for each
and every member to remember
that just because you didn't hap
pen to signthe agreement under
which you are working it is Just
as binding on you as a member
as if you had put your John
Henry on it The old timers that
know that fight needed to get
these conditions should need no
reminder and the young bUdka
just starting to sea, who never
worked field days, etc., should
spend a fey/ hours reading the
working rules and the Constitu
tion. This is a serious subject, so
think it over and dOn't faring your
orshrthratibn irttb illreputd Just
bedatis"e sKlpjiih'g i^ good and yoii
figdfe, whht the hell, I' ckn't bfe'
fired',' thdre'fif' rt'd* replacefemhtsf
Tb^ beslT 'kCgUmehl I'Ve seeh
yet T#gai'db thp carrying of A
the Seatrain ag'reemeht It cfefl
nitely states, it will hot be the
g'eneral practise to hold fire and
lief boat drills oh Sundays^ Sat
urday afternoon and holidays.
Plain eh? Well on the Texas
they hold the drill on a week day
goihg North and on Sunday cpm
ins Sooth. Talk about sailing
into the wind, I think this takes
the cake.
« « «
BOS'Q' oli these small cbastwikh'
ships, is tm pmvir CliV; is
actually Starting tio' sblhe' sirice
the' Serang'haS beSa added' to' the
cr^m Don't believe it'? Lbbk hfei^
ovef'Yh'Sfi you SSS Her next; • • • • <
Talk about cutting corners. In
Editor, Seafarers' Log: :
wen, well, well like hell it is!
I start the week with four A.B.s
add what happens? They all ship
out on me and now I'm right back
wheie I started from. Shipping
is plckliig up right along here
and pretty soon at the rate that
we are going we will be shipping
more men than New York not to
mention these other small ports!
« 4i «
It' seems fhat s'onl^ of the mein
b'^'rs that are'sailing this coast
take a Ib'tig tlmfe to learn simple
thi'ngS. The S.S; Tulsa came out
of New Orleans' and there were
tvi^'o m'^h that miSsed the ship nt
the las't nilnutfe. One of these, ari
A; B., had' the agSnt advance him
the mPiiey to catch the ship in
Houston and he was very sur
prised to find a man in his place
wfieh' he' got to the ship. Eor the"
benefit of the members up and
dbWn the coast I wish you would
print the foUowing excerpt from
the Constitution:
* • •
Article XX.^Offerise and Pun
ishment.
Section 7. Any member found
guilty of violafing the working
rules shall forfeit hl's job. Any
member found guilty of violating
the shipping rales shall forfeit his
sbippliig cafd arid shall not have
another issuSd prior to the ex
piration of thirty (30) days.
*
If the members will take time
to read this and think it oVer for
a while, it will eliminate a lot of
uriiiecessary beefs.
« If *
One other thing—in Houston
yesterday, I went there to mdke
a ship that was due in arid found
that a few men \vere bristling the
docks for their own jobs, so all
members, take note that in' the
Texas distrfct the Hall is in
Texas City, Phone 722^ the mail
ing' address" is P. O. 152. And if
any men come around trying to
get a job, give them one swim
ming or foot exercise.
* * *
Der Tag (I driri't know the Riis
slari) has come and gone, remem
ber, Jun'e th'e 18th, when the
great po'wer had a tentatlvo
meeting with the coastwise ship
owners for the raise, on the
cbasfaf ships. I think I have the
answer to thb problem though!
The' shipowners are so' afraid of
Cuffan's powbr that they just
won't take' a ch'ah'ce of gettiiig
into'the same ofllce Willi hiili (of
course, this only happens when
the men on th'e ships want some
little thing like the ten and ten;
other times they must have their
messenger boy) for fear this
power of which he rants might
get away from him. This power
'might and should get away. The
simplest way to do this is for the
honest seameri in" the Nliltr to get
wise to • thenrselves. After all,
these' a¥e' the' nieu' with the'
power. Th'e sooner the seariien
realize this arifl gef in the or
garilkatlbh thitt uses' this power
fbr thb' ihhmbefa' beri'efft instead
6f rigalhst the if benefit; the
soohbV will we' do aWay with this
• eomiiiy style bt seathkid fight shk
nion. There ik atill plbrity of fight
left in the old shipowner and as
fACKSONriLLEi FLAi
Dear sir and brothers::
There were several Bull Line
ships in this week, and only one
of theiri voted to accept the 7.50
and 10 cents an hour increase.
Both of these ships held meetings
aboard them, and they will either
be accepted or rejected in Mon
day night's meeting in this
branch.
* * «
Debt of Gratitude
(Continued from pmje 1)
states: "Your nbgbtfatirig com
mittee recommend the accept
ance of this $2.50, becarise it
is our opinion we are not in the
best position to secure more at
this time." Further, the SAME
recbmmeridatiori waS made to the
NMU meiribefship meetirig on.
Jilnri 27 arid what iS more, TKE
RECOklMENDATION OF THE
NEGOTIATING COMMfTTEE,
COMPOSED OF CURRAN AND
MCKENZIE^ "VYAS ACCEPTED'
BY THE MEMBERSHIP! (Min
utes of NMU membership meet
j ing of June 27. New York.)
Some of the members aboard | Have No Program
these ships are taking quite a
little interest and voting the.
the amalgamation and revised
shipping ni)e.s ballot. Each and
every member of the S.I.U. must
vote on any issue that the Union
may bring up from time to time.
This way, we have a Union run
by seamen, for seamen, and not
by a few top officials.
* * «
Shippings wasn't so hot this
In the minutes of the June 27
meeting, McKenzie, reporting for
the negotiating committee, ampli
fie.s the recommendation with the
following statementr "YoUr com
mittee took the position thrit un
less officials of the Union could
come before the membership and
give them some guarantee that
they could' get more, th'e best that
we could do, to be honest with
, the meriibershlp, if wc could rec
week, with only four members be ommend a program at this time
ing dispatched to various ships.
There are 16 meriibers on the
three shipping lists at the present
time.
Respectfully submitted,
Fred Lauritano
TSEW ORLEANS
Editor: The Seafarers' Log,
Shipping'for the past week was
gbod .especially on deck.
* • *
Minb'r beefs on sevefal ships
were taken care of in the usual
manner.
* !|t
The S.S. "VYilliam Salman came
in to rate as the biggest headache
of the week. She had her, usual,
oVeflTme beefs but it was well
taken care of. Ske shipped nearly
a new Black Gang arid" several on
deck.
• • *
The Carolyn carrie in with a
chief cook who'had pulled a knife
on one of the sailors. He w^s
trea,ted like his type are usally
with a new Chief Cook.
Buck Stephens
:SAVAt(NAH
Seafarers' Log,
New York, N. Y. ,
Dear FUr und nrothdr:
Considering the number of
ships coming into this port now,
shipping has been fair the past
couple of weeks. Besides the regu
lar Savannah Line ships, we have
had. thq S.S. DE SOTO, STEEL
AGE, Beatrice and Tug Sampson,
of the Elastern Transportation Co.
in recently, each calling for a cou
ple of replacements.
* * #
Voting on the amalgamation
and uniform shipping rules was
started here last meeting; CreWS
on all ships coming in are In
structed to come up and vote as
soon as possible.
Fraternally, yours,
Charles Waid, Agent.
he is ouf na^ral dpybnehl, the
Soorifer stooging for th'e. Moscow
dpesm nec^sam we shall present a solid frpilti." . ,
against'all' the phoney moyes the
operator^ are puilirig out of their
hats. ,
Steady a'S 'She goes!
A. W. Armstforig
t
On Amcdg^mciitdn dtM
Uniform Shipping
which we felt would get more,
was to put it up to them fairly
and squarely and if can't see any,
way out. TO TELL TIIEM THAT
THE $2.50 BE ACCEPTED." (Ap
plause.) What the "applarise" was
for ishard to figure out, unless
it was for McKerizie's ."honesty"
in informing the membership that
they had no "program at this
time which we felt w'ould get
more," and that "we can't, see any
way out," except to accept the
recommendation of the cbm'mi'ttee
to accept the $2.50.
Pie in the sfey
More proof that Curran is a
liar when he states that they did
not recommend an acceptance oi
the $2.50? We risk boring our
rea^ders'by quoting a lengthy sec.
tiori of the speech made by Cur
ran at the June 27 membership
meeting, but it illustrates the
method in consistent use by the
"great leader" to' discourage ef
fective action on the part of the
rank and file and put across the
old sellout.
Curran: (NMU idmutes, June
27) "The membership should
think very cafefiilly and very
seriously when there's an offer
of a gain. Not much of a gain,
it is true biit it's a gain and
not a loss'. That fact should be
taken into consideration, that'
there are more days coming,
there are probably (probably!)
better days coming, and we
may (may!) have a stronger or
ganization and then be able to
get more gains."
{That's the old "pie in the slcy"
line—don't get impatient, hoys,
you will get your reward in
heaven! Better days are coining
prosperity is just around the cor
ner! Be patient! It'll all come
"oitf in the wash!)
Good Old'' Proverb!''
Culran' continues:' "Arid I re
peat the old proverb, that you
have to learn to crawl (Just
like a louse, eh Joe!) before
you can run or walk. Vori have
to take a little bit at a time in
order to get more as you go
along."
, (Proverb Joe should have made
pTdin tiiat "Wannng t6 crawl"
ari id emu
the louse and do your craic
on the body of another in or
to eke out a parijSiiicdl exis
tence by sucking th'e blood of
ydur benefactor.)
Wby tbe Denial?
^ "A'sfflke'rirthls bri
the '"mearis 6f sacrificing the
• gain's thbt w'ri' have' made ...
in'the'tanker atrikie the" meii
on the freighters and passenger
Ships took the position that
late
• ling
why should we picket gas sta
tions, why should we picket
anything. We're not on the tank
ers, we're on the freighters and
passenger shipff. AND VOLT
MIGHT RUN UP AGAINST
THAT SiTLTATION AGAIN TO
DAY.
"Because the Negotiating
Committee took all these' farit'S
info crirfsi'derafion, they come
in ori this flrior arid telf you and
recommend that you accept
the $2.50 Increase. . . ."
Pathot Confessor
Curran's speeches, like the ona
quoted aboVe, reek of the pater
nal attitude of a "Father Clonfe^'
sor" talking tohis flock. It's like
getting a pat on the back from
someone who is just looking fpr
a good place to stick a knife. The
central theme is, you've got tq
take what you can get—and wait!
For what? For the "probable bet
ter days" that are to come—
MAYBE! And all this passes as
"trade union policy!"
A FevY Crumbs
If the above quotations were
the, expressed attitude of theEN
TIRE NMU leadership, how was
it possible for the membership to
get; the five dollar raise;which
they were told they couldn't get?
On July 9, (remeiriher the date),
the LOG catae out with the an
nouncement that in spite of the
fact that the NMU Negotiating
Coririmittee were recommending a
$2.50 sellout, the SIU had suc
ceeded in upping the' offer of the
Bull, Line from their original
$2.50 with no Increase jri over..,
time to $7.50 per month, PLUS
10 cents per hour overfinie. Cur
ran and Co. were in "a panic! On'
the basis of their reconinienda'
tion, the NMU membership had
ACCEPTED the $2.50 increase
with no overtime raise. Unless
they could get a few moi'e crumbs
from the shipowners, as an addi
tinal sop to their membership, it •
would be difficult to keep the
members in line.
A Plain Gift!
In the July 12 1 • of the P^,
lot, we are told tlm.; "The NMU
Negotiating Committee on July
10 succeeded in boosting the
wage increase offer of the coast
wise operators from $2.50 to $5."
That is, ONE DAY after the ap
pearance of the Seafarers' LOG,
the shipowners kicked in with an
additional $2.50 AFTER the first
$2.50 HAD ALREADY BEEN AC
CEPTED! It^ as plain as the"
nose on Curran's face that the
shipowners were investing in a
little insurance to prevent the
men that sail their ships frorii de
manding top union wages. At the
same time. It was a facecaving
device for Curran and Co. to en
able them to keep their member
ship in line.
More "Proof!"
A number of questions arise
which have not yet' been ,an
swered. After repeating the story
over and over again for the past,
two months that the "NMU could
not PROVE" that' the coastwise
operators were able to pay an in
crease, WHAT PROOF did Cut
fari: suddenly discover to' justify
the" increase of five dollars? Ha
doesn't say! In fact, the ONLY
PPOOF that existed then, as iipw,
WAS' THE .FAClT THAT THE
SIU HAD FORCED INCREASES
FROM THE COABTWISE OP
ERATORS! That' proof kept pil
ing up with each additional vic
tory of' the SIU so that Curran
could no longer pretend not to srie
it! And if he had one ounce of
HONESTY ill his entire makeup,
he wo'uW be corripelled to admit
that: it was trie ACTION of the
SItr' whiich' won for the '^lU
membership on the' ' cbastwiso •
(Continued on page 4}
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THE SEAFARERS' LOG
I S;..;;
I&C
Saturday, July 20, i94w'= ,
POLICY REGARDING THE TAKING IN OF NEW MEMBERS AND THE
ISSUANCE OF PERMIT CARDS AND THE SYSTEM OF HANDLING SAME
The Union shall determine from time to time on a monthly
basis the number of different rated men to be taken into the Union.
No new members shall be taken into the S.I.U. of N.A., Atlantic
District, without first having been issued Permit Cards and who^ with
such Permit Cards, have performed and met the requirements listed
thereon under '"rules governing Permit men."
MORE ilSOUT;
Men who are employed on ships considered unorflanired or not
already under the Immediate jurisdiction of the S.I.U. of N.A. may
be taken into the Union directly without having to go thru the
Union's permit system providing that, at the time of their Joining,
they agree to stay on the same ship or sail on any other ship in
such companies for organizational and representative purposes.
Men who have been issued Permit Cards and have performed
and met the requirements listed thereon under "Rules governing
Permit men" and have duly filed application for membership, the
acceptance of their application shall be governed according to the
iXTnion's decision as to the number of new members to be taken into
the Union each month.
All applications and applicants for membership are to be sub
Ject to an investigation by a committee as per the Union's constb
tuiion. (This means that all future new members will be thoroughly
Investigated before they are allowed to Join the Union and that
they will be Joined directly thru the Union's offices and not thru
the Patrolmen on the beat).
' Permit Cards are to be Issued ONLY to nonmembers being
Chipped to fill jobs because no book members or Permit Card men
are available to fill such jobs. They are to be Issued Permit Cards
at the time they are dispatched to the. job and at no other time.
PERMIT CARDS ARE TO BE ISSUED TO .NO OTHER PER
SONS—NO PERSON SHALL BE ISSUED MORE THAN ONE
PERMIT CARD—THEY SHALL BE REQUIRED TO RETAIN AND
USE THE ONE PERMIT CARD ISSUED THEM.
Permit Cards are to be issued under the local S.I.U, Agent's sig
liatqrp only. Agents will be held responsible for all Permit Cards
issued thra his Branch. Agents are to make sure that Permit Cards
are. issued to only those who are worthy of spch^ and that they
are ohly issued to men needed to fill jobs because no book members
or Permit Card men are available to fill the jobs; and that they are
only issued at the time such persons are dispatched to .thq jobs.
Permit Card men shall be required to pay only reg^ular monthly,
fides on their Permit Cards; such dues to.^be. paid from the date of
the Permit Card's issuance until such, time as they become reguia''
book members. They shall be required to keep their dues In good
(Standing at all times.
Permit Card men who are shipped to jobs are to be ial.lowe^ to
make at least one complete round trip but after such round trip Is
Completed, they may be required to relinquish their jobs, upon de
mand of any book member desiring such job. Such demand shall
• be made thru the Union's oflices, and the dispatching of such jobs
ehall be done in accordance to the regular system of dispatching
book member to jobs.
On coastwise ships, Permit Card menshall be allowed to remain
at least 30 days on the Job before being required to relinquish their
Jobs to book members.
J^en who are neither book members or Permit Card men who
^hrd'jBhipped in out ports where the Union does , not maintain a Branch
,iin tl^V vicinity because neither a book member or Penpit Card
man is available, such men shipped shall berequired to take out a
iPerpfit Card in the first port the ship touches where £he Union
inhiiitaihs a Branch. All ships' delegates are to fry to ship a hook
member or a Permit Card man to these jobs if possible and they
dlb^l he jequired, in these cases, to file a report on same with the
Patrolman who boards the ship at the first port where the
maintains a Branch. These men shall be required to reporl
to f^geUnion Hall In person to secure their Permit Card.
f fpAny man shipped to a Job who is already a member of an or
;0anization affiliated with the Seafarers International Union of North
America shall not be required to take out a Permit Card. He shall
be allowed to sail on .his affiliated organization membership book as
per the shipping rules.
, . All Patrolmen shall he required to file with their respective
Agent the names and ratings of all Permit Card men completing
lound trips thru the ship's arrival in that particular port.
Ships' delegates shall be required to list the names and ratings
of all Permit Card men on board and such list shall be turned over
to the Union Patrolman for his inspection u.non the ship's arrival
fn port.
Men who have been issued Shipping Permits prior to the Invoca
tion of the new Permit Cards shall be reijuired to exchange their
Shipping Permits: for the new Peiniit Cards. Permit Cards Issued
them in lieu of their Shipping Permits shall be dated as of the date
the Shipping Permit was Issued and they shall bfe required to pay
monthly dues from that day on.
Permit shipping list^ shall be kept in all Branches in the same
manner as the regular shipping list In order that Permit Card men
may register for Jobs.
Permit Card men shall have preference for Jobs when no book
members are available for such jobs, and they shall he dispatched
to these jobs from the Permit Shipping List in the sanae manner
as book members are dispatched from the regular shipping list. •
' When no Permit Card man Is available for a Job then the local
Agent shall dispatch an outside man to the Job and issue him a
Iregulation Permit Card. AJI Agents are to make sure that such men
are of the right sort and who are dssircus and capable of becoming
good members.
Record Proves
NMU Owes Debt
BALTIMORE
(Continued from Page 3)
ships, whatever wage increase
they received. Our only regret is
that the men in the NMU who
sail the ships failed to get the
TOP wages AND overtime in
crease established by the SIU.
"Honest Joe!"
Far from being honest, Curran
throws sand in the eyes ,of his
membership by trying to make
them believe that they too could
have gotten as large an increase
as the SIU by sacrificing certain
overtime provisions! It won't
work, Joe! Here is wbnt He says:
(NMU Pilot, July 12.)
"The operators Jumped at the
opportunity to continue nego
tiations to consider additional
wage increases on the iNMU
ships, provided, however, that
your committeiii would give
some consideration to giving
up certain overtime conces
sions in our contracts which
are not included In the agree
ments of the phoney SIU. in
fact^ they even intimated that
we might secure a much larger
wage Increase, provided we
would consider dropping cer
tain overtime clauses a ia SIU."
"Overtime Clauses!"
That's the alibi for recommend
ing the accejmnce of a. JLiOWER
inqrease., and NO increase in ovei^
time to the membership. WHAT
concessions did the shipowners
ask for in exchange for TOP
wages? WHAT "overtime clauses"
were they asked to drop from
their agreement "a la SIU?" Cur
ran's iuouth is full of water—^he
cannot speak, because if he did,
he would convict' himself as a
boldface LIAR! You can search
the record from stem to stern—
from May 1st down to July 12,
and NOWHERE—rwe repeat—^NO
WHERE will you find one single
solitary word of intimation from
Curran or anyone else that the
shipowners had offered the NMU
an increase in exchange for over
time concessions!
Just A Gag
Curran needed an "explanation"
for his sellout, and he hit on the
"overtime concessions" gagl The
fact of the matter is.that the SIU
has established working condi
tions, INCLUDING OVERTIME
CLAUSES, in our agreements so
far superior to ANYTHING the
NMU has that the "alibi" would
be laughable if it were not so
tragic. So splendid are Curran'S
"overtime clauses" that the Isth
mian S.S. Co., one of the worst
antiunion, openshop outfits in
the country, have adopted the
NMU working rules on their
4h1p5::.^ogether with the NMU
wage scale I
The Pacts!
The FACTS stand out like a
sore thumb! When the SUP es
tablished a new TOP wage and
overtime for the seamen, the
NMU leaders rode on the backs
of the SUP and were GIVEN an
increase of |10 per month in
some of their offshore ships
WITH NO INCREASE IN OVER
TIftiE! Like parisites who live on
a stronger body they sucked some
bloo(?. into fhelr own veins, at the
same time weakening the body
upon which they feed. When the
SIU fought and succeeded in es
tablishing TOP wages and condi
tions in the coastwise trade, once
again the parisites fastened
themselves on the body of' men
carrying on the struggle and
filled their veins by sucking our
blood and weakening our fight. In
News And Views
BALTIMORE, Md., Jlily, 8, 1340.
rBbipping. slowed, dowii. soma,
what during the past week with
the Beach Lists showing 70
shipped, 93 registered, and a total
of 197 Brothers registered in all
three departments. SUP and CTU
shipping is likewise slower than
usual, with no great pickup ex
pected until the ships shut off
from the Mediterranean runs are
shuffled into other services.
Jammed shipyards prevent the re.
conditioning of most of the ships
coming up from the tiedup fieets
in the James River, but once this
work really gets going, there are
prospects of the Branch having to
crew up at least one ship a week.
New Freighters
Down at Sparrows Point, the
first of the six new fast freighters
being built for the Robin Line is
about due for launching^ while
over at the flttingup dock the
DELORLEANS Is beginning to
look like she might be ready for
her trials by the end of this
month. Invoking the Neutrality
Act to apply to Mediterranean
waters is proving especially hard
on the tanker fleets, and there is
a steady stream of the iiedup
anchorage at Solomon's island
The MC has aeeeptsd the bid of
the Bull Line for tho MONROE
and BARREADO and a new C1
cargo ehip now building in
Philadelphia yard. We have no
report on when the two oldtimers
bought by the Bull Line will be
ready for service.
Commie Blitzlorieg
Activity on the part of the
Commies to force Government in
tervention or Glovernment control
over all maritime workers is
growing in all ports. As usual,
the beginning of the Commie
Blitzkrieg is centered against the
radio operators whom, generally
being considered keymen, ordi
narily feel the effects of any
Commie drive or change In the
Party Line before it is felt in the
other Maritime Unions. The
strategy of the Party leaders in
this particular case is much the
same as that followed in their at
tempts to disrupt or nullify the
work of other groups or organize
t'lons such as the National Youth
Congress, which has been brought
into such disrepute in tho eyes of
the general public.
Danger Involved
The Commies, therefore, by
having their stooges violate
agreements, and in general delay
or disrupt the services of well
known ships such as the MON
TEREY case, cause the public
and the Government to cast sus
picious eyes on the radio oper
ators and suspect them of being
in league with the "Fifth Col
umn." The next step is self evi
dent. Shipboard communications
are too important in time of
j
each case, and it is inevitable
that it be so, the parisitic organ
ism does not attain the stature of
the body upon which it feeds. In
each case, the strength of the
body is drained to keep the pari
sites alive!
"Learn to Crawl?"
Unless the vermin who have
attached themselves to the body
of the American seamen are
shaken off, they will be de
stroyed! "Learn to crawl," says
Curran! Rid yourself of the craw
lers, say we, so that with undim
ished strength, we can march for
ward to greater gains with TOP
wages and conditions for alll
emergency: to take any.«hances,on
aAd. either the Jflavy or Coast
guard will step in and take over
in that particular department. We
have it on good authority that at
the time of the MONTEREY in
cident when the company asked
the Navy to supply them with ra
dio operators, the request was
turned down with the statement
that the Navy could not take over
In the Radio Room unless thfty
took over ALL THE MERCHANT
MARINE.
Ballotiiig On!
Balloting on the regulations
drawn , up at the Agents' Confer,
ence is being conducled here
daily at noon and on meeting
nights. The Bull Line's offer to
the negotiating committee is be
ing taken to the membership on
these ships and voting is now in
progress. The Branch has re
ceived a supply of the new Permit
Cards, but due to the slowdown
in shipping the issuing of these
cards has been stopped. Last Fri
day saw 17 SIU and four SUP
ships in port. In line with this,
members should remember that if
is an impossibility some days for
the palrolmen to make every ar
rival. Ships with a short stay in
port are usually made first and
those with longer stays or in dry
dock left until later.
Fraternally,
W. H. Elkln*.
MOBE ABOUT:
Crew Pickets
For War Bonus
(Continued from Page l)
the Germany Navy has recently
announced that the South African
coast had been heavily mined.
Also, the freight rates on tba
South African run have been in
creased FOR THE SECOND
TIME on July 13^ 1940. If tha
company feels that it is justified
in asking higher fpeight rates fof
the additional risk, we see no
reason why the crew should not
be compensated for risking life
and limbTwhich is more impor
tant to them than are the profits
of the shipowners.
Negotiations Continue
Negotiations continued until
late Wednesday night, "The com
pany insisted that the picket line
be taken off before continuing,
negotiations but the Union said
no soap to that one! Once the
line was off we kuow what would
happen. The line stays, on until
the beef is settled. Then the
company wanted the ship to sail
and to submit the dispute to an
impartial' 'arbitrator. The Union
turned that one down too and ^
countered by proposing that a
conciliator froia the Department
of Labor he requested to partici
pate in the negotiations but the
company refused to accept the
Union's proposal.:
Picket Line On!
At the time of going to press,
the. picket, line. Is still goinf
strong. The Union Is also keep
Ing a weather eye open for a pes.
sible repetition of the finky ac
tion of the commissars in the
NMU because we still remember
when we hung up the 8S ROBIN
ADAIR last fall for a war bonus,
the NMU shipped a gang of finks
aboard and sailed the ship with
out a bonus. .The ALGIC and the ,
ROBIN ADAIR are operated by
the same company.
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