Media
Issue Date
1943-06-25
Volume
5
Issue Number
13
Plaintext
P^ABBRSJOQ
OFFICIAL OEGAN OF THE ATLANTIC AND GULF DISTRICT,
SEAFARERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA
VOL, V.- 287 NE^ YORK, N. Y., FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 1943 No. 13
Macauley Would Muscle Men Into
Final Articles At Delivery Port
Deadline For F-D-R-
A:irtio n On Fa set s t
Smith-ConnallyBill
Within 24 hours after the Seafarers Log goes to press,
the American workers will know whether or not the Roose
velt Administration intends to declare open war upon their
unions. For within this period the President must either
veto the fascist Smith-Connally Bill or allow it to become
law.
The Smith-Connally Biir follows
the pattern set by Hitler and "Mus
solini and the Cerman and Italian
capitalists. It denies the workers
many of their fundamental rights,
restricts legitimate trade unionism,
and will bring upon this country
chaos in labor relations.
AFL President William Green
led the forces of organized labor in
appealing to President Roosevelt to
veto the Bill.
•J'The workegs of this country
.would never become reconciled to
this legislation," Mr. Green inform-
, ed the President. "They would
' protest against it and rebel against
it in the event that it would be
came the law of the land.
Outstanding provisions of the
final version of the Connally-Smith
Bill adopted by both .Houses of
Congress follow;
1—^Empowers the ^President to
take over in behalf of the Govern
ment any war plant, mine or man
ufacturing facility threatened with
"interruption of production by a
Strike or other labor disturbance.
2—Imposes fines up to $5,000
and a year's imprisonment, or both,
upon any person who may "coerce,
instigate, induce, conspire with, or
encourage any person to interfere
by lockout, strike, slow-down or
other interruption, with the opera
tion" of such plants taken over by
the Government. The same pen
alties are provided for "aiding
such strike or lockout, giving "di
rection or guidance" to it or pro
viding funds "for the conduct or
direction thereof," through pay
ment of strike or unemployment
benefits.
3—Gives the National War La
bor Board statutory recognition
empowers it to intervene in dis
putes on its own motion, author
izes the Board to issue subpoenas
for the attendance of witnesses,
but restricts the Board's present
right to order union-shop settle
ments.
4—^Provides that no member of
the B^rd shall be permitted to par
ticipate in any decision in which
such member has a direct interest
as an officer, employe or represen
tative of either party to the dis
pute.
5—Requires a 30-day "cooling
off" ̂ ri(^ before a strike may be
called. Employe representatives
must give notice of intention to
strike to the Secretary of Labor,
the National War Labor 'Board and
the National Labor Relations
Board. The latter body is directed
to conduct a" secret ballot election
on the proposed strike among af
fected employes before the expira
tion of the 30-day notice.
Text Of S.I.U. Letter To
F.D.R. On Conn.ally Bill
NEW W.S^. MOVE AIMED AT DHISELING
CONDITIO'NS AND TRANSPORTATION. RIDER
Captain Edward Macauley, Deputy Administrator of the WSA, has launched a new-
vendetta against the merchant seamen. He now wants to. muscle the men into signing
deep sea articles when they join a newly-commissioned ship at port of delivery. In a
letter sent to the SIU on June 9 he admits that the present practice of signing deep-sea
articles only when the vereel has beeii loaded in port of sailing, is legal, still he wants the
union to force its members to sign*
on for a complete voyage before
the ship has been delivered and be
fore the seamen have a chance to
look her. over. This amounts to
forced labor if we ever saw it.
There are several intersting items
in the Captain's letter, but before
we take them up, we should like
to comment on the timing of the
request for this radical change of
the shipping ndes. A brief 9 days
before the Captain sent us this
letter, the Agents of the Atlantic
and Gulf coast were in conference
in New York and begged Macauley
to attend. The purpose of, the con
ference was to increase the effici-
ehcy of East & Gulf Coast opera
tions and to clarify all' the rules
and aims of the WSA.
But Macauley was too busy to
attend or to send a representative.
Then, after all the Agents were
dispersed to the various ports,
when there were no longer any op
portunity for a face to face discus
sion of the problems, Macauley dic
tated this letter demanding a major
change in union operation. This is
the typical act of a bureaucrat,
fearful of a democrat exchange of
ideas, jealous of his privileges, dis-
fainful of the common man who
works for a living.
As for the letter itself, Macauley
charges that "offshore operation of
newly - commissioned vessels has
been delayed and impaired from
time to time to the extent that
convoys have been missed by the
continuation of a peacetime" prac
tice of seamen in signing coast
wise articles to bring the ship from
Honorable Franklin D. Roosevelt
President, United States of America
.White House .u
Washington, D. C.
20,000 AFL seamen on thfr Atlantic & Gulf Coast, members of the
Seafarers. International Union,-urge you to veto the fascist Smith-
Connally Bill now on your desk.
This bill is a stab in the back of organized labor and will result.
If passed, in justified resentment and resistance on the part of all
freedom loving workers.
Close to 1,000 members of this union have lost their lives at sea
while delivering supplies to the war fronts of the world. They died
believing that this war was being fought against fascism—both at
home and abroad. The living comrades of these dead heroes will keep
faith with them and will continue to oppose fascism whether it ap
pears in Berlin or Washington.
We urgently request that you deal a blow against the domestic
fascists by vetoing the un-American Smith-Connallyi bill.
JOHN HAWK
John Lewis Thanks SIU
For Supporting Miners*
Return To Federation
port of delivery to loading port.
"When did this happen? Let
the Captain break out his figures
and prove that a SIU ship missed a
convoy because of this practice.
"We don't know what the Cap
tain has up his sleeve, but it's our
guess that any delays he may have
in mind can be traced to the bung
ling of the WSA and not to the
union. Sure ships have missed con
voys because of crewing difficul
ties—the shortage of rated men.
But this is not the fault of the
union—^it is the fault of the WSA
which is spending millions of dol
lars to train unrated men and po
tential finks, and ignoring possi
bility of aipgrading good un-ratec
union men. It looks as if some
body is putting the heat on Ma
cauley for East Coast bungling,
and he is trying to make the sea
men and this union the scapegoats.
Mogan Prominent
In Boston Tribute
To Merchantmen
June 8, 1943
Mr. John Hawk, Sec.-Treas.
Seafarers International Union
New York City
Dear Sir and Brother:
' Thanks greatly for your letter
of June 7 with copy of Communi
cation addressed by the Seafarers
International Union of North Am
erica to President Green of the
American Federation of Labor.
I appreciate very much indeed
the action of your organization in
this matter, and I hasten to extend
to each member all good wishes for
their future well-being.
Sincerely yours,"
JOHN L. LEWIS
The city of Boston paid tribute
to the merchant seamen on June
first by dedicating to them a mall
on the Boston Common. The mer
chant seamen mall was one of five
dedicated, the others being tributes
to men fallen in the Army, Navy,
Coast Guard and Marine Corps.
SIU Agent John Mogan deserves
much of the credit for having won
for the seamen this tribute. He
campaigned for the mall and was
imtrumcntal iii having a resolution
passed by the City .Coimcil which
set in motion the entire machinery.
Councilmen Hurley and Russo
read into the official Council record
a letter received from Brother
Mogan thanking them and the Bos
ton press for supporting the move
to honor the seamen.
The maritime mall was dedicated
in the presence of 100,000 Boston
school children and delegates from
the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the
BostoiT Municipal ^uncil, the
United Spanish War Veterans, the
Disabled American Veterans, the
Department of Massachusetts and
the Jewish War Veterans of the
United States. Brother Mogan was
invited to appear as a spe^er but
was unable to attend because of
his presence at the Agents Confer
ence in New York City.
Macauley says that because the
men on coastwise articles some
times sign off in the loading port
the ships miss their convoys. This
is a lot of WSA-double talk. Here's
why: "When a crew taktes a ship
from the port of delivery, she sails
empty. When she arrives in the
port of loading it takes at least two
weeks to stow the cargo, and
usually a couple of more weeks is
consumed waiting for a convoy.
This affords the shipowner ample
time to get a deep sea crew, and al
so gives the new crew ample time
to look over the ship, inspect the
articles and decide if they want to
sign on.
If the commissioner arrives to
sign articles the first day she is in
the loading port, it is natural that
the men will stall because they
want a chance to get familiar with
the sliip and resent being pushed
around in this mariner.
What is also involved in this
of the shipowners and WSA to sa
botage transportation riders which
the SIU had before the war and
which were frozen for the dura
tion of the war by the Statement
of Policy. Some of the shipown
ers are now attempting to kick out
these riders, stating the WSA will
not approve them, and the union
has been appearing to Hdbert Wy-"
choff to uphold the Statement of
Policy and the Statement of Prin
ciples, and authorize the operators
squeeze play is a move on the part
to put such riders on ships' articles,
guaranteeing transportation — as
was the custom prior to the
war. To date Mr. Wyckoff has
been too busy with WSA in
ner politics to even give the
union the courtesy of a reply. It
is also likely that he is stalling on •
the question, giving Macauley a
chance to shove the signing of deep
sea articles at port of delivery
down our throat. For should the
men be muscled into deep sea ar-
{Continued on Page 4)
What Is a
SCAB?
"After the God had finished the
rattlesnake, the toad, the vam
pire, He had some awful sub
stance left with which ho made
a scab. A scab is a two-legged
animal with a corkscrew soul-—
a water-logged brain, a combin
ation backbone made of jelly
and glue."—Jack London. L
'f •
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Page Two THE SEAFARERS' LOG Friday, June 2?, 1943
II SEAMEN NEED POST WAR I
Highlights Of Round-
Table Discussion At
Agentsi' Conference
Participating Are Harry Lundeberg,
President SIU; Matthew Dushane,
Washington Representative SIUj and
Omer Been, American Representative
of the International Transport Work=
, ers Eederatiojj,
I • DUSHANE: I understand there is some kin?^ an
agreement reached between your governments,
ferent governments here that you boys come from and the
United States Government, that you can not take free part
in" legislation effecting foreign seamen in Washington
Now, corref t me if I am wrong in this. ̂ You Can not use
any influence to correct some of the immigration laws dm-
ing the war and you are not supposed to take any active,
part, while in this coimtry, in any form of a labor move
ment for the progress of your men.
BECU: I think it would be rather difficult for us, as
foreign organizations, to interfere even to the smallest ex
tent, with your national legislation. If we should find
. something in your legislation wliich wOuld hamper us,
-which would be a difficulty for us, I think we could do
that only through the channel of the American organiza
tion, the Seafarers International to confer with the Inter
national Transport Federation and ask them to intervene
with your government officials and the goveriunent de
partments in order that a decision would be taken which
•would favor us and be favorable to the men in our work.
This is true, for instance, in Washington, where there
exists a United Nations Government Committee, discuss
ing the position of allied seamen in your country. They
discuss the question of deportation, the question of setting
up maritime courts in your country for the allied govern
ments and so forth. Wc have asked to be represented and
.J)e able to attend the conferences through monthly meet
ings, and we have been refused to sit on that committee.
Deportation Tangle
DUSHANE: Brother Becu, there is one question that is
not quite clear in my mind on this deportation of alien '
seamen. You state thar they should be deported back to
the countries where the pople have set up a government to
represent the people of that particular country. W^ell,
there seems to be a contention regarding some of th^e
nations over there as to just who docs represent them. I
think it is a dangerous situation when the seamen get
I , juggled around between two groups of people who claim
they represent them and the seamen get in the middle.
They are the ones that are being tossed around. Where
would these men be deported to? There is the Vichy
French goveriunent, and the government that was set up
ih North Africa, then General De Gaulle has one set up in
England. You also have the case of the Polish seamen, and
I think there is a little confusion amongst the Jugoslavian
seamen. Where would they be deported to?
BECU: Brother, as far as I know, this applies only to
the French seamen. I do not think it applies to the Jugo
slavian Government or to the Polish Government, because
chose governments are recognized by all the other
Governments of the United Nations. It applies certainly
to the French seamen, but I do not know of any case, at
this moment of the deportation of French seamen. Some
of them who arrived here, you will have read in the pa
pers, from North Africa, the socalled Giraud group, have
left their ships and gone over to the De Gaulle group, in
full freedom. They have let them go over there, but if
deportation was open with regard to French seamen, it
could only be to the group to which they berunged.
De Gaulle has a number of French ships under his con
trol, ships which have been chartered to the British Gov
ernment. Now, since the invasion of Africa and the lib
eration of Africa, Giraud has quite a number of ship under
ids control which have been chartered to your country, but
nil in the international pool—there seems to be a pool of
all allied nations. The questions of allocating the ships to
One country or another are agreed upon. So far as the
Frenchmen are concerned, you haVe indeed two groups.
There is no national committee or any national govern-
itaent or any provisional government, or anything of that
Sort. That may come in the very near future, and then
also that question will be straightened out. But as far as
I know, and I do not think that even Brother Thompson
from the British National Union of Seamen knows of any
case of French seamen who have been deported back to
England.
THOMPSON: Not yet.
LUNDEBERG: Do you know whether the Giraud
ships that were taken over in the African campaign were
chartered to the American Government?
BECU: They were and are under tlie control ,of the
W^af Shipping Administration. The a^ecment was con=
eluded in North Africa, according to information which
has been given me by the War Shipping Administration,
concluded between Giraud and General Eisenhower, with
the agreement of General Anderson, representative of the
British Government.
LUNDEBERG: They are run by the American War
Shipping Administration?
BECU: By the American War Shipping Admmistfatlon.
LUNDEBERG; With the French crews?
BECU: With French crews. Tliey are acting on behalf
of the French authorities of North Africa. The ships are
oaTc^bddt chaft£lT^ Lf aiw Wai-3liippiug-Ad5aa!m;£rA'dsiii
and the Giraud group has set up a special department for
the merchant marine. It is under the supervision of Vice.
Admiral Lemonnier in North Africa.
DUSHANE: Have the French seamen any representa
tion at all on this committee? i
BECU: No.
Giraud Is Anti-Labor
BECU: I may point out to you. it is a very pecu
liar position. You know that the Vichy Government has
dissolved all labor unions and collective agreements whjch
existed before the war. Without any consultation with
the seamen's representatives they gave •them another con
tract, enforced upon them another contract, and up to
now the Giraud crowd have not recognized any seamen's
union. And more than that, they have refused to give us
the authorization to send seamen's representatives to North
Africa. We have strongly protested against it through the
French Seamen's Union which has its main offices in Eng
land. I understand from a cable I received a few days
ago from the International Transport Federation, as well
as from the French Seamen's Union in England, that the
position is progressing in a favorable way and that very
shortly, perhaps, a new French Seamen's Union will be
set up in North Africa.
LUNDEBERG: Brother Becu, these agreements between
the War Shipping Administration and the Giraud regime,
what is the wages, can you tell me, approximately?
^ BECU; Well, their wages were not communicated to the
men when they left Noth Arfica. They were left entirely
in the dark and that is the awkward position in which
they are now. ^'e have reorganized the French seamen
coming from North Africa who have almost all joined or
, re-joined their union. They are. in full agreement
with the people who are sailing for De Gaulle, and we are
now forming one group of seamen, notwithstanding the
fact that in government circles there seems to exists a
division of opinion and a division in policy.
I want to say this, perhaps, to make it quite clear to
you. The French seamen, when we had our. first general
meeting here with them, they raised the question which
conditions would be applied to them. We-did not know
anything. We did not know with whom to deal in order
to have collect bargaining for them, but we knew that
the U. S. War Shipping Administration were the charter
ers of those ships. We have asked the charters, the War
Shipping Administration, with whom we should deal to
have a collective agreement and if they would help us in
order to establish the right to collective bargaining for
these seamen. The War Shipping Administration stated
that such an agreement was concluded in North Africa
without collective bargaining, enforced upon the men,
and that the British wage and bargaining conditions were
to be applied to those French seamen. If, however, the
French wage and working conditions would be better or
higher than British wage and working conditions-:-the
French conditions would remain in force. .
LUNDEBERG: On a charter vessel to the War Shipping
Administration then under such arrangement they also
man the vessels themselves? In other words, of course, the
vessels are manned by the French seamen. But the War
Shipping Administration becomes the ones that pay the
wages and everything else?
BECU: Yes.
LUNDEBERG: The War Shipping Administration then
has no business to make a deal with-either Giraud or
De Gaulle to the effect that these vessels should have Eng
lish wages, because the men on those ships are entitled to
American wages. Here is the way we feel about this thing
here. The War Shippings Administration, whether you
know it or not, as far as we are concerned, is strictly the
type of owners that we have to fight from every angle
and watch them for what we can obtain. When the War
Shipping Administration asks a policy-making body to
turn around and take the crew from the foreign ships
under charter below* the American scale of wages, that
endangers. our conditions, and furthermore this war is
supposed to be a war for the four freedoms. These people
have no business to turn around and make an agreement
for a French seamen, whether they are French, EnglisI^
Slavs or what they are, without, representatio:?. by the sea-s
men. And if we can do anythmg on any of these thingi
we want to help you and we want to stop that kind ofi
nonsense. Because, it doesn't do you any gCK>d and it does
n't do us any good, in the long run, and we want to work
together with foreign seamen. We affiliated with I.T.F,,
as Brother Becu told you. We want to cooperate and work"
along with you people, because we know that when thia
war is over they are going to try to move in on tic
again, the seamen on the Danish or French or Americaqi
seamen, and we have got to have class cooperation on St
world-wide basis to stop the nonsense they did after thq
last war that you guys are familiar with the conditiani.
which happened on a world-wide basis after the last war.
I do not know what is going to happen after this war isi
over. I think it is going to determine who is going to sil?'
•-25 tht -pease table, and is^FoiugTP. haye .C,
voice. Of course, that is a little far ahead, but wc feel
it is about time they started to talk about those things ami
ready on a world-wide basis to protect the seamen's
interests, because there is no group of workers that is more -
closely allied than the seamen. i
So, we have certain conditions in the United Statd
which you are all aware of, divisions in the labor move^ •
ment. We have the C.I.O. and the A. F. of L. We havd
the same in the seamen's field. One particular branch of
the seamen's movement belongs'to the A. F. of L., West
Coast, East Coast, and Great Lakes. I do not know whether
you people know we will never make peace with the Com-*
munist unions.
it is either going to be us or them. I just wanted to give
you that for your information.
Now, another thing. We have a good representative iq
Washington to impress the mnds of the legislative body
down there. We have a representative- down there and we.
can get other ways and means to help you with this prob
lem. I can realize your difficult problem. There is ntf
, question about it, inasmuch as you have got two differenf
factions, some in the United States here and some thq
other party and some in England. Well, we can not allow,
no matter who they are, Eisenhower or anyone else, to.
make an agreement for seamen like they were chattels,
slaves. So, this is what you are going to work for, with
out consulting them or have their help neither. I saw men
when I was in Washington, and we will have to continue'
and find out what kind of a swindle went <jjver. The War
Shipping Administration, .they stated they want the con--
trol of the shipping interests of- this country. You will find
how the policy makers and all the big shots got enough
from the ship owners branch and we have got to watch '
them. The same thing with a South Americau ship under
the Panamanian flag. ^
Shipowners' Dodge
BECU: I have followed the actions of the Seafarers In- ,
ternational Union very closely. You, on behalf of the
Seafarers International Union, together with different otlier
seamen's unions, rigned a policy-making statement with
your War Shipping Administration that your conditions
will also apply to all bare boat chartered ships. And I
think you have there a very farsighted policy in doing sol
And, as you said, it would constitute a danger to the
American seamen, as it would have constituted a danger
to the Britieh seamen, if those seamen of those chartered
' ships would sail "under lower conditions than you had.
In the long run, the Government may take the position,
".Why should we have our own ships when we
can run foreign ships under charter on better,
conditions?" And, if your government does so, mora
particularly all ship owners will be bound to do so, be
cause the ship owners, we all know have no national feel
ings when it comes to dollars and cents. That is in every
country the «ame. What do they care whether they ex
ploit their ships under their own flag or under a foreign
flag, as long as they have more benefit when they do it
under a foreign flag? That is the thing I referred to in my
speech I have made in coming here, how they have always
transferred ships from one flag to another. Fake transfers,
because they remained the owners' ships. Fake transfers
because of the fact that they can run the ships under a
foreign flag at a much lower cost than under their owq
flag, because ih some countries there exists no maritime
social legislation, there was no bonus, there was no collec
tive agreement, they could pay what they wanted to pay
them.
LUNDEBERG: Some time ago, prior to the war and
the entrance of the ynited States into the war, we had the.
same conditions on the Pacific Coast, where four Danish
ships were interned. The American Government took them
over and sent them out under the Panamanian flag and
we started to raise hell, because in those days we could
take direct action, and we took a strike vote on the Pa
cific Coast and told Admiral Land, "If you are going tb
run Panamanian ships out of Frisco, then you will run no
ships." As the result of that action, we didn't have toi
go on strike, Admiral Land flew nto Frisco and they turn-
n
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- '--V
Friday, June 2f, 1943 THE SEAFARERS' LOG Page Three
ITERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY
ed those ships into the American Flag, with the same
crews, of course. I mean the Danish seamen stayed on
the ships and they transferred their books to the Sailors
Union of the Pacific, the Coast Union, and we
thought at that time that the same action would have
been taken on the Atlantic Coast. There was quite a num
ber of ships which flew the Panamanian flag on account
of the NeutraUty Act. However, on the Atlantic Coast
we were hampered. Through the efforts of the National
Maritime Union, the Communist Party controlled that
seamen's union here. They were very much in favor of
ships which flew the Panamanian flag, due to the fact that
they were very much interested in their so-called Pana
manian Division, trying to move in on the foreign seamen
to advance and establish themselves as the one and only
union for all seamen. In other words, they were really
moving into the territory of the foreign seamen's unions,
the I.T.F., the Norwegian and| British unions.
You won't see many ship on the Pacific Coast running
under this flag, but you have plenty of them on this coast.
That is going to be one of those conditions that we are
faced with in the American seamen's movement. We
could do the job on lots of thmgs here, but we have the
split movement and the Panamanian edition of the
N.M.U , they would like to make it very strong and they
plan to steal men from time to time from the other unions.
Perhaps I do not know how much success they have had,
I do not know how much success you have had, but if
you are not too tired, I think it would probably be better
ipr you to explain it to the delegates here, because I think
it is very interesting. We have agents from every port,
and they are going back to their various locals and they
should know of those angles, if you will give this, Becu.
BECU: There is no doubt that the Panamanian Division
of the National Maritime Union afiSliates seamen from all
countries ,sailing for the nvoment on Panamanian and even
American vessels. Prior to the war there was the so-called
Belgian, Dutch seamen's clubs, one was called the Scandi
navian Seamen's Club, which has been dissolved. Later the
director or manager of that club became the director of
the Panamanian division of the National Union of Seamen.
Another was called the European Committee for Seamen.
Another was called the Greek Seamen's Union. Another
one, Yugoslav Seamen's Union, and who was exactly in
the background, we do not know. But they were trying
to get foreign seamen under control through those unions,
and the foreign seamen were pressed by them to leave
their ships and were lured away from their ship to a great
extent. In the same picture came at that time the German
General Consul paying for board and lodging for men who
jumped their ship in America.
It was the slogan then, "This is a capitalistic and im-
. peto risk-ysisr life fcr-thorat
What the hell have you to do with that war? You have
already gone once to war. Are you going to risk your skin
and life again on all those ships or are you going to live
in America, in this free, democratic coimtry?" A lot of
our men fell for it. Some of our ships were held up
through that, that was the policy. Our men were lured
away and our men were taken into the Panamanian Di
vision of the N.M.U.
I will give you an instance. Holland had quite a large
merchant marine with a large number of Dutch seamen,
approximately 18,000. They set up their own organiza
tion over here, the organization they had in Eiurope called
the Dutch Central Transport Workers' Organization. Mr.
Christensen of the Panamanian Divsion of the N.M.U.
called* a meeting together for Dutch seamen, and two
very loyal delegates of the Dutcb Seamen's Union grasped
that occasion to go to that meeting, and tell Mr. Christen-
son that they would speak to the Dutch seamen. It wa|
accepted. They did speak in their language to the Dutcl^
Seamen; our good Dutch friends who are still now tlui
representatives over here of the Dutch Seamen's Unioi|
spoke to the men. There were hundreds of them. Thej
said, "What they are trying to do is to lure yoii
away from your own union. We do not know how
faith you will have in yotir own tinion, but there is ond
thing, they are going to enlist you into another union. If
you go to that table they will enlist you in a new unloa
which they are trying to set up for you in America, an4
if you enlist on that table, you are going to enlist in you?
own union, the National Union."
W'hen the meeting was over, all joined their own Dutcli
Union.
The whole situation, I must say, changed on the 21sfl
of June, 1941, when Rtissia came into the war. Thero
was. no -l-uring aw-ay. of 4$
so forth.
Our men are still belonging to their own union, whicU
must be, according to our opinion, as strong as possible
in order to be able to continue right on when we go back
after the war to our respective countries.
I said in the beginning, some of our seamen may sai|
on Panamanian ships, where Panamanian ships have mem«
hers of the Ntional Maritime Union shipped on then^
those sailing from this city. We can not do much abou?
it. We can not do anytldng about their agreements be
cause we have no contracts with American ships. The
members of the allied unions sailing on the Panamanianj
ships are just those who have deserted their ships before
the 8 th of April, 1942, unless they have been granted the
authorization by their National authorities. In other words
as from that date, no foreign seamen would any longetj
be allowed to go on American or American operated ships,
without the agreement of the Government concerned.
(Report of June 17)
Maritime War
Emergency Board:
R. W. SWEENEY, SIU Patrol
man, N. Y.—S.S. Pan Gulf was in
Newport Wales when port was un
der attack. Board has ruled that
crew is entitled to a-tack bonus.
S.S. Charles Brantley Aycock was
in Newport Wales and crew con
tends that there was an attack on
this day. Board claims that from
information that they have re
ceived there was no attack on this
day. Suggest that the patrolman
re-check and get written state
ments from the crew. S. S. Raphel
Semmes was in Avinmouth and
crew contend that there was an
attack and that It could be veri-
, fied by the ship's log. Board claims
that there was no attack on this
date. Advise to re-check on the
dates and the time that the crew
contends that there was an attack.
LOUIS COFFIN, SIU Patrol
man, N. Y.—S.S, Francis- Marion
was anchored at Immingham, Eng
land, and crew contended port was
under attack. Board has ruled that
a bonus is payable. S.S. Schoharie
was in Cardiff, Wales, and crew
contend port was under attack.
Board has stated that from." the in
formation that they have received
there was no attack on this date.
Advise Patrolman to re-check on
dates and* time crew claim that
there was an attack.
J. E. LAPHAM, SIU Patrolman,
Boston—S.S, King Woolsey was
anchored off South End in the
Thames River when London was
bombed. Crew entered claim for
bonus. Board has ruled that the
limits for bonus claims when ves
sels are in the Thames River and
an attack is made in London pr
within the vicinity of the Thames,
ends within the limits of Grave-
send and Tillbury, the Estuary is
not within th^se limits. Advise the
Patrolman to re-check on the po
sition of where the vessel was lying
when the attack occured. Have
been advised that the U. S. Army
^has agreed to pay wages for the
crew of the Benjamin Harrison
who were repatriated m the U. S.
A. T. Shawnee and the crew was
fRtPOWT orv
^AS HI rvGTorv.
_ • BY MATT44BW PtfSHAME-* '
required to work. Checking to see
where and by whom the crew are
to be paid. Will advise when this
is finally straightened out.
ARTHUR BURKE, SUP Pa
trolman, San Francisco: S.S. Fitz
John Porter was lying at Bahia,
Brazil, crew were granted shore
leave and were notfied to be on
board at 11 A.M. Ship left the
dock at 8 A.M. and due to a port
order crew was forbidden to go
aboard their vessel due to being
made up in convoy. Bum boats
were forbidden to take the three
men who were left behind on
board. Board h%s ruled that under
the circumstances crew is entitled
to compensation for loss of person
al effects.
Recruitment and
Manning:
Holding a conference on Thurs
day, June 17, and the maritime
unions and operators are invited to
send representatives there. The
agenda consists of the following
subjects—^Manpower Requirements,
Cooperative efforts in recruiting
experienced officers and seamen,
upgrading, manning procediures, se
lective service and many addition
al topics which the conferees may
wish to discuss.
Sometime ago I sent a request to
the WSA that they establish food
depots in England, South Africa
and the Far East. Have been'ad
vised that due to problems present
ed in establishing these depots, it is
necessary at this time to postpone
setting up food depots, due to the
following reason—(A) Perishable
commodities would require refrig
eration >(B) Adequate personnel
for the protection and mainten
ance of warehouses and supplies
.,Uv.Aa
must be obtained. (C) It might be
a prodigious task to break down
red tape, regulations and barriers
set up in foreign countries against
the importation of food to be sup
plied to our vessels.
The WSA have adopted the fol
lowing rules to vessels in lieu of the
depots—
1. The division of operations has
ordered operators and agents to
provision all vessels for the Nine
Month Trip.
2. When vessels are homeward
bound and have food supplies
aboard which will not be consum
ed before reaching United States
ports, tills food, at the discretion
of the master, will be transferred
to: (a) War Shipping Administra
tion vessel needing supplies, (b)
The Army and Navy, (c) Lend-
Lease Administration, (d) War
Relief and Civilian Rehabilitation
Administration.
Fish Cannery Workers
Union of the
Pacific, SIU:
Petitioned the Secretary of La
bor and requested that the Caimery
workers be excluded from execu
tive order No. 9240, which pro
hibits the payment of time and a
half for Saturday afternoon and
Sunday. Have been advised that
the Secretary of Labor has granted
an exemption to FISH CANNERY
workers in the States of California,
Oregon, Washington and Alaska.
It is now possible for fish cannery
workers to receive time and a half
for Saturday afternoons and Sun
days, or other payments as per
their collective bargaining agr-e-
ments.
PAULINE FURTH, Sec.-Treas.
FCWU, San Diego CaJif.: Reduc
tion plant case was settled by re-
at!
gional board No. 10 on April 30,
1943. Headquarters of the War
Labor Board have no data on Can
nery workers case.
Sec. Treas. of the SIU in San
Francisco can get data on the case
by contacting the AFL members
of the WLB in the 10th regional
district at San Francisco, Cal.
Legislation:
chairman Henry M. Jackson of
the Sub Committee on unemploy
ment Insurance of the committee
on Merchant Marine and Fisheries,
will consider in open hearings,
Thursday, June 24, 1943, at 10
A.M., committee prints No. 1 and
No. 2 dated June 7, 1943, relative
to tmemployment Insurance for
Merchant Seamen.
International
Labor Office:
As per the decision of the agents
assembled in New York, enclosed
ta the respective headquarters of
the SIU are the catlogs of all the
material that the ILO has regard
ing Merchant Seamen. Any ma
terial that the Union may require
for the agents can be had by send
ing to the Washington Office of
the ILO.
(Report of June 19)
Internal Revenue:
Brother James L. Stevens of Bal
timore, while employed on one of
the Luckenbach scows earned $1,-
768.48 from 11-6-42 to 5-19-43,
and the company deducted $234.60
for victory tax.
Contacted the Internal Revenue
bureau and they have advised me
that no company has any right to
deduct any victory tax from a".;-
seamen, unless the company first
allow an exemption of one dollar
and seventy one cents ($1.71) per
day. They then are to deduct five
per cent on the balance.
Some companies are deducting a
straight five per cent Victory tax
on all the seamen earnings, with
out allowing any exemptions. AJl
agents are cautioned to check with
the men and see what the compan
ies are deducting and see if any
exemptions are being allowed.
For the information of all oui
agents they can quote "Interna^
Revenue Title 26—(T.D. 5249)|
and dated March 27, 1943, signed
by Guy T. Helvering, Commission
er of Internal Revenue,- filed with
the Division of the Federal Regis
ter, March 29, 1943." The parti
cular part dealing with the exemp
tion can be found on page No. 4}|
(C).
The I. R. has sent a letter td
the Luckenbach company for anl
explanation on the tax with-heldl
in Brother Stevens case, and as soon|
as they answer, I'll advise hiin
through my weekly report.
All members are cautioned
keep all their receipts that th^
have received when Victory tax or
any other taxs are being withheld
from their wages, as they will be
reimbursed when they file a vic
tory tax report next March.
Beginning July 1st, 1943, em
ployers are required to deduct and
withhold a tax upon the wages of
tl^ir employes. This is a tax of 20
per cent of the excess of each wage
payment over the WITHHOLD
ING EXEMPTION.
All members are cautioned tcj
fill out "Form W-4, U. S. Treas-i
ury Dept. Internal Revenue Ser
vice-Employes Witholding Exemp
tion Certificate." They should fill
out one of these forms every time
that they become employed on a
ship, in this manner the companies
will be compelled to grant an ex
emption allowable under the law.
Advised all agents to contact
their local Internal Revenue office
and get copies of "Circular WT"
of June 4th, 1943, and post in the
umon halls so that all our mem
bers can familiarize themselves as
to the law.
{Continued on Page 4)
-X-.:
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Page Four THE SEAFARERS' LOG Friday, June 25, 1943
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SEAFAREHS LOG
Published by the
SEAFARERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION
OF NORTH AMERICA
Atlantic and J5j?ilf District
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor
HARRY LUNDEBERG - - r - - - Vresideni
110 Market Street, San Francisco, Calif.
JOHN HAWK Secy-Treds.
2 Stone Street, New York City
MATTHEW DUSHANE - - - 'Washington Rep.
424 Jth Street, N. W., Washington, D. C.
Directory of Branches
BRANCH ADDRESS PHONE
NEW YORK 2 Stone St
Diepatcher'a Office....... BOwIiins Green 9-3430
Agent BOwIing Green 9-3437
BOSTON.... 330 Atlantic Ave. Liberty 40S7
BALTIMORE. ........... 14 North Gay St. Calvert 4B39
PHILADELPHIA 6 North 6th St Lomhard 76SI
NORFOLK 23 Commeccial PI Norfolk 4-1083
NEW ORLEANS. 309 Chartree St. Canal 3336 .
SAVANNAH..... .218 Eaet Bay St.... Savannah 3-1728
TAMPA. 423 Eaet Piatt St Tampa MM-1323
MOBILE Ss So. Conception St.. ...Dial 2-1392
PUERTO RICO...i. 4S.Ponce de Leon Puerto de Tlerm
GALVESTON..... 219 20th Street Galveston 8-8043
FT. LAUDERDALE 2021 S. Federal Highway..
PUBLICATION OFFICE;
ROOM: 213, 2 STONE STREET
New York City BOwUng Green 9-8346
Washington Report
{Continued from Page 3)
WSA'RMO Conference:
The RMO held a conference
here on Thursday, June 17, con
vened at 9:30 A.M. and wound up
at 5.00 P.M. The 'agenda consisted
of the following: 1. Manpower re
quirements; 2. Upgrrading; 3.
Manning procedures; 4. Selective
service.
The WSA has opened schools for
the upgrading of officers, Ordinary
Seamen and Stewards department.
Courses are now open at San Fran
cisco, Portland, Ore., Seattle, Los
Angeles, New Orleans, Baltimore
and New York.
Coure time for Ordinary Seamen
not to exceed 30 days; Stewards
^department course time 2 to 6
weeks. Any member who attends
these courses will be paid by cither
the RMO or the Maritime Train
ing Service. Just why they have
two divisions of one government
agency to handle this program was
not answered.
The conference was a general re
hashing of the other conference
that was held by the RMO, and it
looked to me as though the confer
ence was called by the RMO for
the purpose of blowing .heir horn,
and to further, their jurisdiction in
the Maritime Industry. Advise all
the agents to send into their re-
apective headquarters every month
a complete list of all men that have
been assigned to the union by the
RMO. In this manner we can
check and see if they are Sunday-
ing up on their figures regarding
..fc.Jnca- assigned to the Union. My
opinion is that these figures are not
on the level.
: Some time ago Oalg Vincent,
VSA representative of the port of
New York, advised the union that
there was a shortage of Ordinary
; ' " Seamen, Wipers, and-Messmen, and
w that the RMO would OK any ap
plicant that the Union would send
over there for a certificate. Of
course there were only about 20,-
006 trainees at the maritime train
ing schools at that time. Can it
possibly be that the reason that
they notified the representative of
the SUP and SIU in New York,
was so that they could use the men
as the ones that they have placed
in jobs, and are part of the figures
submitted by Mr. M. Dimock? I
wonder.
The RMO's latest move is to
move in on all the rivers, bays,
lakes, and sounds. They have agreed
to supply manpower to all the
companies that operate tubs in
these waters, and it certainly looks
as though they are going whole
hog or nothing, and are even try
ing to push the Maritime Training
Service out of the picture. Let's
not kid ourselves that they are do
ing this towards the war effort. It
looks to me as though their pro
gram closely follows the line that
Hitler and Mussoline used against
the workers in their countries. Are
we starting on the way for a fa-
cist state here? Is the maritime in
dustry being used as the way for a
facist state here? Is the maritime
industry being used as the guinea
pig for this experiment?
Selective Service:
The RMO reported that to date
they have received 69,244 forms
47, and 54,656 seamen requests for
draft deferments. The RhlO filed
47,504 requests for seamens de
ferments, and about 150 requests
for deferments have been turned
down by local selective service
boards. *
Have been receiving quite a few
complaints from our agents that
some local boards are demanding
that the union comply with the
War Manpower Commission direc
tive, and that the men must fill
out the forms supplied by the
RMO.
It certainly seems to me as
though the RJMO is using pressure
NEW W.S.A. MOVE AIMED AT CHISELING
CONDITIONS AND TRANSPORTATION RIDER
(Continued from Page 1)
tides when the ship first comes of
the ways, they have less chance o:'
seeing that the transportation rider
is included in the articles.
In other ^o«*ds, the entire tactic
is one of hustling the men into
articles before they, or their union,
has a chance of safeguarding their
rights and conditions.
We can tell Mr. Wyckoff anc
Mr. Macauley that the question of
the efficiency of the crew is not de
termined by whether the articles
are coastwise or deep sea, but by
how their rights are respected. If
they arc kicked around by a bunch
of RMO punks, chiseled on condi
tions and wages, treated like slave
labor, then there will be trouble.
No one can deny that there have
been instances of maritime ineffi
ciency on the Atlantic & Gulf
Coast. But these cases are trace
able, almost 100% of the time, to
WSA-RMO red tape and bungling,
or to outright shipowner provoca
tion of union men.
Macauley's plan of forcing deep
sea articles on men in the port of
delivery is not going to correct any
such inefficiency. It will only ag-
grivate the situation by demoral
izing the very group so necessary
to the industry—the old time rated
men.
Macauley's letter is full of vague
jeneralities concerning the alleged
jroblem. We say once again, let
lim bring into the open any case
of a SIU ship delayed because of
coastwise articles from port of de-
ivery. If he has such a case, let
him put it on the table so it can
3e examined and the real causes of
delay and inefficiency exposed.
MONEY DUE
J. McLEON: Four hours due
from Mississippi Shipping Com
pany.
T. RAYMOND: $42.50 coming
from the S.S. Tarleton Brown.
H, A. STRAUS: Overtime com
ing. Sec Coffin, New York Branch.
Oilers on last trip of S.S. Del
Norte have overtime coming. Col
lect from Mississippi Line, 17 Bat
tery Place, New York City.
Firemen on S.S. Richard Alvey
have, overtime coming. Collect Bull
Line, New York City.
Crew S.S. iFrancis Marion have
attack bonus due. Collect Robin
Line, New York City.
Firemen and Ordinaries on S.S.
Livingstone have overtime due. See
Coffin, New York Branch.
Crew S.S. John Stevena and S.S.
Pan Gulf have attack bonus' com
ing. Collect Waterman Line, 19
Rector St., New' York City.
Crew of S.S. Benj. Harrison who
were forced to work on U.S.A.T.
Shawne, report class of work to
New York Agent.
Crew of S.S. West Gatomsky
have Russian Bonus due. Collect at
Amtorg Trading Company, 210 Ma
dison Ave., New York City.
HERE IS MACAULEY'S PHONEY LETTER
ON OUR SHIPS MISSING THE CONVOYS
... - . ing
to get the unions to use the forms' forces.
that they supply, but from . the
evidence supplied by the RMO,
even if the men do fill out their
cards, they get no guarantee that
they are going to be defered. The
RMO can do no more than the
Unions in getting the men defered,
if they run' across a tough draft
board. Regardless of what kind of
work they are doing, they are go
to be drafted into the armed
WAR SHIPPING ADMINISTRA liON,
WASHINGTON
June 9, 1943 '
Mr. John Hawk, Secretary-Treasurer
Seafarers International Union of North America 'i f ,
Two Stones'Street ' ' . 1
New York City . B V
Dear Mr. Hawk:
The War Shipping Administration has been advised that the off
shore operation of newly-commissioned vessels has been delayed and
impaired from time to time to the extent that convoys have been missed,
by the continuance of a peacetime working habit of seamen employed
in the coastwise operation of such vessels.
1. The delay is occasioned by seamen who join a newly-commis-i
sioned ship at port of delivery, i.e., Wilmington, North Carolina, and
work the vessel under coastwise articles t<\ i loading port, i.e.. New
York, New York, etc. Seamen pay off at the time the Shipping Com
missioner arrives to sign the crew on offshore articles and leave the ves
sel. As a consequence, the movement of the vessel to the convoy rendez
vous is delayed pending the availability and arrival of replacements. The
seamen who have paid off on coastwise articles return to sliipyards and
sign coastwise articles on another newly-commissioned vessel, etc.
2. The efficiency is impaired by the practice of such seamen leav
ing the vessel at the loading port. The seamen who leave the vesels at-
the loading port do not instruct the replacements on the peculiarities
of the mechanisms of the newly-commissioned ship. Obviously the re
placements, particularly during the initial phase of the offshore opera
tion, cannot match the efficiency of the crew which has worked the Ves
sel from the shipyard.
The War Shipping Administration recognizes the fact that the
>rafCtice of such seamen leaving the newly-commissioned vessel at the
oading port is legal. However, In view of the delays in sailing sched
ules, and impairment of efficiency, this Adniinistration cannot look with
favor on tl» continuance of the practice.
Therefore, the War Shipping Administration requests officials of
all maritime unions manning newly-commissioned vessels to use their
good offices to induce seamen to sign offshore articles and work the ves
sel for the duration of the voyage. The War Shipping Administration
deems it vital that the unions and the seatiien act on this request iimne-
diately in the interests of the war effort.
Sincerely yours,
EDWARD MACAULEY
Deputy Administrator
•-I
THIS LETTER WAS DUL
SHIP ON THE NIGHT OF J
THE WASTEBASKET.
LV CONSII
UNE 21—/
CONSIDERED BY THE
-AND WAS THEN
MEMBER-
FILED IN
Out of the Focs^l
by
jl. X..
The boys are beefing about the Liberty ships again and rightfully
sa They say if they could get two^ more knots put of those tubs «
great many of the ships would be saved and none of the crew lost.
Recently a Bull ship was lost when she was missed by two torpedoes
and the third caught her in the engine room and 12 brothers were lost.
On another Liberty ship Joe Wagner was Bosun and had two AB's with
him who had experience, and the rest aboard the tub we're Maritime
trainees. The Naval Intelligence comes aboard and pulls Joe, off for
questioning. They later claim its a case of mistaken identity. Who is
sabotaging the War effort now?
In Memory of
'Brother
Robert Hegeman, Oiler
1899 - 1943
Died in New York City
June 4,. 1943
Remember — Don't Sign
WSA-RMD Fink Cards
Attention All Agents
Beginning with this issue the
Seafarers Log will be published
weekly. In line •with the decisions
of the Agents' Conference, a week
ly news story will be expected
from each port. These stories must
be in New York on Monday of
each week. Spot news copy may
arrive on Tuesday.
<^4
T .-Ai
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OFFICIAL OEGAN OF THE ATLANTIC AND GULF DISTRICT,
SEAFARERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA
VOL, V.- 287 NE^ YORK, N. Y., FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 1943 No. 13
Macauley Would Muscle Men Into
Final Articles At Delivery Port
Deadline For F-D-R-
A:irtio n On Fa set s t
Smith-ConnallyBill
Within 24 hours after the Seafarers Log goes to press,
the American workers will know whether or not the Roose
velt Administration intends to declare open war upon their
unions. For within this period the President must either
veto the fascist Smith-Connally Bill or allow it to become
law.
The Smith-Connally Biir follows
the pattern set by Hitler and "Mus
solini and the Cerman and Italian
capitalists. It denies the workers
many of their fundamental rights,
restricts legitimate trade unionism,
and will bring upon this country
chaos in labor relations.
AFL President William Green
led the forces of organized labor in
appealing to President Roosevelt to
veto the Bill.
•J'The workegs of this country
.would never become reconciled to
this legislation," Mr. Green inform-
, ed the President. "They would
' protest against it and rebel against
it in the event that it would be
came the law of the land.
Outstanding provisions of the
final version of the Connally-Smith
Bill adopted by both .Houses of
Congress follow;
1—^Empowers the ^President to
take over in behalf of the Govern
ment any war plant, mine or man
ufacturing facility threatened with
"interruption of production by a
Strike or other labor disturbance.
2—Imposes fines up to $5,000
and a year's imprisonment, or both,
upon any person who may "coerce,
instigate, induce, conspire with, or
encourage any person to interfere
by lockout, strike, slow-down or
other interruption, with the opera
tion" of such plants taken over by
the Government. The same pen
alties are provided for "aiding
such strike or lockout, giving "di
rection or guidance" to it or pro
viding funds "for the conduct or
direction thereof," through pay
ment of strike or unemployment
benefits.
3—Gives the National War La
bor Board statutory recognition
empowers it to intervene in dis
putes on its own motion, author
izes the Board to issue subpoenas
for the attendance of witnesses,
but restricts the Board's present
right to order union-shop settle
ments.
4—^Provides that no member of
the B^rd shall be permitted to par
ticipate in any decision in which
such member has a direct interest
as an officer, employe or represen
tative of either party to the dis
pute.
5—Requires a 30-day "cooling
off" ̂ ri(^ before a strike may be
called. Employe representatives
must give notice of intention to
strike to the Secretary of Labor,
the National War Labor 'Board and
the National Labor Relations
Board. The latter body is directed
to conduct a" secret ballot election
on the proposed strike among af
fected employes before the expira
tion of the 30-day notice.
Text Of S.I.U. Letter To
F.D.R. On Conn.ally Bill
NEW W.S^. MOVE AIMED AT DHISELING
CONDITIO'NS AND TRANSPORTATION. RIDER
Captain Edward Macauley, Deputy Administrator of the WSA, has launched a new-
vendetta against the merchant seamen. He now wants to. muscle the men into signing
deep sea articles when they join a newly-commissioned ship at port of delivery. In a
letter sent to the SIU on June 9 he admits that the present practice of signing deep-sea
articles only when the vereel has beeii loaded in port of sailing, is legal, still he wants the
union to force its members to sign*
on for a complete voyage before
the ship has been delivered and be
fore the seamen have a chance to
look her. over. This amounts to
forced labor if we ever saw it.
There are several intersting items
in the Captain's letter, but before
we take them up, we should like
to comment on the timing of the
request for this radical change of
the shipping ndes. A brief 9 days
before the Captain sent us this
letter, the Agents of the Atlantic
and Gulf coast were in conference
in New York and begged Macauley
to attend. The purpose of, the con
ference was to increase the effici-
ehcy of East & Gulf Coast opera
tions and to clarify all' the rules
and aims of the WSA.
But Macauley was too busy to
attend or to send a representative.
Then, after all the Agents were
dispersed to the various ports,
when there were no longer any op
portunity for a face to face discus
sion of the problems, Macauley dic
tated this letter demanding a major
change in union operation. This is
the typical act of a bureaucrat,
fearful of a democrat exchange of
ideas, jealous of his privileges, dis-
fainful of the common man who
works for a living.
As for the letter itself, Macauley
charges that "offshore operation of
newly - commissioned vessels has
been delayed and impaired from
time to time to the extent that
convoys have been missed by the
continuation of a peacetime" prac
tice of seamen in signing coast
wise articles to bring the ship from
Honorable Franklin D. Roosevelt
President, United States of America
.White House .u
Washington, D. C.
20,000 AFL seamen on thfr Atlantic & Gulf Coast, members of the
Seafarers. International Union,-urge you to veto the fascist Smith-
Connally Bill now on your desk.
This bill is a stab in the back of organized labor and will result.
If passed, in justified resentment and resistance on the part of all
freedom loving workers.
Close to 1,000 members of this union have lost their lives at sea
while delivering supplies to the war fronts of the world. They died
believing that this war was being fought against fascism—both at
home and abroad. The living comrades of these dead heroes will keep
faith with them and will continue to oppose fascism whether it ap
pears in Berlin or Washington.
We urgently request that you deal a blow against the domestic
fascists by vetoing the un-American Smith-Connallyi bill.
JOHN HAWK
John Lewis Thanks SIU
For Supporting Miners*
Return To Federation
port of delivery to loading port.
"When did this happen? Let
the Captain break out his figures
and prove that a SIU ship missed a
convoy because of this practice.
"We don't know what the Cap
tain has up his sleeve, but it's our
guess that any delays he may have
in mind can be traced to the bung
ling of the WSA and not to the
union. Sure ships have missed con
voys because of crewing difficul
ties—the shortage of rated men.
But this is not the fault of the
union—^it is the fault of the WSA
which is spending millions of dol
lars to train unrated men and po
tential finks, and ignoring possi
bility of aipgrading good un-ratec
union men. It looks as if some
body is putting the heat on Ma
cauley for East Coast bungling,
and he is trying to make the sea
men and this union the scapegoats.
Mogan Prominent
In Boston Tribute
To Merchantmen
June 8, 1943
Mr. John Hawk, Sec.-Treas.
Seafarers International Union
New York City
Dear Sir and Brother:
' Thanks greatly for your letter
of June 7 with copy of Communi
cation addressed by the Seafarers
International Union of North Am
erica to President Green of the
American Federation of Labor.
I appreciate very much indeed
the action of your organization in
this matter, and I hasten to extend
to each member all good wishes for
their future well-being.
Sincerely yours,"
JOHN L. LEWIS
The city of Boston paid tribute
to the merchant seamen on June
first by dedicating to them a mall
on the Boston Common. The mer
chant seamen mall was one of five
dedicated, the others being tributes
to men fallen in the Army, Navy,
Coast Guard and Marine Corps.
SIU Agent John Mogan deserves
much of the credit for having won
for the seamen this tribute. He
campaigned for the mall and was
imtrumcntal iii having a resolution
passed by the City .Coimcil which
set in motion the entire machinery.
Councilmen Hurley and Russo
read into the official Council record
a letter received from Brother
Mogan thanking them and the Bos
ton press for supporting the move
to honor the seamen.
The maritime mall was dedicated
in the presence of 100,000 Boston
school children and delegates from
the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the
BostoiT Municipal ^uncil, the
United Spanish War Veterans, the
Disabled American Veterans, the
Department of Massachusetts and
the Jewish War Veterans of the
United States. Brother Mogan was
invited to appear as a spe^er but
was unable to attend because of
his presence at the Agents Confer
ence in New York City.
Macauley says that because the
men on coastwise articles some
times sign off in the loading port
the ships miss their convoys. This
is a lot of WSA-double talk. Here's
why: "When a crew taktes a ship
from the port of delivery, she sails
empty. When she arrives in the
port of loading it takes at least two
weeks to stow the cargo, and
usually a couple of more weeks is
consumed waiting for a convoy.
This affords the shipowner ample
time to get a deep sea crew, and al
so gives the new crew ample time
to look over the ship, inspect the
articles and decide if they want to
sign on.
If the commissioner arrives to
sign articles the first day she is in
the loading port, it is natural that
the men will stall because they
want a chance to get familiar with
the sliip and resent being pushed
around in this mariner.
What is also involved in this
of the shipowners and WSA to sa
botage transportation riders which
the SIU had before the war and
which were frozen for the dura
tion of the war by the Statement
of Policy. Some of the shipown
ers are now attempting to kick out
these riders, stating the WSA will
not approve them, and the union
has been appearing to Hdbert Wy-"
choff to uphold the Statement of
Policy and the Statement of Prin
ciples, and authorize the operators
squeeze play is a move on the part
to put such riders on ships' articles,
guaranteeing transportation — as
was the custom prior to the
war. To date Mr. Wyckoff has
been too busy with WSA in
ner politics to even give the
union the courtesy of a reply. It
is also likely that he is stalling on •
the question, giving Macauley a
chance to shove the signing of deep
sea articles at port of delivery
down our throat. For should the
men be muscled into deep sea ar-
{Continued on Page 4)
What Is a
SCAB?
"After the God had finished the
rattlesnake, the toad, the vam
pire, He had some awful sub
stance left with which ho made
a scab. A scab is a two-legged
animal with a corkscrew soul-—
a water-logged brain, a combin
ation backbone made of jelly
and glue."—Jack London. L
'f •
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Page Two THE SEAFARERS' LOG Friday, June 2?, 1943
II SEAMEN NEED POST WAR I
Highlights Of Round-
Table Discussion At
Agentsi' Conference
Participating Are Harry Lundeberg,
President SIU; Matthew Dushane,
Washington Representative SIUj and
Omer Been, American Representative
of the International Transport Work=
, ers Eederatiojj,
I • DUSHANE: I understand there is some kin?^ an
agreement reached between your governments,
ferent governments here that you boys come from and the
United States Government, that you can not take free part
in" legislation effecting foreign seamen in Washington
Now, corref t me if I am wrong in this. ̂ You Can not use
any influence to correct some of the immigration laws dm-
ing the war and you are not supposed to take any active,
part, while in this coimtry, in any form of a labor move
ment for the progress of your men.
BECU: I think it would be rather difficult for us, as
foreign organizations, to interfere even to the smallest ex
tent, with your national legislation. If we should find
. something in your legislation wliich wOuld hamper us,
-which would be a difficulty for us, I think we could do
that only through the channel of the American organiza
tion, the Seafarers International to confer with the Inter
national Transport Federation and ask them to intervene
with your government officials and the goveriunent de
partments in order that a decision would be taken which
•would favor us and be favorable to the men in our work.
This is true, for instance, in Washington, where there
exists a United Nations Government Committee, discuss
ing the position of allied seamen in your country. They
discuss the question of deportation, the question of setting
up maritime courts in your country for the allied govern
ments and so forth. Wc have asked to be represented and
.J)e able to attend the conferences through monthly meet
ings, and we have been refused to sit on that committee.
Deportation Tangle
DUSHANE: Brother Becu, there is one question that is
not quite clear in my mind on this deportation of alien '
seamen. You state thar they should be deported back to
the countries where the pople have set up a government to
represent the people of that particular country. W^ell,
there seems to be a contention regarding some of th^e
nations over there as to just who docs represent them. I
think it is a dangerous situation when the seamen get
I , juggled around between two groups of people who claim
they represent them and the seamen get in the middle.
They are the ones that are being tossed around. Where
would these men be deported to? There is the Vichy
French goveriunent, and the government that was set up
ih North Africa, then General De Gaulle has one set up in
England. You also have the case of the Polish seamen, and
I think there is a little confusion amongst the Jugoslavian
seamen. Where would they be deported to?
BECU: Brother, as far as I know, this applies only to
the French seamen. I do not think it applies to the Jugo
slavian Government or to the Polish Government, because
chose governments are recognized by all the other
Governments of the United Nations. It applies certainly
to the French seamen, but I do not know of any case, at
this moment of the deportation of French seamen. Some
of them who arrived here, you will have read in the pa
pers, from North Africa, the socalled Giraud group, have
left their ships and gone over to the De Gaulle group, in
full freedom. They have let them go over there, but if
deportation was open with regard to French seamen, it
could only be to the group to which they berunged.
De Gaulle has a number of French ships under his con
trol, ships which have been chartered to the British Gov
ernment. Now, since the invasion of Africa and the lib
eration of Africa, Giraud has quite a number of ship under
ids control which have been chartered to your country, but
nil in the international pool—there seems to be a pool of
all allied nations. The questions of allocating the ships to
One country or another are agreed upon. So far as the
Frenchmen are concerned, you haVe indeed two groups.
There is no national committee or any national govern-
itaent or any provisional government, or anything of that
Sort. That may come in the very near future, and then
also that question will be straightened out. But as far as
I know, and I do not think that even Brother Thompson
from the British National Union of Seamen knows of any
case of French seamen who have been deported back to
England.
THOMPSON: Not yet.
LUNDEBERG: Do you know whether the Giraud
ships that were taken over in the African campaign were
chartered to the American Government?
BECU: They were and are under tlie control ,of the
W^af Shipping Administration. The a^ecment was con=
eluded in North Africa, according to information which
has been given me by the War Shipping Administration,
concluded between Giraud and General Eisenhower, with
the agreement of General Anderson, representative of the
British Government.
LUNDEBERG: They are run by the American War
Shipping Administration?
BECU: By the American War Shipping Admmistfatlon.
LUNDEBERG; With the French crews?
BECU: With French crews. Tliey are acting on behalf
of the French authorities of North Africa. The ships are
oaTc^bddt chaft£lT^ Lf aiw Wai-3liippiug-Ad5aa!m;£rA'dsiii
and the Giraud group has set up a special department for
the merchant marine. It is under the supervision of Vice.
Admiral Lemonnier in North Africa.
DUSHANE: Have the French seamen any representa
tion at all on this committee? i
BECU: No.
Giraud Is Anti-Labor
BECU: I may point out to you. it is a very pecu
liar position. You know that the Vichy Government has
dissolved all labor unions and collective agreements whjch
existed before the war. Without any consultation with
the seamen's representatives they gave •them another con
tract, enforced upon them another contract, and up to
now the Giraud crowd have not recognized any seamen's
union. And more than that, they have refused to give us
the authorization to send seamen's representatives to North
Africa. We have strongly protested against it through the
French Seamen's Union which has its main offices in Eng
land. I understand from a cable I received a few days
ago from the International Transport Federation, as well
as from the French Seamen's Union in England, that the
position is progressing in a favorable way and that very
shortly, perhaps, a new French Seamen's Union will be
set up in North Africa.
LUNDEBERG: Brother Becu, these agreements between
the War Shipping Administration and the Giraud regime,
what is the wages, can you tell me, approximately?
^ BECU; Well, their wages were not communicated to the
men when they left Noth Arfica. They were left entirely
in the dark and that is the awkward position in which
they are now. ^'e have reorganized the French seamen
coming from North Africa who have almost all joined or
, re-joined their union. They are. in full agreement
with the people who are sailing for De Gaulle, and we are
now forming one group of seamen, notwithstanding the
fact that in government circles there seems to exists a
division of opinion and a division in policy.
I want to say this, perhaps, to make it quite clear to
you. The French seamen, when we had our. first general
meeting here with them, they raised the question which
conditions would be applied to them. We-did not know
anything. We did not know with whom to deal in order
to have collect bargaining for them, but we knew that
the U. S. War Shipping Administration were the charter
ers of those ships. We have asked the charters, the War
Shipping Administration, with whom we should deal to
have a collective agreement and if they would help us in
order to establish the right to collective bargaining for
these seamen. The War Shipping Administration stated
that such an agreement was concluded in North Africa
without collective bargaining, enforced upon the men,
and that the British wage and bargaining conditions were
to be applied to those French seamen. If, however, the
French wage and working conditions would be better or
higher than British wage and working conditions-:-the
French conditions would remain in force. .
LUNDEBERG: On a charter vessel to the War Shipping
Administration then under such arrangement they also
man the vessels themselves? In other words, of course, the
vessels are manned by the French seamen. But the War
Shipping Administration becomes the ones that pay the
wages and everything else?
BECU: Yes.
LUNDEBERG: The War Shipping Administration then
has no business to make a deal with-either Giraud or
De Gaulle to the effect that these vessels should have Eng
lish wages, because the men on those ships are entitled to
American wages. Here is the way we feel about this thing
here. The War Shippings Administration, whether you
know it or not, as far as we are concerned, is strictly the
type of owners that we have to fight from every angle
and watch them for what we can obtain. When the War
Shipping Administration asks a policy-making body to
turn around and take the crew from the foreign ships
under charter below* the American scale of wages, that
endangers. our conditions, and furthermore this war is
supposed to be a war for the four freedoms. These people
have no business to turn around and make an agreement
for a French seamen, whether they are French, EnglisI^
Slavs or what they are, without, representatio:?. by the sea-s
men. And if we can do anythmg on any of these thingi
we want to help you and we want to stop that kind ofi
nonsense. Because, it doesn't do you any gCK>d and it does
n't do us any good, in the long run, and we want to work
together with foreign seamen. We affiliated with I.T.F,,
as Brother Becu told you. We want to cooperate and work"
along with you people, because we know that when thia
war is over they are going to try to move in on tic
again, the seamen on the Danish or French or Americaqi
seamen, and we have got to have class cooperation on St
world-wide basis to stop the nonsense they did after thq
last war that you guys are familiar with the conditiani.
which happened on a world-wide basis after the last war.
I do not know what is going to happen after this war isi
over. I think it is going to determine who is going to sil?'
•-25 tht -pease table, and is^FoiugTP. haye .C,
voice. Of course, that is a little far ahead, but wc feel
it is about time they started to talk about those things ami
ready on a world-wide basis to protect the seamen's
interests, because there is no group of workers that is more -
closely allied than the seamen. i
So, we have certain conditions in the United Statd
which you are all aware of, divisions in the labor move^ •
ment. We have the C.I.O. and the A. F. of L. We havd
the same in the seamen's field. One particular branch of
the seamen's movement belongs'to the A. F. of L., West
Coast, East Coast, and Great Lakes. I do not know whether
you people know we will never make peace with the Com-*
munist unions.
it is either going to be us or them. I just wanted to give
you that for your information.
Now, another thing. We have a good representative iq
Washington to impress the mnds of the legislative body
down there. We have a representative- down there and we.
can get other ways and means to help you with this prob
lem. I can realize your difficult problem. There is ntf
, question about it, inasmuch as you have got two differenf
factions, some in the United States here and some thq
other party and some in England. Well, we can not allow,
no matter who they are, Eisenhower or anyone else, to.
make an agreement for seamen like they were chattels,
slaves. So, this is what you are going to work for, with
out consulting them or have their help neither. I saw men
when I was in Washington, and we will have to continue'
and find out what kind of a swindle went <jjver. The War
Shipping Administration, .they stated they want the con--
trol of the shipping interests of- this country. You will find
how the policy makers and all the big shots got enough
from the ship owners branch and we have got to watch '
them. The same thing with a South Americau ship under
the Panamanian flag. ^
Shipowners' Dodge
BECU: I have followed the actions of the Seafarers In- ,
ternational Union very closely. You, on behalf of the
Seafarers International Union, together with different otlier
seamen's unions, rigned a policy-making statement with
your War Shipping Administration that your conditions
will also apply to all bare boat chartered ships. And I
think you have there a very farsighted policy in doing sol
And, as you said, it would constitute a danger to the
American seamen, as it would have constituted a danger
to the Britieh seamen, if those seamen of those chartered
' ships would sail "under lower conditions than you had.
In the long run, the Government may take the position,
".Why should we have our own ships when we
can run foreign ships under charter on better,
conditions?" And, if your government does so, mora
particularly all ship owners will be bound to do so, be
cause the ship owners, we all know have no national feel
ings when it comes to dollars and cents. That is in every
country the «ame. What do they care whether they ex
ploit their ships under their own flag or under a foreign
flag, as long as they have more benefit when they do it
under a foreign flag? That is the thing I referred to in my
speech I have made in coming here, how they have always
transferred ships from one flag to another. Fake transfers,
because they remained the owners' ships. Fake transfers
because of the fact that they can run the ships under a
foreign flag at a much lower cost than under their owq
flag, because ih some countries there exists no maritime
social legislation, there was no bonus, there was no collec
tive agreement, they could pay what they wanted to pay
them.
LUNDEBERG: Some time ago, prior to the war and
the entrance of the ynited States into the war, we had the.
same conditions on the Pacific Coast, where four Danish
ships were interned. The American Government took them
over and sent them out under the Panamanian flag and
we started to raise hell, because in those days we could
take direct action, and we took a strike vote on the Pa
cific Coast and told Admiral Land, "If you are going tb
run Panamanian ships out of Frisco, then you will run no
ships." As the result of that action, we didn't have toi
go on strike, Admiral Land flew nto Frisco and they turn-
n
/
' t
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- '--V
Friday, June 2f, 1943 THE SEAFARERS' LOG Page Three
ITERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY
ed those ships into the American Flag, with the same
crews, of course. I mean the Danish seamen stayed on
the ships and they transferred their books to the Sailors
Union of the Pacific, the Coast Union, and we
thought at that time that the same action would have
been taken on the Atlantic Coast. There was quite a num
ber of ships which flew the Panamanian flag on account
of the NeutraUty Act. However, on the Atlantic Coast
we were hampered. Through the efforts of the National
Maritime Union, the Communist Party controlled that
seamen's union here. They were very much in favor of
ships which flew the Panamanian flag, due to the fact that
they were very much interested in their so-called Pana
manian Division, trying to move in on the foreign seamen
to advance and establish themselves as the one and only
union for all seamen. In other words, they were really
moving into the territory of the foreign seamen's unions,
the I.T.F., the Norwegian and| British unions.
You won't see many ship on the Pacific Coast running
under this flag, but you have plenty of them on this coast.
That is going to be one of those conditions that we are
faced with in the American seamen's movement. We
could do the job on lots of thmgs here, but we have the
split movement and the Panamanian edition of the
N.M.U , they would like to make it very strong and they
plan to steal men from time to time from the other unions.
Perhaps I do not know how much success they have had,
I do not know how much success you have had, but if
you are not too tired, I think it would probably be better
ipr you to explain it to the delegates here, because I think
it is very interesting. We have agents from every port,
and they are going back to their various locals and they
should know of those angles, if you will give this, Becu.
BECU: There is no doubt that the Panamanian Division
of the National Maritime Union afiSliates seamen from all
countries ,sailing for the nvoment on Panamanian and even
American vessels. Prior to the war there was the so-called
Belgian, Dutch seamen's clubs, one was called the Scandi
navian Seamen's Club, which has been dissolved. Later the
director or manager of that club became the director of
the Panamanian division of the National Union of Seamen.
Another was called the European Committee for Seamen.
Another was called the Greek Seamen's Union. Another
one, Yugoslav Seamen's Union, and who was exactly in
the background, we do not know. But they were trying
to get foreign seamen under control through those unions,
and the foreign seamen were pressed by them to leave
their ships and were lured away from their ship to a great
extent. In the same picture came at that time the German
General Consul paying for board and lodging for men who
jumped their ship in America.
It was the slogan then, "This is a capitalistic and im-
. peto risk-ysisr life fcr-thorat
What the hell have you to do with that war? You have
already gone once to war. Are you going to risk your skin
and life again on all those ships or are you going to live
in America, in this free, democratic coimtry?" A lot of
our men fell for it. Some of our ships were held up
through that, that was the policy. Our men were lured
away and our men were taken into the Panamanian Di
vision of the N.M.U.
I will give you an instance. Holland had quite a large
merchant marine with a large number of Dutch seamen,
approximately 18,000. They set up their own organiza
tion over here, the organization they had in Eiurope called
the Dutch Central Transport Workers' Organization. Mr.
Christensen of the Panamanian Divsion of the N.M.U.
called* a meeting together for Dutch seamen, and two
very loyal delegates of the Dutcb Seamen's Union grasped
that occasion to go to that meeting, and tell Mr. Christen-
son that they would speak to the Dutch seamen. It wa|
accepted. They did speak in their language to the Dutcl^
Seamen; our good Dutch friends who are still now tlui
representatives over here of the Dutch Seamen's Unioi|
spoke to the men. There were hundreds of them. Thej
said, "What they are trying to do is to lure yoii
away from your own union. We do not know how
faith you will have in yotir own tinion, but there is ond
thing, they are going to enlist you into another union. If
you go to that table they will enlist you in a new unloa
which they are trying to set up for you in America, an4
if you enlist on that table, you are going to enlist in you?
own union, the National Union."
W'hen the meeting was over, all joined their own Dutcli
Union.
The whole situation, I must say, changed on the 21sfl
of June, 1941, when Rtissia came into the war. Thero
was. no -l-uring aw-ay. of 4$
so forth.
Our men are still belonging to their own union, whicU
must be, according to our opinion, as strong as possible
in order to be able to continue right on when we go back
after the war to our respective countries.
I said in the beginning, some of our seamen may sai|
on Panamanian ships, where Panamanian ships have mem«
hers of the Ntional Maritime Union shipped on then^
those sailing from this city. We can not do much abou?
it. We can not do anytldng about their agreements be
cause we have no contracts with American ships. The
members of the allied unions sailing on the Panamanianj
ships are just those who have deserted their ships before
the 8 th of April, 1942, unless they have been granted the
authorization by their National authorities. In other words
as from that date, no foreign seamen would any longetj
be allowed to go on American or American operated ships,
without the agreement of the Government concerned.
(Report of June 17)
Maritime War
Emergency Board:
R. W. SWEENEY, SIU Patrol
man, N. Y.—S.S. Pan Gulf was in
Newport Wales when port was un
der attack. Board has ruled that
crew is entitled to a-tack bonus.
S.S. Charles Brantley Aycock was
in Newport Wales and crew con
tends that there was an attack on
this day. Board claims that from
information that they have re
ceived there was no attack on this
day. Suggest that the patrolman
re-check and get written state
ments from the crew. S. S. Raphel
Semmes was in Avinmouth and
crew contend that there was an
attack and that It could be veri-
, fied by the ship's log. Board claims
that there was no attack on this
date. Advise to re-check on the
dates and the time that the crew
contends that there was an attack.
LOUIS COFFIN, SIU Patrol
man, N. Y.—S.S, Francis- Marion
was anchored at Immingham, Eng
land, and crew contended port was
under attack. Board has ruled that
a bonus is payable. S.S. Schoharie
was in Cardiff, Wales, and crew
contend port was under attack.
Board has stated that from." the in
formation that they have received
there was no attack on this date.
Advise Patrolman to re-check on
dates and* time crew claim that
there was an attack.
J. E. LAPHAM, SIU Patrolman,
Boston—S.S, King Woolsey was
anchored off South End in the
Thames River when London was
bombed. Crew entered claim for
bonus. Board has ruled that the
limits for bonus claims when ves
sels are in the Thames River and
an attack is made in London pr
within the vicinity of the Thames,
ends within the limits of Grave-
send and Tillbury, the Estuary is
not within th^se limits. Advise the
Patrolman to re-check on the po
sition of where the vessel was lying
when the attack occured. Have
been advised that the U. S. Army
^has agreed to pay wages for the
crew of the Benjamin Harrison
who were repatriated m the U. S.
A. T. Shawnee and the crew was
fRtPOWT orv
^AS HI rvGTorv.
_ • BY MATT44BW PtfSHAME-* '
required to work. Checking to see
where and by whom the crew are
to be paid. Will advise when this
is finally straightened out.
ARTHUR BURKE, SUP Pa
trolman, San Francisco: S.S. Fitz
John Porter was lying at Bahia,
Brazil, crew were granted shore
leave and were notfied to be on
board at 11 A.M. Ship left the
dock at 8 A.M. and due to a port
order crew was forbidden to go
aboard their vessel due to being
made up in convoy. Bum boats
were forbidden to take the three
men who were left behind on
board. Board h%s ruled that under
the circumstances crew is entitled
to compensation for loss of person
al effects.
Recruitment and
Manning:
Holding a conference on Thurs
day, June 17, and the maritime
unions and operators are invited to
send representatives there. The
agenda consists of the following
subjects—^Manpower Requirements,
Cooperative efforts in recruiting
experienced officers and seamen,
upgrading, manning procediures, se
lective service and many addition
al topics which the conferees may
wish to discuss.
Sometime ago I sent a request to
the WSA that they establish food
depots in England, South Africa
and the Far East. Have been'ad
vised that due to problems present
ed in establishing these depots, it is
necessary at this time to postpone
setting up food depots, due to the
following reason—(A) Perishable
commodities would require refrig
eration >(B) Adequate personnel
for the protection and mainten
ance of warehouses and supplies
.,Uv.Aa
must be obtained. (C) It might be
a prodigious task to break down
red tape, regulations and barriers
set up in foreign countries against
the importation of food to be sup
plied to our vessels.
The WSA have adopted the fol
lowing rules to vessels in lieu of the
depots—
1. The division of operations has
ordered operators and agents to
provision all vessels for the Nine
Month Trip.
2. When vessels are homeward
bound and have food supplies
aboard which will not be consum
ed before reaching United States
ports, tills food, at the discretion
of the master, will be transferred
to: (a) War Shipping Administra
tion vessel needing supplies, (b)
The Army and Navy, (c) Lend-
Lease Administration, (d) War
Relief and Civilian Rehabilitation
Administration.
Fish Cannery Workers
Union of the
Pacific, SIU:
Petitioned the Secretary of La
bor and requested that the Caimery
workers be excluded from execu
tive order No. 9240, which pro
hibits the payment of time and a
half for Saturday afternoon and
Sunday. Have been advised that
the Secretary of Labor has granted
an exemption to FISH CANNERY
workers in the States of California,
Oregon, Washington and Alaska.
It is now possible for fish cannery
workers to receive time and a half
for Saturday afternoons and Sun
days, or other payments as per
their collective bargaining agr-e-
ments.
PAULINE FURTH, Sec.-Treas.
FCWU, San Diego CaJif.: Reduc
tion plant case was settled by re-
at!
gional board No. 10 on April 30,
1943. Headquarters of the War
Labor Board have no data on Can
nery workers case.
Sec. Treas. of the SIU in San
Francisco can get data on the case
by contacting the AFL members
of the WLB in the 10th regional
district at San Francisco, Cal.
Legislation:
chairman Henry M. Jackson of
the Sub Committee on unemploy
ment Insurance of the committee
on Merchant Marine and Fisheries,
will consider in open hearings,
Thursday, June 24, 1943, at 10
A.M., committee prints No. 1 and
No. 2 dated June 7, 1943, relative
to tmemployment Insurance for
Merchant Seamen.
International
Labor Office:
As per the decision of the agents
assembled in New York, enclosed
ta the respective headquarters of
the SIU are the catlogs of all the
material that the ILO has regard
ing Merchant Seamen. Any ma
terial that the Union may require
for the agents can be had by send
ing to the Washington Office of
the ILO.
(Report of June 19)
Internal Revenue:
Brother James L. Stevens of Bal
timore, while employed on one of
the Luckenbach scows earned $1,-
768.48 from 11-6-42 to 5-19-43,
and the company deducted $234.60
for victory tax.
Contacted the Internal Revenue
bureau and they have advised me
that no company has any right to
deduct any victory tax from a".;-
seamen, unless the company first
allow an exemption of one dollar
and seventy one cents ($1.71) per
day. They then are to deduct five
per cent on the balance.
Some companies are deducting a
straight five per cent Victory tax
on all the seamen earnings, with
out allowing any exemptions. AJl
agents are cautioned to check with
the men and see what the compan
ies are deducting and see if any
exemptions are being allowed.
For the information of all oui
agents they can quote "Interna^
Revenue Title 26—(T.D. 5249)|
and dated March 27, 1943, signed
by Guy T. Helvering, Commission
er of Internal Revenue,- filed with
the Division of the Federal Regis
ter, March 29, 1943." The parti
cular part dealing with the exemp
tion can be found on page No. 4}|
(C).
The I. R. has sent a letter td
the Luckenbach company for anl
explanation on the tax with-heldl
in Brother Stevens case, and as soon|
as they answer, I'll advise hiin
through my weekly report.
All members are cautioned
keep all their receipts that th^
have received when Victory tax or
any other taxs are being withheld
from their wages, as they will be
reimbursed when they file a vic
tory tax report next March.
Beginning July 1st, 1943, em
ployers are required to deduct and
withhold a tax upon the wages of
tl^ir employes. This is a tax of 20
per cent of the excess of each wage
payment over the WITHHOLD
ING EXEMPTION.
All members are cautioned tcj
fill out "Form W-4, U. S. Treas-i
ury Dept. Internal Revenue Ser
vice-Employes Witholding Exemp
tion Certificate." They should fill
out one of these forms every time
that they become employed on a
ship, in this manner the companies
will be compelled to grant an ex
emption allowable under the law.
Advised all agents to contact
their local Internal Revenue office
and get copies of "Circular WT"
of June 4th, 1943, and post in the
umon halls so that all our mem
bers can familiarize themselves as
to the law.
{Continued on Page 4)
-X-.:
4
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Page Four THE SEAFARERS' LOG Friday, June 25, 1943
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SEAFAREHS LOG
Published by the
SEAFARERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION
OF NORTH AMERICA
Atlantic and J5j?ilf District
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor
HARRY LUNDEBERG - - r - - - Vresideni
110 Market Street, San Francisco, Calif.
JOHN HAWK Secy-Treds.
2 Stone Street, New York City
MATTHEW DUSHANE - - - 'Washington Rep.
424 Jth Street, N. W., Washington, D. C.
Directory of Branches
BRANCH ADDRESS PHONE
NEW YORK 2 Stone St
Diepatcher'a Office....... BOwIiins Green 9-3430
Agent BOwIing Green 9-3437
BOSTON.... 330 Atlantic Ave. Liberty 40S7
BALTIMORE. ........... 14 North Gay St. Calvert 4B39
PHILADELPHIA 6 North 6th St Lomhard 76SI
NORFOLK 23 Commeccial PI Norfolk 4-1083
NEW ORLEANS. 309 Chartree St. Canal 3336 .
SAVANNAH..... .218 Eaet Bay St.... Savannah 3-1728
TAMPA. 423 Eaet Piatt St Tampa MM-1323
MOBILE Ss So. Conception St.. ...Dial 2-1392
PUERTO RICO...i. 4S.Ponce de Leon Puerto de Tlerm
GALVESTON..... 219 20th Street Galveston 8-8043
FT. LAUDERDALE 2021 S. Federal Highway..
PUBLICATION OFFICE;
ROOM: 213, 2 STONE STREET
New York City BOwUng Green 9-8346
Washington Report
{Continued from Page 3)
WSA'RMO Conference:
The RMO held a conference
here on Thursday, June 17, con
vened at 9:30 A.M. and wound up
at 5.00 P.M. The 'agenda consisted
of the following: 1. Manpower re
quirements; 2. Upgrrading; 3.
Manning procedures; 4. Selective
service.
The WSA has opened schools for
the upgrading of officers, Ordinary
Seamen and Stewards department.
Courses are now open at San Fran
cisco, Portland, Ore., Seattle, Los
Angeles, New Orleans, Baltimore
and New York.
Coure time for Ordinary Seamen
not to exceed 30 days; Stewards
^department course time 2 to 6
weeks. Any member who attends
these courses will be paid by cither
the RMO or the Maritime Train
ing Service. Just why they have
two divisions of one government
agency to handle this program was
not answered.
The conference was a general re
hashing of the other conference
that was held by the RMO, and it
looked to me as though the confer
ence was called by the RMO for
the purpose of blowing .heir horn,
and to further, their jurisdiction in
the Maritime Industry. Advise all
the agents to send into their re-
apective headquarters every month
a complete list of all men that have
been assigned to the union by the
RMO. In this manner we can
check and see if they are Sunday-
ing up on their figures regarding
..fc.Jnca- assigned to the Union. My
opinion is that these figures are not
on the level.
: Some time ago Oalg Vincent,
VSA representative of the port of
New York, advised the union that
there was a shortage of Ordinary
; ' " Seamen, Wipers, and-Messmen, and
w that the RMO would OK any ap
plicant that the Union would send
over there for a certificate. Of
course there were only about 20,-
006 trainees at the maritime train
ing schools at that time. Can it
possibly be that the reason that
they notified the representative of
the SUP and SIU in New York,
was so that they could use the men
as the ones that they have placed
in jobs, and are part of the figures
submitted by Mr. M. Dimock? I
wonder.
The RMO's latest move is to
move in on all the rivers, bays,
lakes, and sounds. They have agreed
to supply manpower to all the
companies that operate tubs in
these waters, and it certainly looks
as though they are going whole
hog or nothing, and are even try
ing to push the Maritime Training
Service out of the picture. Let's
not kid ourselves that they are do
ing this towards the war effort. It
looks to me as though their pro
gram closely follows the line that
Hitler and Mussoline used against
the workers in their countries. Are
we starting on the way for a fa-
cist state here? Is the maritime in
dustry being used as the way for a
facist state here? Is the maritime
industry being used as the guinea
pig for this experiment?
Selective Service:
The RMO reported that to date
they have received 69,244 forms
47, and 54,656 seamen requests for
draft deferments. The RhlO filed
47,504 requests for seamens de
ferments, and about 150 requests
for deferments have been turned
down by local selective service
boards. *
Have been receiving quite a few
complaints from our agents that
some local boards are demanding
that the union comply with the
War Manpower Commission direc
tive, and that the men must fill
out the forms supplied by the
RMO.
It certainly seems to me as
though the RJMO is using pressure
NEW W.S.A. MOVE AIMED AT CHISELING
CONDITIONS AND TRANSPORTATION RIDER
(Continued from Page 1)
tides when the ship first comes of
the ways, they have less chance o:'
seeing that the transportation rider
is included in the articles.
In other ^o«*ds, the entire tactic
is one of hustling the men into
articles before they, or their union,
has a chance of safeguarding their
rights and conditions.
We can tell Mr. Wyckoff anc
Mr. Macauley that the question of
the efficiency of the crew is not de
termined by whether the articles
are coastwise or deep sea, but by
how their rights are respected. If
they arc kicked around by a bunch
of RMO punks, chiseled on condi
tions and wages, treated like slave
labor, then there will be trouble.
No one can deny that there have
been instances of maritime ineffi
ciency on the Atlantic & Gulf
Coast. But these cases are trace
able, almost 100% of the time, to
WSA-RMO red tape and bungling,
or to outright shipowner provoca
tion of union men.
Macauley's plan of forcing deep
sea articles on men in the port of
delivery is not going to correct any
such inefficiency. It will only ag-
grivate the situation by demoral
izing the very group so necessary
to the industry—the old time rated
men.
Macauley's letter is full of vague
jeneralities concerning the alleged
jroblem. We say once again, let
lim bring into the open any case
of a SIU ship delayed because of
coastwise articles from port of de-
ivery. If he has such a case, let
him put it on the table so it can
3e examined and the real causes of
delay and inefficiency exposed.
MONEY DUE
J. McLEON: Four hours due
from Mississippi Shipping Com
pany.
T. RAYMOND: $42.50 coming
from the S.S. Tarleton Brown.
H, A. STRAUS: Overtime com
ing. Sec Coffin, New York Branch.
Oilers on last trip of S.S. Del
Norte have overtime coming. Col
lect from Mississippi Line, 17 Bat
tery Place, New York City.
Firemen on S.S. Richard Alvey
have, overtime coming. Collect Bull
Line, New York City.
Crew S.S. iFrancis Marion have
attack bonus due. Collect Robin
Line, New York City.
Firemen and Ordinaries on S.S.
Livingstone have overtime due. See
Coffin, New York Branch.
Crew S.S. John Stevena and S.S.
Pan Gulf have attack bonus' com
ing. Collect Waterman Line, 19
Rector St., New' York City.
Crew of S.S. Benj. Harrison who
were forced to work on U.S.A.T.
Shawne, report class of work to
New York Agent.
Crew of S.S. West Gatomsky
have Russian Bonus due. Collect at
Amtorg Trading Company, 210 Ma
dison Ave., New York City.
HERE IS MACAULEY'S PHONEY LETTER
ON OUR SHIPS MISSING THE CONVOYS
... - . ing
to get the unions to use the forms' forces.
that they supply, but from . the
evidence supplied by the RMO,
even if the men do fill out their
cards, they get no guarantee that
they are going to be defered. The
RMO can do no more than the
Unions in getting the men defered,
if they run' across a tough draft
board. Regardless of what kind of
work they are doing, they are go
to be drafted into the armed
WAR SHIPPING ADMINISTRA liON,
WASHINGTON
June 9, 1943 '
Mr. John Hawk, Secretary-Treasurer
Seafarers International Union of North America 'i f ,
Two Stones'Street ' ' . 1
New York City . B V
Dear Mr. Hawk:
The War Shipping Administration has been advised that the off
shore operation of newly-commissioned vessels has been delayed and
impaired from time to time to the extent that convoys have been missed,
by the continuance of a peacetime working habit of seamen employed
in the coastwise operation of such vessels.
1. The delay is occasioned by seamen who join a newly-commis-i
sioned ship at port of delivery, i.e., Wilmington, North Carolina, and
work the vessel under coastwise articles t<\ i loading port, i.e.. New
York, New York, etc. Seamen pay off at the time the Shipping Com
missioner arrives to sign the crew on offshore articles and leave the ves
sel. As a consequence, the movement of the vessel to the convoy rendez
vous is delayed pending the availability and arrival of replacements. The
seamen who have paid off on coastwise articles return to sliipyards and
sign coastwise articles on another newly-commissioned vessel, etc.
2. The efficiency is impaired by the practice of such seamen leav
ing the vessel at the loading port. The seamen who leave the vesels at-
the loading port do not instruct the replacements on the peculiarities
of the mechanisms of the newly-commissioned ship. Obviously the re
placements, particularly during the initial phase of the offshore opera
tion, cannot match the efficiency of the crew which has worked the Ves
sel from the shipyard.
The War Shipping Administration recognizes the fact that the
>rafCtice of such seamen leaving the newly-commissioned vessel at the
oading port is legal. However, In view of the delays in sailing sched
ules, and impairment of efficiency, this Adniinistration cannot look with
favor on tl» continuance of the practice.
Therefore, the War Shipping Administration requests officials of
all maritime unions manning newly-commissioned vessels to use their
good offices to induce seamen to sign offshore articles and work the ves
sel for the duration of the voyage. The War Shipping Administration
deems it vital that the unions and the seatiien act on this request iimne-
diately in the interests of the war effort.
Sincerely yours,
EDWARD MACAULEY
Deputy Administrator
•-I
THIS LETTER WAS DUL
SHIP ON THE NIGHT OF J
THE WASTEBASKET.
LV CONSII
UNE 21—/
CONSIDERED BY THE
-AND WAS THEN
MEMBER-
FILED IN
Out of the Focs^l
by
jl. X..
The boys are beefing about the Liberty ships again and rightfully
sa They say if they could get two^ more knots put of those tubs «
great many of the ships would be saved and none of the crew lost.
Recently a Bull ship was lost when she was missed by two torpedoes
and the third caught her in the engine room and 12 brothers were lost.
On another Liberty ship Joe Wagner was Bosun and had two AB's with
him who had experience, and the rest aboard the tub we're Maritime
trainees. The Naval Intelligence comes aboard and pulls Joe, off for
questioning. They later claim its a case of mistaken identity. Who is
sabotaging the War effort now?
In Memory of
'Brother
Robert Hegeman, Oiler
1899 - 1943
Died in New York City
June 4,. 1943
Remember — Don't Sign
WSA-RMD Fink Cards
Attention All Agents
Beginning with this issue the
Seafarers Log will be published
weekly. In line •with the decisions
of the Agents' Conference, a week
ly news story will be expected
from each port. These stories must
be in New York on Monday of
each week. Spot news copy may
arrive on Tuesday.
<^4
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