http://seafarerslog.org/archives/files/original/e0b887f19705b56a671c7469b5085d8a.PDF f61ddbd2974729fecdf85af1e17f0fb5 PDF Text Text Official Organ of the Atlantic and Gulf District, Seafarers International Union of North America NEW YORK. N. Y.. FRIDAY. DECEMBER 6. 1946 Vol. VIII. General Strike Called By AFL In Oakland WALKING OFF THE JOB No. 49 Mine Case Decision is Seen As Periling Labor's Basic Rights OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 4—The American Fec^eration of Labor yesterday roared a militant ans­ wer to the use of police interfer­ WASHINGTON—In a far-reaching decision which, ence for imported strike-break­ ers by calling a general strike if left on the books, may limit labor's future rights, Jus­ which completly tied up this city tice Goldsborough found John L. Lewis and the members of 1,000,000 population. of the United Mine Workers, AFL, guilty of contempt, More than 130,000 members of the AFL unions answered the and fined the union $3,500,000. Mr. Lewis was personally strike call protesting the police fined $10,000. Joseph Padway and Welly K. Hopkins,' escort provided ofi •'Sunday for 12 attorneys for Mr. Lewis and the UMW, immediately made trucks carrying merchandise to two department stores through plans to appeal the decision, and execution of both parts picket lines established a month of the judgment were suspended ago by the stores' clerks. The until the appeal has been heard trucks, operated by an outfit call­ and action taken on it. ing itself the "Veterans Trucking Company," came from nearby The action of the court was not The phony reasons that the Los Angeles. unexpected. When both the State NMU is using to further de­ Following the strike call, thous­ and the Defense rested their lay the final accounting of ands of pickets massed around the cases on Tuesday, December 3, the 502 challenged votes in two stores whose owners refused Justice Goldsborough foimd Mr. to grant an election to determine the Isthmian election will be Lewis and the mine workers a collective bargaining aglent, brought to the attention of guilty of civil and criminal con­ after the AFL Retail Clerks tempt of court for refusing to the NLRB today. Union had signed up a majority These miners are calling it quits at a mine at West Frank­ work in accordance with the An informal conference at of the employees. fort. Illinois. The same story was repeated by over 400,000 union's traditional practice of "no the New York Regional of­ Although the two stores reminers, all members of the United Mine Workers, AFL. Al­ contract, no work." fice of the NLRB will de­ mainec^ open, very few persons though an injunction was taken out by the Government to re­ termine v/hether or not crossed the picket lines. All other REAFFIRMATION strain this action, the men. nevertheless, walked off the job. speedy disposition can be enterprise in the city was at a As soon as the decision was made of the NMU's unques­ standstill with restaurants, bars, read on Tuesday, and after His tionably false claims that food stores and theaters closed. Honor had set 10 a. m. Wednes­ have so far held up certifica­ Buses, street cars and taxi-cabs day for passing sentence, Mr. tion of the SIU as the bar­ stopped running. The four local Lewis was permitted to address gaining agent. newspapers were not published. the court. Elevator operators did not report The delaying tactics of +''0 His speech was full of mean­ at hotels and office buildings, and NMU are cheating the Isth­ Acting swiftly on complaints Snug Harbor were bought to the ing for workers everywhere and there was no work at several mian men out of representa­ that the old, retired seamen who attention of this Union by one of shows that he was prepared to shipyards. tion, and out of the wages and take his place with other labor CIO unions respected the AFL live at the Sailors Snug Harbor our members who lives in the conditions that are enjoyed leaders who have courted jail in on Staten Island are not receiv­ vicinity of the institution. He picketlines. by other SIU members on the Debs-Gompers tradition. by Last night, an AFL spokesman ing the high type of attention gained his knowledge by conver­ SlU-contracted ships. said that the "protest walkout" that the original endowfnent sations with some of the men who (Continued on Page 11) would continue tomorrow with provides for, the Seafarers Inter­ are at present residents. national Union this week sent a more workers being called out. From what he has heard, and AFL attorney James F. Galliano letter of protest to the director of passed along to us, it appears said the employers and city of­ the institution. that conditions at Snug Harbor Stating that "the Sailors .Snug are far below the conditions en­ ficials would have to take two steps before the strike would be Harbor is close to the hearts of joyed by seamen aboard ships of United States merchant seamen the American merchant fleet. If called off: 1. The strike-breakers who car­ who see in it a home for their old this is true, it is patently unfair fj ried the merchandise through the age," the letter, recounted" the to these men who have served DETROIT—Fred Farnen, Secre­ ILSU and the NMU, the Regional tary-Treasurer of the Great Lakes NLRB Board recommended that complaints that have been re­ picketlines must return to Los loyally over a long period of time ceived, and asked action to cor­ to reward them in such a poor Division of the Seafarers Inter­ the SIU be certified by the Na­ Angeles. national Union, last week i-e- tional Board as the collective bar­ 2. There must be "assurance by rect the existing, sub-par condi­ manner. ported that the Regional Board gaining agent for the Midlandresponsible city officials and civic tions. of the National Labor Relations Company. Their decision was COMPLAINTS OUTLINED The complaints specifically leaders that the City Council, un­ Board, located at Cleveland, forwarded to the Washington der pressure of influential em­ dealt with the poor quality and Specifically, here are the com­ Ohio, had handed down a de­ headquarters, and a report should ployer groups, will not use the preparation of the food, and with plaints. Poor food, heads the list, cision favorable to the SIU in be forthcoming in the near fu- ^| police department as the tool of the fact that residents are not but this is quickly followed by the case of the Midland Steam­ ture from the National Board. permitted to accept part time these groups." the protest against denying the ship Company. employment outside the grounds Since the recommendation has men the right to seek outside, In the Midland election held been sent to Washington, the. of the institution. part time employment. These last October, covering the seven Following is the complete text men maintain that they are ex­ ships operated by that company, LSU has filed another objection. of the letter, signed by Joseph However, Secretary - Treasurer There is. still a little lime H. Volpian, SIU Special Service pected to work in the handicraft the SIU was the victor, receiving Farnen says he is confident that to vote for officers of the At­ section of the institution where 64 per cent of the total ballots Representative: lantic and Gulf Districts for their earnings are limited to $10 cast. The phony Lakes Seamen's the Regional Board's decision will Mr. Howard A. Flynn, Governor 1947. Voting' cloCds on' De­ per month, when they could be Union—Independent, which chal­ be upheld, and that the SIU -will Sailors Snug Harbor cember 31. 1946. You can vote gainfully employed on the out­ lenged the results on some flimsy be certified as the bargaining New Brighton. in any SIU Hall, in whatever side for far more than that sum. excuses, received only 8 valid agent.- Then negotiations leading Staten Island. New York. to a contract can begin immedi­ port there is one established. They need the extra earnings in votes. Dear Mr. Flynn; ately, and Midland men will get It is your duty to vote, so do order to buy the many items and After throwing out the objec­ the SIU representation which it now. Very recently, the conditions tions of both the company union they voted overwhelmingly for, ' (Continued on 4) that exist at this lime at Sailors li "L -I isthmlaii Hearing SlU Takes Lead To Improve Conditions In Snug Harbor Regional NLRB Becision Upholds Seafarers In Midland Election Do It Now • ; i : I.. �Page Two THE SEAFARERS LOG Friday, December 6, 1946 SEAFARERS LOG ^Published Weekly by the SEAFARERS INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA Atlantic and Gulf District Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor At 51 Beaver Street, New York, 4, N. Y. HAnover 2-2784 ft ft Ift *. • HARRY LUNDEBERG ------- President 105 Market Street, San Francisco, Calif. JOHN HAWK - Secy-Treas. p. O. Box 2 5, Station P., New York City Entered as second class matter June 15, 1'945, at the Post Office in New York, N. Y., under the Act of August 24, 1912. 267 Promoting Unemployment Hardly a day goes by that one of the ponderous spokes­ men for the shipping industry doesn't gravely announce that the Maritime Industry of the United States is going to hell in a hand basket. They claim that our foreign • trade is decreasing, that foreign bottoms are well able to take care of the European and Far Eastern trade, and that American maritime trade will stabilize at about 20 per­ cent of the high peak hit during the war. All this would lead one to believe that the shipowners and the Goveimment would give earnest thought to what to do to decrease unemployment in the ranks of the seamen. But that is not so; what they are actually doing at this time is to go ahead with plans to train more and more embryo seamen, and in that way to flood the al­ ready overpopulated market. Announcement was made last week by the Maritime Commission that three of the largest training stations and two large training vessels will be kept in operation for the purpose of training unlicensed and licensed seamen. Thous­ ands of seamen were trained at these stations to man the .wartime cargo fleet, but with the greatly reduced status 'of shipping today, it is obvious that there is no further need for such schools. Of course, it can be clearly seen why the Govern­ ment and the shipowners are in favor of continuing such .a program. For them it represents a chance to train men, away from a union atmosphere, and to establish them as a source of anti-union infection in the union body. Second, it will create a vast pool of seamen, eager to ship out in the coming days of reduced shipping, who will fight like dogs for the few available jobs. When that hap­ pens the shipowner usually benefits. When there is a surplus of men for only a limited number of jobs, the employer cuts wages and standards with the certain knowledge that circumstances will force .men into taking any kind of job that comes along. It has been wisely said that the only way to train for .the sea is by sailing in the foc'sle as a seaman. No amount of training in landlocked stations and on supervised train­ ing voyages can take the place of actual experience as a working seaman. The Government has not set up any schools to train carpenters, shoe salesmen, or clerks. There is no reason why the seamen should have been singled out for particu• lar attention. In the merchant fleet of the United States, •there will be enough opportunity to completely train all the new people who could be absorbed into the industry. Any attempt to speed up this process is done for the :purpose of creating vast unemployment among seamen, and to have a ready source of scabs in the event that sea­ men find it necessary to go on strike to defend their jobs and living standards. Hospital Patients When entering the hospital notify the delegate by post­ card, giving your name and the number of your ward. Staten Island Hospital Men Mew bi lie Marine Hospitals These are Ihe Union Brothers currently in the marine hospitals, as reported by the Port Agents. These Brothers find time hanging heavily on their hands. Do what you can to cheer them up by writ­ ing to them. STATEN ISLAND HOSPITAL C. G. SMITH T. WADSWORTH S. G. LOPEZ R. G. M0SSELLER C. W. SMITH J. H. HARE W. G. H. BAUSE W. B. MUIR L. A. CORNWALL L. L. MOODY K. BELCHER C. M. LARSEN C. L. JACQUES L. KAY R. J. BLAKE J. B. PORTER . rS. H. DANIEL S. INTEGRA V. RODRIGUEZ S. RIVERA C. R. POTTER J. HALL J. M. FORD B. F. TROTTIE W. R. WELCOME P. DOMICA ft ft ft • GALVESTON HOSPITAL LONGKEMPT PAURGASON—SUP ALDERHOLDS KING MITCHELL DOWELL DEETRECH SWENSON CASTAGNERE—B.C. MULKE ft ft ft , BALTIMORE HOSPITAL RAYMOND VAN DREELE RALPH FREY ROBERT CAVENDER CARL SCHULTZ PETER LOPEZ VAYNE TROLLE FRANCIS O'BRIEN MOSES MORRIS MAX FINGERHUT MANUEL ROMERO MAAREUR ABDELKANDER PHILPJEFFERS ft ft ft NEW ORLEANS HOSPITAL NORMAN PALLME H. G. DARNELL JACINTO NAVARRO DALE BARNES CHARLES TILLER rK4RL PBTTERSSEN You can contact your Hos­ pital delegate at the Staten Island Hospital at the follow­ ing times: Tuesday—1:30 to 3:30 p. m. (on 5th and 8th floors) Thursday—1:30 to 3:30 p. m. (on 3rd and 4th floors.) Saturday—-1:30 to 3:30 p. m. (on 1st and 2nd floors.) J. W. DENNIS JAMES CANARD F. J. SOSS EMIL PAPIO MAX SEIDEL F. GARRETSON WILLIAM C. BARGONE EDWARD CUSTER EDWARD BROCE JR. DONALD BELL P. HAWKINS J. W. ATKINS W. QUARLES RALPH FRINK CENTRAL. MASON R. M. NOLAN ft ft ft NEPONSIT HOSPITAL H. BURKE J. S. COMPBELL B. BRYDER •B. LUFLIN E. VON TESMAR G.^F.McCOMB 'E. "FERRER R. BLAKE , J. R: HENCHEY J. FIGUEROA I ' -• , ^: j �Friday, DeevnilMsy $, 1946 THE SEAFARERS LOG Trade Unions Must Prepare Selves For The Coming Anti-Labor Drive By EARL SHEPPARD The Seafarers International Union is fully aware that in the days just ahead organized labor must be stronger than ever in order to stand off attacks against us from all sides. Strikes like the Miners and the AFL General Strike in Oakland, California are a tip-off as to the way injunctions and police-protected scabs will be used to weaken us. * It's easy to see the anti-labor trend in the hysterical newspaper editorials and radio broadcasts denouncing the "unlawful" power of the unions. Today, our labor movement is much stronger than after World War I. Then, indus­ try, government and other re­ actionary forces united in a com­ mon fight against labor and for the open shop. Today, the same forces are lining up for the same battle—to end the closed shop, and weaken labor's strength. This time the picture is a lot different. Organized labor — fif­ teen million strong in the AFL, CIO and Independent unions — will stand as one against any at­ tack upon their rights. Too many of our bj'others have lost their lives and too many of our heads have been bashed in fighting the cause of labor for us to let them down without staging the battle of our lives to protect labor's rights. TRUMAN'S DILEMMA Our bungling president, Harry Truman, has recently told friends and associates that he favors sweeping revision of the Wagner Labor Act. This is supposed to provide for the less preferential treatment of labor unions in their beefs with the"^ bosses. The confused Mr. Truman doesn't know which way to turn. Should he continue to pose as "labor's friend" giving us a stab in the back occasionally or should he become an open enemy of labor trying to win reactionary support? Another big business outfit, the U, S. Chamber of Commerce has recently come forward with their proposed leglislative program which would really put chains on organized labor. They are in favor of federal laws to outlaw the closed shop and otherwise hog-tie the labor unions so that the bosses will be able to have a big edge when bargaining with the unions. Not one of these outfits or in­ dividuals realizes that organized labor is here to stay. We are not some fly-by-night outfits ready to fall down at the first strong gust of wind. When are these guys going to learn that if they ever succeed in breaking the labor unions that they are going to bring the entire system of socalled. free enterprise tumbling about their, heads? FUTURE DEMOCRACY We don't pretend to be an ex­ pert economist or a specialist in politics, but we do know that the on^ chance for our democracy to grow and develop is for cap­ ital and industry to learn that they must bargain in good faith with labor. There would be no need for' paralyzing strikes like the miners, which the SIU fully supports, if government and industry would negotiate fairly with the unions. Unless they do bargain fairly, there will continue to be such un­ rest that such a thing as indus­ trial peace can never exist. There will be continuous warfare. If these " hate labor" men would stop for a moment to re­ alize that the labor movement is the largest section of the public, then they wouldn't be in such a hurry to cry about labor's .actions hurting the general public. Be­ cause organized labor has a voice and speaks out against all react­ ion, some individuals think that labor is separate from, rather than a part of, the public. One thing is certain, although we have built up an enviable record in the maritime field, and continue to do a good job in or­ Page tluee THERE IT IS ganizing the unorg',mized, the SIU must continue to grow and develop. We can't afford to stand still. However, the NMU is not miss­ ing a trick to try to hold up the certification of the Seafarers as bargaining agent for the Isth­ mian Fleet. Even though we have won this election, we can't neg­ otiate a contract until we are able to cut through the accumulated red tape. So, it might still be necessary to try a little job action in order to hurry things up. In line with the SIU's full speed ahead in organizing, a brand new Organizers Handbook will be out next week to spark the Seafarer's organizing efforts (Continued on Page 4) Sam Patterson For a man who has been going to sea for twenty-seven years, Samuel T. Patterson, .Steward, looks suprisingly young. Of course part of this can be explained by the fact that he made his first trip as a youth of 13, mut still and all, his many years at sea have left few marks on him. Brother Patterson was born in Jacksonville, Florida, where hfs father was a brick mason. Young Sam was supposed to follow in his father's footsteps, but early in life he decided that he would be unhappy if he did. So he ran away from home, and took his first job as messboy on the SS Apache, a passenger liner. "I have never actually regret­ ted this action," he says, "but being a brick mason would be a great that all the doors of the good trade to have at my finger­ Walker were broken loose from tips. I have been happy as a sea­ the hinges. man, and I take pride in my Besides this incident, Sam was work." on ships that were bombed "in every port of Europe," as he puts MAKES OWN WAY it. Livei-pool, Naples, Sicily, and Patterson really has worked his Bizerte, were a few of the places way up. From Messboy he ad­ where they were subjected to vanced through the other ratings bombing. until he was qualified to sail as "We were sure lucky," he re­ Chef. During the war he made calls. "Ships all around us were many trips as Chief Steward, but sunk, but we came through every­ he is looking forward to the time thing okay. I kept my fingers when he can again sail as Chef. crossed all the time, and 1 guess One of the memories he has of it worked." his early days will always stick UNION MAN with him. This was when the Brother Patterson has been a Apache rammed the SS Spring­ field off Eastport, Florida. Both good union man since the days of ships sank quickly; but happily, the •old ISU. When the Seafarers International Union was formed, there were no casualties. Having once made up his mind he joined and has been an active that he wanted to be a merchant member. During the SIU 1946 seaman, Patterson has never de­ General Strike he was in a hospi­ viated from that thought. Except tal, but he made it his business for short periods of time which to report to the Union Hall when­ he had to spend ashore as a re­ ever possible so that he could sult of ill health, he has sailed help out. Patterson is married and has steadily since his first taste of a two children. The eldest one, a seaman's life. The war years were boy, shows signs already of a no exception. preference for the sea. NEAR MISS "It's all right with me," says His worst experience during Sam, "but he has to finish his the war came on Septemlper 26, schooling first, and then he can 1943. He was aboai'd the SS Fran­ start to ship out. The sea has cis A. Walker, Eastern Steamship been kind to me, so it will be Company, when a torpedo missed okay for my son to make the mer­ the ship but hit the next one in chant marine his trade also." line in the convoy. Both ships Brother Patterson is a proud were loaded with high-octane gas­ man; proud of his family, proud oline, and the struck ship went of his job, and proud of his Union down immediately, with all and the job it is doing to improve hands. The concussion was so the lot of working seamen. •- -ass®' . «" Johnny Capps (right) and Jack Craig comment on letter that the bucko Fairland Skipper ivrote to the West Coast Sailor. Brother Capps gels his innings in story below. ( Fairland Skipper Really Threw His Weight Around "Everybody knows that a sea­ man's life is not peaches and cream," says Johnny Capps, AB, but very few people realize what we have to go through if the Skipper is a tough guy, or if the ship is a tub. And it was a lot worse before the Union got strong enough to fight for us." What brought on this tirade from Johnny were the happen­ ings on board the SS Fairland, Waterman Steamship Company, on the trip from Mobile to China. Capps made the ship at Pensacola on July 8, and right after that he was elected Ship's Dele­ gate. One of his first duties was to check the stores and slopchest. The stores were okay, but it was an entirely different story with the slopchest. In order to pro­ vide for the men's comfort on such a long trip, Capps recom­ mended to the Skipper that razor blades, cigarettes, and some ar­ ticles of clothing were needed. As it was, the slopchest contained only a few pairs of extra size pants. CHANGE OF HEART At first the Captain refused to put on the supplies, but as the ship put out to sea he promised that the slopchest would be re­ plenished when the ship came into San Pedro. However, once through the Canal Zone, he changed his mind. The ship made port at San Pedro on July 21, and when'the time came to throw off the lines to continue the voyage, the Cap­ tain started some more trouble. "I hate to say this about the Skipper," said Capps, "but he was drunk. I, wouldn't bring it up except that he wrote a letter to the West Coast Sailor in which he accused the members of the crew of being drunk. As far as I could see, the crew was feeling happy, but the Captain should have been the last one to talk." Drunk or sober, what the Mas­ ter did then was inekcusable. He first sent a Wiper and an OS to steer the vessel out of the har­ bor. When they refused to go, and when the crewmembers backed them up, he hit an AB„ and a Fireman, and then picked up the Chief Mate and threw him halfway across the deck. Seeing this, none of the crew wanted to sail with Ryan, so to a man they left the ship and sent to San Francisco for a Pa­ trolman. Capps went to tell the Skipper of the crew's decision, and in reply the Captain pulled a gun and ordered Capps off the ship. The morning the Patrolman showed up, immediately the Captain changed his attitude. He " promised that he would forget the whole matter if the crew would, that no charges would be brought against any member of the crew, and that he would not continue his harsh methods in the future. This was agreed to and the ship left San Pedro. LULL BEFORE STORM But the calmness was short-r lived. As soon as the ship was underway, the Skipper stated that evei'y man who had walked off the ship would be logged two days pay, plus the expense of holding up the ship. Capps kept his head about him, and as a con­ sequence none of the men signed the log. From then on it became even worse, if possible. The Skipper, who is a big fellow, threw his weight around and insisted that since he was the Master of the ship, everything would have to be done his way. "When we showed him the agreement," recalls Capps, "he threw it to the deck and said he didn't give a damn about the Union, the agreement, or any­ thing else. He used to like to bait the crew by making dirty cracks about the Union. But we kept our mouths closed, and that burn­ ed him up worst of all." In Shanghai they had a hear­ ing before the Coast Guard. After listening to all the evidence, and (Continued on Page 11) �Pag* Four THE SE AP ARERS LOG Attention Members! HlRE$Mfli ITHIMK All Departments When your ship docks, it is a good idea to have a list of necessary repairs to give to the Patrolman. This wiU help in letting the company know exactly what has to be done to get the ship in tip­ top condition. Seafarers don't have to sail beat-up ships. Do your part to make every ship a clean, well kept vessel. QUESTION:—Royf has the high cost of living affected you? RICHARD PINCKNEY. OS: As far as I am concerned, ris­ ing prices are going to make a homeless man out of me. When I am on the beach I usually stay at a hotel. Well, rooms at this hotel used to be $1.00 per night, and now they charge $2.00 to $3410 for rooms in the same place. X can't afford to pay those prices and still eat. And any food worth eating has gone way out of sight where price is concerned. The rich people can buy what they want because they have the dough, but we working stiffs have to do without. iiiiiil Seafarers Asks Improvements In Snug Harbor THOMAS WILLIAMS, Steward: The dollar is not worth a dol­ lar any more. It has become very difficult for a seaman to make both ends meet, especially when shipping is slow. For a while meat prices came down a little, but now they are climbing again and will probably go higher than they were. I recently bought a suit for $75.00. I used to spend only $25.00 for suits, and I give you my word that those suits were much better than the one I just bought. The same condi­ tion applies to shoes and other articles of clothing. RAY STANGLE, MM: The only thing that a man needs to live on that hasn't gone up in price is water. Everything else is so high that most people can't afford to eat decently, or to dress decently. Take me, for in­ stance. When I'm on the beach I like to go to a movie at night. Now movies are $1.25; so it's either pay that much or sit around with nothing to do. Food is also high, and most of it is not as good as you could buy for less money just a few months ago. No seamem can ship enough to make enough money to live on. GEORGE VAGO, Wiper: I'm still a single man so it isn't too bad for me. But even single men have to watch out. Cigaret­ tes used to be 15 cents per pack and now they are 20 cents. Shoes are twice as expensive as they used to be and they are not near­ ly as good. Food has gone so high that a man has to be a millionaire to get a square meal in most res­ taurants. My last trip was to Arabia, and when I returned I was surprised at how much prices had advanced in the short time I was away. (Continued from Page 1) articles that aid to their pleasure and their comfort. On the subject of food, they maintain that it is usually so poorly prepared and served, that it is unappetizing if not outright revolting. No attempt is being made to follow a sensible diet, and this added to the poor qual­ ity, has made mealtime a hard­ ship rather than a pleasure. In view of the fact that the Sailors Snug Harbor is one of the most richly endowed institutions in the world, and since this money is only being used at pres­ ent for the care and maintenance of 400 individuals, we believe that more attention should be paid to the quality and preparation of the food. Friday, Decambet 6. 1946 Now Is Time To initiate Four Watches On SlU Ships By JOSEPH S. BUCKLEY Some of the previous issues of the Seafarers Log have carried references by Paul Hall, in his column "Clearing the Deck," to the four watch system. We oldtime seamen realize that when all the ships go back into the hands of the private operators we shall have a great many Broth­ ers out of work due to the lack of jobs. put up a stink about lack of quarters and such bull, but we can easily pvercome these ob­ jections by pulling job actions at the point of production. That is the only language that the bully Shipowner understands. . Aboard a ship, in ^he engine room, a worker is in reality a slave. He is obedient to the clock and to the mechanical monster The four watch system is not who never seems to get enough an impossibility. It can become oil in the four hours it must be a reality if we endorse such a fed, if lie is on a four hour watch. program when we send our of­ END EXPLOITATION ficial representatives to negoti­ To meet the progress of science ate with the Isthmian Steamship we must reduce the hours of la­ Company when the time comes. bor so as to increase the manning The four watch system will power that the machine has taken lead to the creation of more jobs from us. The fewer men who are and less working hours for our employed, and the harder they membership. Cutting down the are worked, the greater profit for^ hours-of labor is the only method the shipowner and the rest of the seaman has to beat the un­ the thieves who represent the employment situation that will profit system of exploitation. face us withirf the near future. It is the duty of every indi­ By this means we will have vidual member of the Seafarers nine hours of leisure instead of International Union to back up the eight we now get; we will the drive of the Union officials have four oilers and four fire­ in this program to increase the men, and day men wil work six manning power aboard all SIUhours instead of the usual eight. contract ships. SAW IT WORK Bring the subject up in your Two years ago I fired coal on shipboard meetings, and in the the Great Lakes upder the four regular meetings ashore. Let us watch system. This was on an make that the prime object for SIU contracted ship out of South this coming year. Chicago. It worked out swell, Sincere, conscientious union and meal hours worked out okay, men can do anything if they are too. interested in fighting to create " Of course, Mr._ Shipowner will a "Brotherhood of the Sea." POOR ATTITUDE The well-being of the old men is tied up closely with the treat­ ment accorded them. Certainly anything that makes their every day life trying, such as poor food and denial of personal rights, tends to make them unhappy and ill. This institution was endowed for a specific purpose. On the basis of the complaints which we have received, we believe that the spirit and the letter of the endowment are not being carried out. We trust that you will look into this situation with an eye toward raising your standards to a parity with living conditions aboard SlU-contracted ships. If this mat­ ter must be taken up first with your Board of Trustees, we hope that that can be done without too much delay. The Sailors Snug Harbor is close to the hearts of the United States merchant seamen who see in it a secure home for their old age. For this reason, we hope that you will be able to dispel any doubts they may have regard­ ing the treatment they can expect in the future. Hoping that you will give this matter your prompt attention, and that we may hear from you in the near future, I remain. Very Truly Yours, Joseph H. Volpisn Special Services Representative Seafarers International Union, AFL. r ~ FROM THE LAKES The crew of the SS Rockwood, operating out of Chi­ cago, turned over $26.50 for the hospitalized seamen at Fort Stanton, New Mexico. \ Antl-Petrlllo Law Is Declared Unconstitutional By U.S. Court CHICAGO—The first test of the Lea Act, commonly called the anti-Petrillo law, resulted in the law being ruled unconstitu­ tional, and the criminal proceed­ ings against James C. Petrjllo, President of the American Feder­ ation of Musicians, AFL, being dismissed. The charges against Mr. Petrillo, filed last June 13 by United States Attorney J. Albert Woll, alleged that he used force and coercion to require radio station WAAF to employ more persons than it needed to conduct its business. This, it was charged, was a violation of the Lea Act. In an eight page opinion, hand­ ed down by Federal Judge Wal­ ter J. La Buy, it was held that the Act violates the fifth Amend­ ment because of the indefiniteness and uncertainty in the definition of a criminal offense; is in con­ tradiction to the first Amend­ ment which guarantees fi-eedom of speech; and violates the fifth and thirteenth Amendments by the restriction upon employment of labor. says that you can't discriminate, which is what this law called for." Boiled down to the simplest facts, the ruling upheld the right of peaceful picketing; the right of employes to leave their place of employment collectively as a means of ' enforcing their de­ mands; and the freedom of work­ ers to leave thir jobs at will or for no reason at all. The motion to 'dismiss the suit on the grounds of unconstitu­ tionality was made by Joseph A. Padwayi counsel for Mr. Pcfrillo and for the AFL. Labor Must Prepare For Coming Reaction (Continued from Page 3) U. S. TO APPEAL in the tanker and other fields. In addition, a couple of other organ­ izing leaflets are now being fin­ ished and should be ready for publication within the next two or three weeks. The organizing program of the SIU is not dor­ mant. It's jufet taking on more fuel for the big job that lies ahead. The United States Attorney said that the case would be im­ mediately appealed to the Su­ preme Court under provisions permitting questions on the con­ stitutionality of a specific act to be taken straight to the highest court in the land. At his headquarters, Mr. Petrillo issued a statement praising the court's action, and commented, "The Federal Court preaches and practices. free spech, democ­ racy, and Americanism when it Until every unorganized work­ er on the deep water, inland rivers, harbors, and Great Lakes is organized, there is still a job for the SIU to accomplish. We can't afford to rest until that job is finished, and its up to you as loyal Seafarers to help this pro­ gram to the utmost. It's your Union, Brothers, and it's your job as well as ours to see that everyunorganized seaman and water­ front worker becomes a member of the SIU. �THE SEAFARERS EOQ •Ftiday, December 6; 1946 Page Fire -- -i-- Traito Itoiomst^ In New GFleans Resent Commie WTaterfront Drive By BUCK STEPHENS Slow Shipping And Golil WeMhnr In Boston — Organizing Goes (to BOSTON—Winter has arrived in New England and made its advent with a pretty fair-sized blizzax'd, leaving a thin mantle of snow covering icy streets and sidewalks. The new Hall provides a;comfortable haven against this weather, and this morning's first call found between 150 and 200 members in the Hall, virtually all of them interested in about twenty jobs on the board. Two out of every three ships hitting here are foreign, and ap­ parently this trend is on the in­ crease. But if this sounds gloomy, it does not necessarily mean that we are without hope for a come­ back pretty soon. The Kyska paid off here on a Sunday. She came in here under the control of the Maritime Com­ mission and is going out today as a privately owned Waterman. She signs her foreign articles here, and it is rumored that more Waterman ships on the North Europe run will sign and payoff in Boston. If this should prove true, it will give the Branch a much-needed lift. successful in making valuable contacts. In this connection we have jtist received a most grat­ ifying letter from the SUP organ­ izer, Johhny Hansen, commend­ ing us for our work on a Stan­ dard tanker. PLAIN TO SEE The unorganized tanker com­ panies must be able to read the writing on the wall. They are going to be organized eventually, and may as well consent to elect­ ions and get it .over. -with.. Every Cities Service tanker contacted here is in good SIU shape; un­ questionably this outfit also will go the way of Isthmian. Well, the outlook for the com­ ing week is a little bit brighter. Waterman is putting the Niantic Victory in operation this week and will put on the crew within a few days. Whterman is also taking over the Abe Clark, formerly NMU, and will be crewing her up short­ ly. It is also expected that this company will operate the Sim­ mons Victory after this week. Silence, this week from the Branch Agents of - the follow­ ing. ports: CHARLESTON PORT ARTHUR HOUSTON NORFOLK JACKSONVILLE TAMPAx MOBILE CORPUS CHRISTI SAVANNAH Ditliith Last Sbipiiii^ Flurry As Close Of Lakes Season Nears By EINER NORDAAS DULUTH —We are getting the last rush of business here in Duluth before the season ends and everjdhing is coming at us at once. The weather has been quite bad and has held many of the ships out on the lakes until now, so they are all coming into port at once. Most of the ships that pull out of this port are on their final journey of the season with quite a few taking cargoes of grain. Today, ^wo Midland ships leave for Buffalo with three more leav­ ing in a couple of days, and then the port will be pretty barren for the rest of the winter. With a couple of Wesf Coast tankers scheduled for this week, DELAYS FREQUENT too, quite a few members should As far as the Eastern ships are be able to duck the cold weather concerned, delays have been fre­ mentioned ir, the opening para­ quent. Now it appears unlikely graph. that the first ship will be in com­ mission before January 15 — which means that 50 or 60 mem­ bers will be out of work that much longer. Of course, with Eastern oper­ ating regular service, a certain By JOE ALGINA amount of shipping business is guai'anteed. Then, too, the interDon't think that this story is NEW YORK — The beach has coastals have by no means re­ certainly cleared up here the last an isolated instance. I'll bet that turned to normal- since the West few days, and it is about time. there are quite a few seamen Coast strike ended. These have For a long period of time we around today who cannot afford always provided some additional were unable to ship due to our to buy the food and clothing that work for the port. own strike and the strike of our they need. And if thei'e are a In the meantime,, while the Brothers in the Masters, Mafgp, slump has been at its worst, there and Pilots. Now that all the has, strangely enough, been strikes have been settled on all plenty of work for all hands , in three coasts, shipping is picking the office. We still have to cover up, and the board has been list­ the ships, take care of beefs aris­ ing quite a few good jobs. ing on same, plus the ones that Of course, there is little chance come over the counter. And that shipping will hit the same these are legion when so many peak that it did in the heyday of members are on the beach for the war; but any improvement any length of time, a§ most of over what it has been in the them have been. past few months is all to the good.• Also, there is the organizing The people, shipowners, who work which is always going on, and in which this port has been begrudge us the salary increase we just gained, should take into considei-ation the fact that a sea­ couple of children, it makes the man usually works only nine or situation that much worse. ten months each year. Not that When the shipowners agreed he wouldn't like to work more; Pursuant to a recent de­ to our wage demands, price con­ it's just that there are not enough cision made by the member­ trol was still in effect. Our in­ jobs to keep all seamen employ­ ship, news from all the Lakes creases meant something then. ed-for any longer period of time. Port Agents appear on these But the way things are going pages. Although the Seafar­ HARD TIMES now, we didn't gain a damn ers Log is the official organ thing. of the Atlantic and Gulf Dis­ This situation, coupled with the The bosses think it is funny to trict only, it welcomes these rising prices, means that seamen reports and will publish are having a tough time making give a man a raise and then hike them whenever received. ends meet. I was speaking to one up prices even beyond the pid­ If any port in the Atlantic AB, a guy with two kids, and he dling raise. They don't lose any­ and Gulf- District does not fold me that his wife can't'afford thing, but the working stiff does. appear in the port pages, it is to serve meat more than twice Now the picture looks black, because the Log has not re­ each week. He says that his kids and only a decrease in prices, or ceived' any news from that don't get the milk they need, and an increase in wages with prices jporti. that keeping them in clothes remaining where they are, will and'shoes is an impossible job. answer the problem. Beach Clearing Rapidly In N.Y. With End Of Maritime Strikes LAKES NEWS •:•••• iJL NEW ORLEANS — The commies in this port are crying to high heaven about unity. Re­ cently they issued a pamphlet, endorsed by the Seamen's Club, Port of New Orleans Communist Party. This club is supposed to be composed of both AFL and CIO seamen. Only half of this statement is true, because while CIO seamen are members of the club and the communist party, no AFL sea­ man in this port, or in any other port that I know of, is a mem­ ber of^ the cdmmunist party or any of its clubs. In this leaflet the CMU is mentioned many times, and each time with a lot of flowery phrases There is very little need to re­ peat that shipping is slow, be­ cause in a matter of a few weeks there will be no shipping at all and we will have to sweat out the long cold winter with the Lakes frozen over, eagerly awaiting the ice break-up in the spring. Many SIU men are still around the port visiting the Midland ships before they leave to talk to the Midland seamen and take the Logs onto the ships, but most of the men have taken to the highways and points south. Some of the SIU men who have done excellent jobs on these Midland ships are Brothers Storval, Jen­ nings and Thompson, and they'll be back in the spring to renew organizational activity on the ships as they hit Duluth. The Duluth Hall will be kept open all winter and we invite you all to come around. Meetings will be held the first and third Monday of each month, at 7:30 P.M. I would like to take this op­ portunity to thank all members for the splendid cooperation given at all times during the 1946 season. I hope that you will all be back at the start of the 1947 season, so that we can continue our job of organizing the unor­ ganized into the Seafarers Inter­ national Union. about the unity and leadership of." the group. 'iV'e all know what a. part the CMU played in the last, maritime strikes, and-there is no question about what a disrupt tive force they were. LIE AFTER LIE The same pamphlet mentions ' the fact that shipowners, the Item (a local newspaper), and certain-; AFL officials are working to­ gether "to split the maritime^ unions" and that the climax of this action was a "fascist, stormtrooper attack upon a public meeting of the communist party." This is another complete lie be­ cause the names of all those tak^" ing part in the battle were pub- • lished in the local papers and all are local boys and good trade unionists. The meeting referred to was the 29th Anniversary of the Bol­ shevik Revolution. This was supposed to be a mass meeting for speeches and organization. Chief among the speakers were the incoming and outgoing chair­ men of the communist party in Lbuisiana. • Also present were some topnotch officials of the National Maritime Union; the Marine Cooks and Stewards; the Interr national Longshore Workers Union, as well as officials and members of other CIO unions. In the middle of the principle speech some seventy-odd people took objection to the un-Ameri­ can remarks of the speaker and started action to force him to keep quiet. Soon there was a small sized riot going on, and approximately 125 people were hauled off to the hoosegow. UNION OPPOSITION Those pleading guilty to dis­ turbing the peace were fined $2.50 The SIU men pleaded not guilty, and were able to get out on bond. Later in court, the case against them was dismissed. Seventeen of the comrades were fined $20.00 or ten days in jail, so that is proof that the re­ marks of the speaker were the main factors in causing the riot. All honest trade unionists in New Orleans are against commie infiltration in our trade unions. It is high time that we register our opposition to the communists and get to work clearing them out of the labor movement. The Patrolmen Say ... Hot and Cold Taking showers with cold water in the North Atlantic and in hot water in the tropics was the lot of the men of the Cape Mohegan until very recently. I went aboard this ship for a partial pay­ off and that beef was the first one handed me by the crew. They said that due to poor con­ struction of the vessel, the only way to take a cool bath in the hot climates is to go back to the old days and use a pail. •We talked with the Port En­ gineer and 'he said that nothing could be done about it since it had'already been taken up with the 'WSA and they had not done anything about it. I soon saw that I wasn't get­ ting anyplace, so a shipboard meeting was held and the men decided not to sign on until the necessary repairs had been made. "When I told, this to the Skipper, he called the Chief Engineer and with the blueprints in front of us, we traced the lines. Soon it became apparent what the trouble was. The tank that fed the showers was filled each time before the ship left for Puerto Rico, and was not filled until it returned because taking on water in Puerto Rico is il­ legal. That meant that the water stayed in a tank, open to the ele­ ments and was therefore hot in hot climates and cold when the ship got into northern weather. We decided to try an experi­ ment. From now on water will be pumped from the domestic . tank in small quantities so that it will have a chance to cool off in the tropics, and to heat up in the north. We hope that the plan will work.Claude Fishe» II �• T H B S E AF A R E RS LOG Page Six Baltimore Is Still Hotspot For Seafarers Organizing Drive BALTIMORE—While shipping from the Hall in Baltimore at present is going on at a lessened pace and a large numhor of men as still on the beach, the organi­ zers in Baltimore are being kept t'!; on the hop with quite a few unorp ganized vessels tying up at this port. Isthmian alone expects six of her ships in at any time, and or­ ganizer Max Beck is consider­ ing the hiring of a helicopter to get around to all the ships. Be­ THE RIGHT WAY !he important part the port of Baltimore played in the drive The magnitude of the Isthmian drive in itself is a hard thing to p-asp, and an amazing item in he campaign is the fact that durng the past six months 80 Isthnian ships touched this port n other words practically every hip in the Isthmian fleet at one ime or another during the past six months tied up in Baltimore. Each of these ships had to be met and the crews spoken to. It was fast and furious work while it lasted and there was little time to think of the tre­ mendous job being done. Time passed quickly and it wasn't un­ til the end of the campaign that the organizers were able to realize the magnificent job ac­ complished. Friday, Decembnr 6, 194e> V Engineer Has Very Dad Case Of Sour Grapes By RAY SWEENEY Joseph Santos studies the ballot before he enters the polling booth to make his choice of officers for 1947. Alert Crew Helps In Collecting 1500 Hours Disputed Overtime GALVESTON—Some guys just can't stand to see anyone make advances unless they make the same steps forward. What is even worse is that this time the guy who is trying to beat us down is an Engineer, a member of the MEBA, and we all know that if it hadn't been for our Union the MEBA would have lost its strike, sure as shooting. Ilcro is what happened. When our new agreements were signed we aU thought that there would be no further need for disputes since all work and overtime is pretty clearly explained. But that's not the way some guys figure, especially that Engineer. By BLACKIE CARDULLO Now that it is all over and the The SS Helen, Bull Lines, came MARCUS HOOK — We had conditions that we ourselves official announcement of the into port after the strike was set­ NLRB is awaited, Baltimore in quite a bit of activity in the port once worked under. tled. The new agreement was al­ Many of the boys we talk to taking stock finds itself high on this week, and shipping, haj^pickready in force, and the Skipper the list of factors that contributed ed up to a point where the die- are surprised when we tell them cause of this increased organiza­ to the resounding victory of the hard beachcombers are taking of the wages and conditions that and the Chief Engineer agreed to pay all the overtime that was in tional activity Mike Hook has SIU in its campaign to win the ships in self defense. have been achieved by the SIU. dispute at that time. So the Helen .been, added to the staff for the Isthmian fleet. The SS Council Crest paid off Once we get a chance to talk to sailed, and paid off in Baltimore time being. last week after a five month voy­ these boys, they are with us 100 without any trouble. Despite consistently unsuccess­ age, and as you can imagine, per cent. ful attempts in the past, Calmar HARD TIMES there was plenty of disputed ROMANCE. ROMANCE and Ore outfits are trying to overtime to be .settled. Luckily, Practically the whole crew ship finks aboard their vessels. We hope that this story will the crew was an exceptionally signed on again, but this time it . This finky maneuver requires, alert bunch of men who had prove to be the last chapter.in was different. As soon as the and is getting, the greatest of figured that something like this the history of one of our local ship sailed, one of the Engineers attention from the Union, and might happen, so they had been belles. She has been leading an started getting "snorty." He Baltimore is devoting quite a bit keeping any disputed overtime SIU member around by the nose, forced the Oiler and the FWT of its time to this problem. and every time she two-timed on separate sheets. By HENRY W. CHAPPELL to stand up all watch. He re­ Although shipping is at a re­ All this made it easy for us him, she said that she had been fused to blow tubes on Sunday. duced rate, the local office has out with one of her brothers, TOLEDO—Activity in this port been kept busy handling several is practically nil due to the im­ to settle the overtime to the com­ cousins, lincles, or what have you. In fact he did everything he could to cut overtime and to beefs, and at the same time Agent pending freeze over of the lakes, plete satisfaction of all concerned. This guy says that he didn't make the trip miserable. 'Curly -Rentz has been making and so all of our energies are be­ Everybody was paid in fuU, and get suspicious until she intro­ numerous changes in the Hall, ing expended in making contact in time to take off for home for It's not our fault that we were duced him to a Norwegian father, streamlining it with a view to with ships as they lay up, and Thanksgiving Dinner. With $1500 able to negotiate a better con­ one Spanish and one Irish broth­ reducing expenditures, and to in­ talking SIU to the non-union they must have been able to tract than they did. After all, er, and two uncles who spoke a rustle up a good time. sure a smoother running machine crews. we didn't force them to allow language that no one could iden­ to handle the many activities of ORGANIZING SUN OIL Harry Bridges to do their talk­ tify. In the short time that the To­ i that port. ing for them. It all goes to prove ledo Hall has been open we have It seems that this girl had all Organizing on the Sun Oil Personal friends of Johnny that if you get something good been particularly gratified at the Company is going full blast and I male relations and everyone a' Hatgimisios, Walter Haas and the and the other fellow doesn't, he turn-out of unorganized seamen hope that within a short time we seaman. Our advice to this guy other SIU men involved in a beef will go out of his way to deal you who have dropped in to give the is that a long whaling expedi­ • ihave contributed close to $1,'000 all the misery he can. Hall the look over. tion, say about three years long to give the boys a helping hand The Maiden Creek is in now, i.s tlie way to mend a broxen They find it a welcome relief in their fight to straighten mat­ and even with Morgan Hyle as heart. to be able to come in and sit ters out. In this way he can meet some Skipper all hands are happy as down in a Union Hall and be left FACTS ON ISTHMIAN nice mermaids who have no rela­ one big family. They had a swell to themselves without someone tives, and who won't double-cross feed on Thanksgiving, so that Now that the Isthmian cam^hem the political lowhim. I was enough to be thankful for. .paign has come to a close, and a In^eprialism m successful close for the SIU and American Imperialism Isthmian seamen, some interest­ in China. They're glad to visit a Hall ing facts come to light to show where the guys they meet are interested in the betterment of conditions for the seamen, and are concentrating all of their By STANLEY WARES energies in that direction instead will be able to say, "The SIU CLEVELAND—^Like most ports have of keeping up to date as to of shouting slogans of condem- Does It Again." on the Great Lakes at this time what each port is doing or plans This whole campaign is one By WILLIAM (CURLY) RENTZ of year, shipping is at a stand­ to do. BALTIMORE - Recent SIU activities in foreign coun- of the most unorthodox organiz­ still, and we expect it to remain Personally I must confess that tries. ing jobs ever undertaken by the ships which tied up here in Bal­ that way until next Spring. I am not a columnist, but when SIU. timore donated a total of $78.00 FOR SEAMEN In the meantime, with the cold the membership speaks I'll ful­ Whenever any of us go on the to Seafarers hospitalized in the By coming to the SIU Hall at waterfront to give out the SIU weather setting in, the fellows fill that request to the best of my .Marine Hospital helping them to •defray personal expenses while Summit Street in Toledo you Tanker News or to talk Union to who are not heading for the coast ability. So you can rest assured •they are recuperating. | of getting the facts any of the Sun Oil employes, we are hanging around the Hall un­ that I'll report whatever takes John Taurin of the Hospital story on the Great Lakes have to be careful that we are raveling their yarns of incidents place this winter in the port of they experienced during the past Cleveland. in an unadulterated form. Committee r e p o r.t s that the not seeh. If any of the company season. During the coming winter the The SIU has no axe to grind stooges see a man talking to us, anoney was received from crewIt's going to be hard to tell who Marine Council in this port ex­ anembers of the SS Claggett, politically, nor has it any em­ that man is fired the very next deserves that well-known medal, pects to meet to discuss ways '$50.00; SS George Gershwin, ployer to serve; the SIU is first day. because they sure are telling and means of being ready for any $23.00; and the SS Andrew Jack- and foremost a seamen's union It has gotten to the point where sbrhe dandies. emergency that may come up, made up of rank and file mem­ • soh, $5.00, and divided equally it is a game of hide and seek. At a regular meeting in Detroit We've seen how effective, it has among (;he following men giving bers who decide who their lead­ But with all their spotters and :each man $5.58. Francis R. ers will be, and what course of stooges, they haven't been able recently, the membership passed operated on the coasts, and yoM O'Brien, W. L. Gillespie, M. J. action the imion will follow. to stop us yet. We are continu­ a motion requesting the Agents can bet that we intend to make, Welsh/ Moses Morris, and H. W. Every seamen wants better ing to organize these Brothers in each port on the Lakes to sub­ it just as effective here on'the / ;Sherwin. conditions and higher wages and who are working under crimp mit an article each week to the Lakes. Seafarers Log. Also receiving the aid of their it is through a democratic Union More and more seamen on the Jhbughful Brothers were: Ralph like the SIU that the officials With the end of the season at Lakes and on the coast are find­ Prey, Max Fingerhut, Wayne wiU be urged to go out and fight hand I can hardly blame them ing put that the SIU is Uie only TroUe, Peter Lopez, Roy Justice, for better contracts for its mem­ for making that request, because Union in the field that is jn there •Carl Schultz, Raymond Von bership. That's the way a demo­ they will all be heading for parts fighting for them,- instead • .of Dreele, Albert D. Whitehouse, cratic union works, and that is imknown, and- those columns in wasting its time building, up the -wand Manuel Romero. the SIU. • the Log are the only way they political ambitions of party-liners: . * Unorganized Visit SiU Haii in Toiedo Crews Donate To Hospitalized Cleveland AFL Maritime Council To Hold Meeting During Winter �• Priday< December. 6, 1948. ' •••' '"r^'-v ;• • '•» TEE SEAPAR ER S LOG - " •• ' \ '"' • '"v: .:, r Page S4TMI V SHIPS' MINUTES AND NEWS:| Pilgrim Crewman's Injuries Laid To Unsafe Conditions CG Hangs Up WhenCOGoes To Lunch A charge that "unsafe working conditions" were re* sponsible for the injuries sustained bby Marion McClintoc aboard the SS Alcoa Pilgrim was made at a recent ship* board meeting held at sea. McClintov fell from a 15 foot boom he was working on during a heavy fog. The boon* Seafarer Fred Reppine long ago marked the Coast Guard as phony. He w^s convinced that it only had time for the prosecu­ tion of merchant seamen. Last week his convictions re­ ceived corroboration when he spotted. a newspaper item in which the Coast Guard figured prominently by its absence. Brother Reppine told of the amus­ ing incident in a letter. It seems that three East St. Louis, 111., policemen talked for an hour and a half to dissuade a war veteran from jumping from the Eads bridge over the Mis­ sissippi river while a desk ser­ geant tried to get a Coast Guard rescue boat to the scene. The veteran was finally drag­ ged back to safety, but the boat uhviiff "ffie Ovx;^I^V)^^, You U.|5 In a piexx, of C<vnvaS Sent in by the Baltimore branch, this poster is part of the campaign there for accident prevention. Knife Attack On 4 SIUMen Brings Consular Protest The American vice-consul in Santos, Brazil, has of­ ficially requested a complete report of the police investi­ gation of the attack made on four Seafarers by a band of armed hoodlums late last October 13. The men were re­ turning to their ship, the SS Walter Christensen, and were never showed up. The police ser­ geant said that when he phoned the Coast Guard station he was told: "Sorry, but the commanding officer is out eating. I'll tell him about it as soon as he gets back." Commenting on the Coast Guard's cessation of operations while the CO was out to chow. Brother Reppine says: I'll bet if it was a sailor who was going to jump off the bridge he would have lost his papers for about a year or more. "Next time the Coast Guard has my number, I think IH call them up and tell them I'm going to jump from a bridge. Perhaps in that way I can beat the rap." What would you do. Brother Reppine, if the Coast Guard told you it was going to jump off a bridge? just inside the dock's gate, when^ TEXT OF LETTER the gang set upon them with Mr. Arthur Parsloe knives. American Consul The attackers, after being Santos, Brazil driven off, escaped in the dark­ ness. None of the victims was Dear Sir: At about 11 p. m. on Oct. 13, injured. 1946, an unprovoked attack, in The consul's action, in which which knives were used, was he also urged the local police made on four members of the chief to adopt measures "to pre­ vent repetition of similar inci­ crew of this vessel just inside dents," followed an appeal to his the gate at the dock at the foot office by the Christensen's three of Rua General Camera. Ihese four men were return­ department delegates, after sev­ eral attempts to stir local au­ ing to the ship from a motion thorities into action were unsuc­ picture and were completely sober. We have endeavored to cessful. have this affair investigated by UNPROVOKED ATTACK the civil authorities, and at The attack on the four SIU every turn we have received crew men was entirely unpro­ very little cooperation. voked. The men, whose identity We feel that, as American was not disclosed, had left a citizens coming to this coun­ downtown Santos motion picture try as seamen, we have a right theatre. They headed directly for to representation from you in the vessel. The note to the con­ this matter-. .If you sirould not sul stressed that the men were take action satisfactory to us, completely sober. with the aim of suppressing . At 11 p. m. the Seafarers reach­ these attacks by unknown per­ ed the dock gate at the foot of sons, we intend to consult the Rua General Camera, where the State Dept. by cablegram. Christensen was tied up. They We feel sur-e, however, that were inside the gate, not far from you will give this matter your the ship, when the - attackers, immediate attention. knives in hand, sprang out of the RespectfuUy yours, darkness. Robert High, Deck DeL The noise of the ensuing Mike Hook, Engine DeL scuffle brought aid from the L. Glanville, Stew. Del. Christensen, and the hoodlums The consul took immediate.ac­ were routed; tion, informing the Christensen The civil authorities were noti­ crew members by Utter of his fied of the incident but the men official communication with . the received little cpopei'ation, they Santos police chief, requesting said. his report on the case, and the measirres to ' It was then that the following recorrrmendation letter was sent to the vice-consul: "prevent" recurrences. was rigged at a 10 degree angle.T The incident was reported to dunnage." They charged that he drove some of the crew to work., the meeting by Deck Delegate as much as 30 hours' handling: James Foster. Foster stated that and .stacking dunnage from oneon the day of the accident the pile to another. The men said, Bosun knocked the men off at they felt the Mate's methods con-<^ 9:30 a.m. due to the wet, slick tributed to accidents. condition of the decks and booms, Several other conditions aboard and the thick fog which shrouded the Pilgrim stirred the crew t<» the vessel. The Bosun judged action. It was moved and passedthese conditions as unsafe. that a communication be sent to "At 10:30 a.m.," Foster continu­ the New York Hall revealing two ed, "the Chief Mate came storm­ shortcomings on board. ing down and turned the men to The communication was to again." At about 11:30 a.m. Bro­ point out that, the ship had sailed ther Marion McClinicc, who is an from the United States and froirs excellent seamen, fell from the Trinidad, going north, withoutboom. winter gear. In Trinidad the- men. PUT "TO BED had asked the Captain for winter"The Bo.sun reported the ac­ wear. He told the Purser to give cident to the Chief Mate and the the men what they needed; Pui'ser right away. They confin­ though apparently the stock was^ ed the injured man to bed," Fost­ inadequate. The men said "we er said. understand that the law govern­ Continuing his report, Foster ing slopchests on board ships, stated that "the Chief Mate had reads that winter gear should be the other officers sign statements available at all times." saying that the booms were not SOAP SHORTAGES wet. Added to the comrnunieaiion Foster said that he immediately was the Black Gang Delegate's asked some 15 or 20 men to in­ report on shortages of soap and spect the booms. All found that soap powder. On board two the booms were wet. months, the men had made sev­ Foster pointed out that the eral requests of the First Assist­ Bosun who had ordered the men ant for soap, soap powder and to knock off was an oldtimer, lava soap, but were refused each, "who I'eally knew his business." time. The Delegate then went to The deck gang asailed the Chief the Chief Engineer, who was wiUMate's method of "marathoning ing to issue the soap and said he would order some in the next , port. Meanw-hiie, the First Assistantadmitted he had soap powder. He used it himself, but still refused. to issue it. Nils Gronberg served as chair­ man of the meeting, and L. W.The horse flesh enthusiasts at Highsmith was recording secre­ the Kingston, Jamaica, race track tarywaited patiently for the day's feature event. Last minute bet­ Had Tough Trip tors hurriedly sought out the book makers for a final fling. The start­ er was making feverish efforts to line up the nervous nags. Suddenly a deafening roar broke from the standi. To a man the spectators jumped to their feet. "They're off!" The amazing sight unfolding on the track had seasoned veterans proclaiming that never before had they witnessed such a spectacle of speed and reckless racing. His­ tory was being made at the Ja­ maica track. It couldn't even be called competition. CROWD WILD The crowd cheered crazily as the lead mount streaked the course. The nearest bit of horse hide to him was still stomping at the starting line. The shouts of Brother E. Maltson, the SS encouragement made a drunken Waltham Victory's Chief Stew­ din. ard on a recent South African "Get a horse," hoarsed the nag run had a hectic time trying wags. straighten out the food snari*Still the leader came, loaded resulting from short suppHea, with fire and fury. Mattson had a series .of scrapes Splitting the tense atmosphere at every, turn as he fought to (Continved on Page 8) get sufficient food for the men. Wiper Takes Handicap At Jamaica, BWI f- • -isi • •A • • "--J �r flr £ S E A P A R E R S L O G P99» EighS: Friday. December 6. 1946' DJgested RlUnutes^ Of SlU Sbi^ Meetings ,_AihoA- PILGRIM, OcL 3^ Chairman Nils Gronberg; Secret^r L. W. Highsmilh. New Bu«ixess7 nmtion-made to have hn written statement in regards to tbe treatment of the Deck Gah0 and present it to the American Consul. Motion made . that the overtime be signed as it is. written or be disputed as it is written.by,-the Chief Mate. I |Ood and Welfare: Chairman ronberg, gave-the members a ng talk on unionism and how i|ey should all stick together SI everything. A list of charges |as written and read to be pre|ntsd to the American Consul. RUTGERS VICTORY. Aug. 25—Chairman Albert Plaits; Secretary George L. Sawyer. Motions carried! to put out;bet­ ter night lunches; larger, quan^ titles and more variety; to ob­ tain an electric percolator; to obtain washing machine. Dis­ cussion of Officers receiving better food than crew. Beef about not having enough fresh fruit and vegetables. One min­ ute of silence observed for our lost brothers. t a,, i t LABEDO VICTORY. Oct. 27 i^Chairman Samuel Howard; Secretary Milburn Tuttle. DeleS^es reported everything okay. Motions carried: that upon ar;>val in port. Patrolman be re­ ferred to beef on Germans dumping garbage in pori; to see patrplman in regards to ship ijot , maintaining continuous gangway watch in port; that ;;Ipp- chest be checked and stored suitable to crew. Sug­ gested that a donation be made the Merchant Marine Library Association. This to be done at ^me of payoff in a spirit of good will and no one to be under obligation to contirbute. One minute of silence was ob.served in respect to lost rbothers. ^ t % Wiper Takes 'Jamaica 'Cap . (Continued from Page 7) like a peal of thunder, a voice boomed over the loud speaker: "Git thaht mahn off the cawse!" Like one big voice, the excite­ ment-hungry mob retorted: "Keep going." ;• HERE HE COMES For coming up the straightaway, a gofd two furlongs in the lead, ridiiig like a bat out of hell, came the "winnah". It was the SS Seaton's Wiper, mounted on a broken-down bicy­ cle, shirt-tails flying in the wind. t S. t M. V. SNAKEHEAD. Nov. 6 — Chairman. J. Lynch; Secre­ tary J. Reed. Motion carried to have Steward contact Captain in regards to weevils found in the crackers. Motion carried to have Agent in Trinidad make arrangements for exchange of food supplies of other ships go­ ing back to the states. Motion carried for the three delegates and the Steward to see Captain and check over the supply list of what is on hand. Discussion of cleanliness of quarters. All hands pledged their full support on the subject. X X t STR. WESCOAT. Nov. 18 — Chairman Henry Hanratty; Sec­ retary N. McLeod. New Busi­ ness: Motion carried to conta.-'t the Mate on supplying laundry soap to the deck crew. Motion carried to prepare final resol­ utions for future improvements and to have them ready for the final meeting with shore repre­ sentatives. Good and Welfare Motion carried to have a solid platform at ladder so men can get up and down without the fear of falling and causing ac­ cidents. X X % BELLE OF THE WEST. Sept. 10 — Chairman W. Dunham; Secretary F. Gardner. New Business: Motion carried to claim overtime for the man at the wheel who was ordered to leave the wheelhouse while the Captain set the iron mike on and to go on deck to work. Motion was carried to have no one pay off until ihe patrolman settles the disputed-overtime in the engine department. Motion made to check the slop chest, by. the patrolman since there wereinsufficent stores and also high prices charged. Motion carried to have the fans checked aft. Motion carried to have another utilityman for the pantry due to the fact that the proper work cannot be done without an­ other man. •vSirith a bottle of good old "Jamai­ ca" in one pocket and a bunch of bananas in the other. Old hands, at the track swore that the track's record was brok­ en that day in the face of a terri­ fic handicap. One leporter, who verefied this, said it was a handi­ cap indeed, for the bicycle's front tire was as. flat as an old hag's honeymoon. Wiper, by the way, was off the SS- William Seaton, out' of Nor­ folk, Va., and. sired by the Sea­ farers. He paid through the nose. 1 UNION'S GAWPAKS/J!) AND PROGRAMS ARE 8AS® ON YOUR BKfB.VoOR AlEHOS, /ANDYOIR DEMANDS IT IS "to YocJR Apy4Wp,GP TNAT THP OMm! KA/OWS •How YoUTPEL oN com}i[ ISSUES. A\AK6YOU/<ISELF XXX MV SNAKESHEAD. Nov. IB •—^Chairman Jack Lynch; Sce^ retary Gordon Marbury. Dis­ cussion of food shortages and the necessity of the ship being fumigated. Discussion of - Deck department overtime. Agreed to see Chief Engineer about sougeeing and painting En­ gineer's quarters and passage­ ways. Agreed.to wire N. Y; Hall for copies of new agreement. Motion. carried to see Purser about stores that were short. •HEARD ! J CUT and RUN X X X WALTER M. CHRISTIAN­ SEN. Aug. 7.*—Chairman. Ralph Garrett; Secretary Bob High. Motions carried: that the three delegates check the needed supplies and: slop chest with the cooperation of the Patrol­ man; that the three delegates draw up a list of offenses and fines to be lived up to by the crew, amendment that the money collected by turned over to the Baltimore Marine Hos­ pital. Motion carried that a reg­ ular meeting to be held every Wedhesday night. One minute of silence was observed for brothers lost at sea. XXX F. H. KING. Nov. 13—Chair­ man G. R. Rood; Secretary G. E. Taylor. Motions carried: to have the Second Mate investi­ gated by the SIU; that the First Mate be kept off of all SIU ships as he is not qualified to sail as Chief Mate. Motions car­ ried: that the Chief Mate also be investigated by the SIU; that two delegates from the crew contact the shore Patrolman up­ on arrival in the states and that all hands be sober at time of payoff. SIU Men Injured In Rescue Of Motor Ship Off Azores Working in high winds, the Janeway crew succeeded in tos­ sing a line aboard the disabled Portugese motorship Alger at 2:30 p. m. Nov. 21. Several Sea­ farers were injured during the operation when a large sea crashed over the stern of the Janev/ay. Adverse conditions had prevented a rescue attempt the previous afternoon. The Janeway arrived along­ side the Alger in response to an SOS picked up the morning of Nov. 20. The stricken vessel was drifting helplessly, after her en­ gine failed completely. She was bound for the Azores from New­ foundland. With darkness falling over the heavy seas, the Jane­ way waited until morning to ef­ fect the. rescue. ... AT MEmWSS — BY''W/RE;MAIL,-OR E\/EM CARRIER PfSBOrJ- While the Janeway was getting in position to shoot a line aboard the Portugese ship, a large sea cascaded over her stern injuring several Seafarers. The rescue attemps continued, the line was thrown aboard the Alger and she was taken in tow. By HANK Well, Old Man Winter finally blew into town with full force this week and; it seems he's going to stay for awhile—while the membership is waiting for retroactive pay, stretching those remain­ ing rubber nickels and keeping their eyes on the board for those ships . . . We saw Brother Tannehill, one of our best organizers, drop into our town for a short visit from home country down in the Gulf. And with a big happy smile. Brother Tannehill said he was going back—also revealing the fact that Moon Koons shipped out as AB for hotter country . . . One of our shipmates, Weaver Manning, the Deck Engineer, looked at us through his glasses this week and instead of saying that we looked like we were losing weight (due to one week of husbandry or For Whom The Dollars Toll Now) he said, with an easy flip of the lip, that our column was getting short­ er—of fresh news, he meant, of course. Well. To Each His Own and may the rip-roaring Repub­ licans cut those 20 per cent taxes off our necks, we still get hot flashes of good news. For example, from upper circles we are informed of the very happy fact that Brother Warren Callahan, former organizer, kite-flyer, and now a Brooklyn shipyard stiff, just became the proud and joyful father of a baby. Congratula­ tions. Pop, good health to all concerned, and even if you don't mail us a cigar—we'll still say. Congratulations! Well, while Pete. Bush went down to Baltimore to see how his brother is getting along. Pete's shipmate. Bosun Bera Smyley up here in New- York, had a little celebration of his birthday this past Tuesday with his girl, Helen. Steve DiGirolmo and his mustache just shipped out this week for European ports—^hoping the ship hits Copenhagen, especially . . . We've just remembered it—so we'll mention the fact that Broth'er Guy Whitehurst, the electrician, who always keeps laughing and smiling, was the Preaching Parson of the Murmansk run with Paul the Dispatcher, who probably has just finished dispatching a little bit of an illness by now . . . Vic Combs, full of electricity and poetry, is at present full of whispers. He can't talk because he has a cold—and he has a cold because he's over-weight. Say, Vic, we'll tak'e your weight and your coTd, too. We' can't stand it staying so healthy and underweight, you know. X X: X X One brother on the second floor showed a copy of. Life magazine which had designs and explanations of some darn : The two vessels arrived in Ponta Delgada. five days later machinery, for ships which will do away with Oilers. Someone after weathering the effects of naturally answered that bit of atomic news with the words: the tail end of: a hurricane. "Don't worry. son. you'II be old and gray before you'll see- it in It was reported that all hands all ships. .You see. kid, you shouldn't read these crazy magaaboard the Janeway performed ' zinesi anyway. It spoils your appetite for the sea'.'—or does it; ably in getting the line to the ' indeed? . . . Jinuny McCuIIough. poker; champ, gigolo - and' Alger and keeping her in tow. Brooklyn's first citizen, hasn't eaten a decent meal; since, he The Janeway was en route to left, the Moran tug* the Pointer. Anyway. Jimmy send^ his re-, the States from Antwerp, Bel­ gards to "Red" Morris and wonders why "Red" didn't run gium, when she answered the Alger's call for help. this election. We don't know, so tell him. "Red." �Curran Has Program To Rid Union Of Commies—^He Says Dear Editor: In the November issue of the Readers Digest I came across an article by William Hard and Fred­ rick J. O. Blachly, titled "Com­ munists Invited Out." This article refers lu the various CIO Unions who are claiming to have rid themselves of commie influence. Among these labor leaders is a comment by Joe Curran giving isix different methods as to how commies can be removed from the NMU. His sixth lesson says the union member must not put politics before union policies. Coming from Joe Curran that calls for a laugh. During this past strike when Paul Hall, chairman of the AFL Maritime Trades Department was assisting the Masters, Mates and Pilots to keep their ranks free of commie influence, it was the same Joe Curran who blasted Paul Hall as a "Johnny-come-latcly," also setting upon Hall and other union members with a commie goon squad from the NMU hall. If Joe Curran is sincere in his talk on the subject of ridding com- personal belief, is the best in the Maritime Indu.stry and will be a pleasure to work with on the job. The prayer of the Communist Party today is: Father Lenin teach me to be a better liar, a better cheat. Teach me the hest. method to gain power, do not let me be weak as I obey your com­ mandments of your Moscow re­ ligion. Give me a Strong Mind that I can sing "Hosanna" to your glory and you will reward me for my party loyalty. For a worker to trust any com­ munist, no matter how close the friendship, is to insult that man by presuming that he is or will be false to the cardinal precepts of his religion of stool-pigeonry. The workers in the marine indus­ try who have not grasped the facts should study the marine history of the party for the past fifteen years. We, who have been fighting these contemptible political rats these many years, hope some day all American workers will open their eyes to the filthy philosophy these people have been preaching under the guise of unionism. Joe Buckley Baltimore Log -A-Rhythms The amiable chums above, Henry Wykosky (left) and John Hassin are old buddies as you can see. They posed for this shot aboard the SS Laredo yictory while on a recent trip. Both Seafarers have been ship­ ping out of Baltimore for al­ most five years and during that time they have managed to be aboard the same ship. Here's hoping they have many more happy days of sailing as a tecim. Coal Strike Crucible Test For All Organized Labor Dear Editor: munists from the NMU, why does he back the PAC which any sens­ ible worker knows is commie con­ trolled? CP CORRUPTS CHARACTER The members of the Commu­ nist Party are not rats by reason of their character, but are rats by reason of their religion. For a party member to be a stool-pigeon on his fellow-workers on the job, on his fellow-workers in the party, on his relatives — these things aae expected of him and the fact that he sees not the per­ gonal shame and degradation in these actions is proof positive of the extent to which his disease of rattery has corrupted his mind. Because the policy of the Sea­ farers International Union has always been for "Direct-Action," leaving politics in the street upon entering the union hall where the worker is only concerned in bat­ tling for wages and collective bargaining; because our elected union officials use the method of direct-action to put across good rank-and-file unionism they are called ship-owners' stooges by such as Joe Curran, who since his election, has done nothing but tell his members to rely upon politicians to better their condi­ tions. PROUD SEAFARERS The members of the Seafarers can be proud that we have union officials able to put across the present contract, which, in my I predict a nation-wide work stoppage by the AFL, in support of John L. Lewis and his United Mine Workers. No matter what your private opinion of John L. may be, don't forget history is in the making, and he'll be making it. Let's hope the strike will be short-lived, but it appears the battle will be long and drawn out. Truman, who no longer rates the title of President, has chosen to back one of his henchmen, who thinks he should dictate the coal industry in a manner that the boldest of coal operators never dreamed of being able to do. WITHIN HIS RIGHTS Let us examine the facts. The government signed a contract with John L. a few months ago. John L. then legally declared the contract null and void. A federal judge ordered him to rescind his order and keep the miners at work. Even if John L. had a mind to, he could not tell the miners what to do. Things have changed in the past decade. Few people in this country now can't read or write English. And most of them think a little. They can read the daily press and see through its deceptions. The precedent that may be set in this controversy will affect labor very seriously in the future. It must be settled in labor's favor, or the result will be a terrible blow from which we might never rally. The final goal must be reached if it requires a general strike, or even revolution. The upper class are certainly asking for revolution. The Re­ publicans now in control of Con­ gress have avowed their inten­ •» Just a few lines to extend my thanks for the bundle of Logs that were sent to us, the crewSouth African Blues members of the SS William Brewster Alcoa Steamship Com­ By RAY LICHON pany, in Port Alfrerk Canada.' The Logs were enjoyed very We sailed out of Capetown., one much by all the crew. bright July day. The new agreement printed in With the Sea Dolphin's bov/ head­ the Nov. 1 issue interested us ed down the bay. very much as we could not see We drifted along on a tide;: the light without it. We will We were shoreless on every sidew Beyond the gray, lazy seas have to start working on a pay Of summer's utmost boundaries. difference for the Bosun as they Beyond the sands. Beyond the did not get a raise to meet the seas, ^ responsibility they have. Any Beyond the range of eyes Ukii^ these, way, here is a cheer for the newThere lies a land, long lost agreement. and for the boys that, me— '' hit the bricks to make it stick. A land of liberty. I believe that a few brothers would be interested to hear that "Top n' lift" Fowler was on this bucket of bolts, but got off last month in Halifax. How he does it, I don't know. We thought we were on a six week bauxite run, but old Alcoa has us shuttling between S. A. and Canada and now they want to send us to Fi-ance after we have been on this tub three months already. Please send the latest Logs to Hotel DeParis, Port of Spain, tion of curbing labor, which Trinidad. All sailors hang the would mean slavery. But_ these hook there. men and those that hire them "Chiseler" Walsh are not interested in humanity, but rather their pocketboboks. Dazed men sing their melody; "O, such a land, with such a sei' Kissing its shores eternally.' A land where music ever fills air • With choruses of singing birds: 2 A land of love and dream^ thoughts. And shining fields with shaded spots 2 Embossed with wild-forget-menots Swinging between the blue of sea and sky. Watching clouds passing by." So we drop our dreamy eyes'So where our reflection lies Steeped in the sea, and in £.4 endless fit Of languor, we smile on it. SUPPORT LEWIS Support Lewis to the hilt, if you desire any semblance of freedom. In the next election, organize a labor party and elect its candi­ dates. But don't be misled by the Hillihans and Joe Currans, who would have you believe they are for the working class. They are merely the tools of another type of dictatorship worse than the one now threating the nation. Despite the stories in the press, it would be hard to prove that Lewis' actions are not to the lik­ BROTHER OBJECTS TO FINES ing of the majority of the miners. There have been great strides IMPOSED ABOARD VESSELS made in the last few years to In a recent issue of the Log there were several reports in ship'a eliminate the type of labor leader minutes of action taken aboard to fine members of the crew • fo^ the press would have you believe various offenses, such as leaving cups in the messhall, comin|f Lewis is. aboard drunk, leaving dirt in the recreation room, etc. , SIU TO HIS LIKING I would like to know if a ship's crew has the right to le'vy these Our organization is the type I fines. I believe the proper procedure is to bring major offenders u^ go for. It is strictly democratic. on charges when the ship arrives in port. Then the men can bq^ I have never been able to find tried on charges by a trial committee, without personal grudgeV any reason to believe otherwise. affecting the decision. Keep it that way fellows. At the What are some of the members trying to do—set up a new^ same time it is necessary to sup­ Constitution? Do not act like babies. Brothers. Most of the charge^ji. port any labor organization fight­ mentioned can be easily settled aboard ship, and if there are ing for labor's fundamental treme cases the offending Brothers can be brought before a fai^., rights. trial board. Congratulations on the recent No courts, please. victory over some of the other Ed Kelly would-be dictators. Continue the ft -iS fight against the Coast Guard. Answer: Whaf fhe Brothers have done is a purely volunStraighten out the marine hospi­ alry measure, agreed to by all hands, to make living aboard tal beef; clean them up. ship bearable and clean. It is the means the crew members have -^1 I Say hello to Harry, Whitey, decided upon to handle minor offenses. Which are not serious Paul and all the boys I know enough to bring a man up on charges. However, there is noth­ personally, and thanks for the ing in the Constitution which says that a man can be brought Log each week. up on charges for failure to pay such a fine—an offender does Ml so voluntarily. Ira E. Bishop Alton. 111. ='i �Chicago Ships Begin Tying Up As Winter Halts Lakes Shipping By HERBERT JANSEN CHICAGO—Shipping has de- I but arc approved at regular ••finitely bogged down here in the meetings held as the constitution Windy City, with almost all ships specifies. Every member has his tying up to their winter berths. fright to vote yes or no for any . However, the sand boats are still , point brought up for a vote at going full swing and will oper- ' that time. f. ate until the ice stops them. All this bickering over provi­ 'I- From all reports that have sions that are not in the con^Gome in, the only passenger ship I tract, or the ignoring of clauses "^hat^will operate during the win- that are stipulated therein, only rtter will be the Milwaukee Clip- I makes for hardships for the ^'jper.' She'll continue the milk run Union enforcement apparatus. across Lake Michigan between Let's all live up to the contracts; •^'Muskegon, Michigan and Mil- for if the shipowners don't live Vwaukee, Wisconsin. up to them we make it a point Now that most of the ships ai"e .-lying up, preparations are being ^irnade to draw up new conti'acts tfpr 1947. These'contracts will be ' presented to the shipowners in fhe next two months, and all "of Ihe clauses in the contracts have "been approved by the member­ ship at meetings held at SIU •Halls in all Great Lakes ports. TIME FOR VOICE I mention this approval of the 'clauses by the membership for a purpose, as many times in the middle of the season some guy "will bring up a beef that he thinlts should have been covered in the contract. Usually the beef is a bum one, and I try to explain that he had his opportunity to express him­ self when the clauses were voted upon by the membership, and he will have to wait until the next contracts are drawn up. Also I try to impress upon him that these contracts are not made in a saloon, or changed every time some individual gets an idea in the middle of the season, to jump on them, and we are put in an undesirable position when the shipownei's point out that the union members are not bothering to live up to their half of the agreement. To insure having complete knowledge of the contracts and all of the provisions set forth within them, I urge all members to attend as many union meet­ ings as possible, and if an un­ satisfactory situation exists in a contract, let your Brother mem­ bers know about it at the meet­ ings, for you are the fellows who know what the score is aboard your ships. DEPARTED BROTHER I am sorry to report that Broth­ er Leo Sharon, better known as "Peg Leg" was killed in an auto­ mobile accident in, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. "Peg Leg" had many friends on the Lakes and will be missed by all Seafarers on the Lakes. The services and interment of Brother Sharon will be taken care of by the Union. Recapitulation Shows Seafarers Wpn Big Gains On Great Lakes By WILLIAM STEVENSON DETROIT—Now that the 1946 season on the Great Lakes is al­ most at an end it is a good time to pause and reflect upon what we have accomplished during the past year. On the asset side of- the ledger, and everything was on that side this year, we have increased the wages for seamen on the Lakes, gained overtime for Saturday af­ ternoon in port, and Sunday at all times. Great Lakes District receipts when paying their money. These receipts should be kept handy, for we have had numer­ ous cases where members have brought in their membership books and showed us where they were in good standing while our records held that they were in arrears for six, eight and in some instances ten months. This is due to the fact that the records have not been forward­ ed to this district. So I want to caution all Great Lakes men to check your records when in De­ troit and keep receipts of all money paid on the coast so we can write and have them for­ This was a big year for the SIU warded to Detroit. on the Lakes and we are not go­ One of the many oldtimers who ing to allow ourselves to rest on our laurels. During the winter are daily showing their faces jponths we will be planning around the Hall is Brother Dan strategy for the new organizing "far Down" Gallagher, whom I ^ork to be done next year, and haven't seen since I was last in although it is early for New Duluth. Years resolutions there is one Brother Gallagher is looking that we can make already, and that is to carry the name of the fine after his so-called "vacation" • SIU to all unorganized seamen on with Uncle Sam. Too bad Uncle the Great Lakes and sell them Sam didn't board him for these on the best union in the maritime cold winter months and let him loose to run around the lakes in field. A word to the Great Lakes the far off springtime. We have increased the mem­ bership of the SIU on the Lakes, improved our Hall here in De­ troit and opened new ones, and we have put our finances in a more stable position to carry out our campaigns next spring. i^.r' FiidBkT' DaoMnber 6, 1846 TBE SEAFARERS LOG Page Ta* District men who have been working on the coast. Any SIU members who are working on the coast and paying dues, as­ sessments, etc., should ask for We'll keep him in cold storage, however, until the drive begins in the spring and then we'll turn him loose on the unorganized ships. Voted Yet? Don't feel bad when voting has ended because you failed to vote. Once each year SIU members elect the officers who will lead them for the ensuing year. This is your chance, so make the most of it. From the way reports have been coming in it is ap­ parent that all SIU men are interested in having their say. That is why more votes are being cast in this election than were ever cast before. Have you voted yet? NMU Leadership Flouts Choice Of Isthmian Men By LOUIS QOFFIN NEW YORK — Reqently the votes cast in the Isthmian elec­ tion showed that the majority of the Isthmian seamen had chosen the SIU as their representative in collective bargaining with the Isthmian Steamship Company.The total vote counted showed that the SIU had garnered a ma­ jority of the votes. Nevertheless, the so-called leaders of the NMU challenged a number of votes knowing full well that the chal­ lenged votes, if counted, would increase the SIU majority. Through their challenge they are depriving the Isthmian sea­ men of the immediate negotia­ tions between the SIU and the company, so they can gain the same high .standards as the SIU seamen are' enjoying. I have had a few conversations with various rank and file sea­ men of the NMU, and they read­ ily admit that the SIU has won the election. They are very dis­ appointed in their leaders' actions in refusing admittance that the SIU has won the election. Though these seamen are good union men, and in the majority, it is unfortunate that they are too well controlled by their commie leaders to be able to express their sentiments. PLAYING THE GAME So now we see the majority of the NMU in favor of giving the seamen of the Isthmian line the right to choose the SIU as their collective bargaining agents which was won, and the minority of the NMU continuing to play the shipowners' game by stalling through their phony challenges and accusations. In the meantime the men who are suffering from this phony action are the seamen and not the NMU's sidekicks, the ship­ owners. Someday we hope to see the rank and file" of the NMU rouse themselves, and throw out their I commie leaders, and elect true seamen like themselves as their leaders. Until that day, we can only say that the minority will continue to lead the majority around by the nose. By JOE VOLPIAN You all know that after a long and tough trip, some of us are bound to blow our tops, but before you do, stop and think what your reaction would be if one of your Brothers acted the way you're going to act. In order to make the boys think twice about what they do or don't do, certain offenses have been frowned upon by the Gov­ ernment. and have been ma^e punishable by either loss of your papers or by logging. We will try to give you a brief resume of what these offenses consist of and their punishment. 1. For deserting a ship, the loss of all the seaman's gear he leaves aboard and further loss of all or any part of his earned wages, and other emoluments arising there­ from: bonuses, overtime, etc. 2. For neglecting or refusing without a reason to join the ship or to proceed to sea, or for ab­ sence without leave within _ 24 hours of the ship's sailing from any port; or for absence at any time without leave and permis­ sion from the ship and from his duty, not amounting to desertion, the penalty shall be forfeiture of not more than two days pay or enough to pay the expen,ses of hiring a substitute. 3. For quitting the ship with- Buffalo Reports SIU Enjoyed Record Shipping By ALEX McLEAN BUFFALO — The biggest con­ centration of grain ships to hit this port, in two years is at pres­ ent tied up here in Buffalo with 32 -grain laden ships soon to ar­ rive for unloading, and follow­ ing them 16 ships are on their way in with grain for winter storage. This tremendously large num­ ber of ships running in out of here is keeping all of us on our toes as we are trying to contact them all with the limited num­ ber of men who are still around. Time is short,- and we don't have much time to devote to each ship as they are all trying to beat old man winter who is wasting no time in tying up the Lakes. Already snow and free2ing temperatures are upon us and no doubt some of the ships will be caught in the freeze , as happens every yegr, and there will be the usual pictures of ships caught out in the ice. Checks are being held here at the Hall from the Erie Sand Steamship Company's vessel SS Scobell for H. F. Fitzsimmons, Chester Madrak, Walter Quick, R. Tucci, M. A. Bouchry and R. L. Bosshart. Also a check for Stephen Kelly from the McCar­ thy Steamship Lines. In the Marine Hospital here in Buffalo the following Brothers are laid up: Francis Campbell, William Lindbloom, Allan Ott, and Roy Murray. Recently Bro­ ther John Crombie, a good Sea­ farer and in good standing, died at the Marine Hospital and his burial was handled by the Union. out leave after her arrival at the final port of destination, and be­ fore she is secured, by forfeiting not more than one month's pay. 4. For wilful- disobedience to any lawful command at sea, by being placed in irons yntil the seaman obeys, and upon arrival in port, by forfeiture of not more than four days pay or at the dis­ cretion of the court, by imprison­ ment for not more than one month. 5. For continued wilful dis­ obedience to a lawful command or continued wilful neglect at sea, by being placed in irons on bread and water with full rations every fifth day until such diso­ bedience shall stop; and upon arrival in port, by forfeiture for every twenty-four hours contin­ uance of such disobedience or neglect, of not more than twelve days pay or by imprisonment for three months. 6. For assaulting any Master, Mate, Pilot, Engineer or Staff Of­ ficer, by imprisonment of not more than two years. 7. For Wilfully damaging the ship or embezzling, or wilfully damaging any of the stores or cargo, by forfeiture out of his wages of a sum equal to the lo.ss sustained by the ship and also by imprisonment for not more than one year. 8. For smuggling, whereby loss or damage is caused to the Master or owner, the seaman shall be liable to pay such Master or own­ er for such loss or damage, and all his wages may be retained in satisfaction or on account of such loss and he shall also be liable to imprisonment for not more than one year. These, are pretty stiff penalties; but very often they are justified, because once in awhile you get a performer aboard a ship who makes it bad not only for himself, but for the crew and the Union. Always remember that you are a Union man, and anything that you do will be - held not only against you but against the en­ tire Union. The Patrolmen Say— Follow Rules NEW YORK—Article 32 of the Shipping Rules is being broken by men who either do no un­ derstand it, or who are breaking it deliberately in order to keep their job and also have time offl It is the duty of every member to make sure that any man who gets time off calls for a standby man. If a man quits a ship, he should have the Ships Delegate call in for a replacement. Members should remember Ar­ ticle 32, which read: "In the event an employed member wants time off, he .shall have the Ships Delegate call the Union Hall and secure a relief, and shall pay the relief himself at the regular overtime rate as per the agreement, and no re­ liefs will be furnished for less than four hour periods. Three days shall be the limit such re­ liefs are furnished. This shall not apply when replacements are not necessary." Johxmy Johnston �..,- . - • ; Friday, December 6, 1946 THE SEAFARERS LOG .Page Eleven 1 :'.5 3 NOTICE! (Continued from Page I) refusing to obey the court's de­ cree. "The history of the labor in­ junction prior to 1932 is a sordid one," he began. "Congress in 1914 recognized that by passing the* Clayton Act, andagain in 1932 by enacting the Norris-La Guardia Act." I.ater in his speech he niftlined the historic AFL position regard­ ing the use of injunctions in labor disputed by reading the report unanimously adopted by the " 'American Federation of Labor at its 1919 Convention. "The fate of the sovereignty of the American people again hangs in the balance," he said. "It is inconceivable that such an autocratic, despotic and tyran­ nical power can long remain in a democracy. One or the other must ultimately give way and your committee believes that this convention should declare that, as wage earners, citizens of a free and democratic republic, we shall stand firmly and con­ scientiously on our rights as free men and treat all injunctive de­ crees that invade our personal liberties as unwarranted in fact, unjustified in law, and illegal as being in violation of our Con­ stitutional safeguards, and ac­ cept whatever consequences may follow." LIKE SIU Lewis' Sfand in regards to the Government's position is very reminiscent of the SIU General Strike against the WSB. In both cases the unions concerned were tangling directly with Govern­ ment agencies which had been set-up to dominate each respec­ tive industry. The morale of > the miners re­ mains high, and there is no in­ dication that the decision and the sentence will break their solid front until a settlement has been made. It is with that thought in mind that the mine owners have tried to initiate new talks with the UMW officials so that the terms of a new contract could be agreed upon. Blast Against Hiring Hall First Step To Smash Union Marking the latest in a long list of shipowner attacks against union gains won over a period of years, Frank Taylor, head of the "American Merchant Marine In­ stitute, last week stated that union rotat'y hiring prevented the shipowners from establishing a closer relationship with their employees— the seamen. According to Taylor, in shore industries employees are fairly permanent and over a period of time a sense of loyalty and un­ derstanding of the problems of both management and labor are firmly developed. Taylor stated that with the union rotary system in effect, "The union not only controls the employment of its members but is in a position to see to it that they do not remain too long with any one company." MM&P-MEBA SITUATION This open declaration of war on the union rotary hiring system by the top man of the viciously anti-labor AMMl fits into the picture of the operators strenuous resistance to Union Security de­ mands of the MM&P and the MEBA. It is plainly apparent that the operators intend to be­ gin an all out battle against the hard-won conditions achieved over a period of years by mari­ time unions. • The entire MM&P-MEBA strike could have been over in a few days, probably need never have occurred, if the unions had been willing to give up their demands for union security. Hovyever, it was stretched out over seven weeks on the West Goast • due'to the strong resistance to . the union preference clause put up by the Pacific American Ship' owners Association. • Throughout their strike against the operators, it was made plain ito botli the MM&P and MEBA -that the companies would grant -their wage demands very easily if they would give up the Union Seciu'ity clause. This entire trend of operator resistance to any form of union preference, includ­ ing the union rotary hiring sys­ tem, now becomes very plain to everyone in view of the Taylor statement. PAST HISTORY Past maritime history reveals what has occurred in every in­ stance where government or shipowners took over the hiring halls. During 1919 Sea Service Halls, (Fink Halls) which had been established by the U. S. Shipping Board late in the war, each maintained a black list con­ taining the names of all militant seamen. When the 1921 lockout oc­ curred, after the operators de­ clared that they no longer recog­ nized the ISU, all shipowners were agreed that an open shop would replace the Union Hiring Halls, and that all seamen must be dispatched through the com­ pany personnel department or the Sea Service Fink Bureau. In addition, a drastic 17^/2 per cent wage cut was decreed. There was no such thing as any form of rotary shipping or preference for the man who had been on the -beach the longest. Fink Halls, operating as Sea Serv­ ice Bureaus, were under complete control of the ship "operators, and each shipping master had a "de­ ferred list" compiled from the Washington records. On the Great Lakes and West Coast, a continuous discharge Fink Book was also in general use. Seamen were forced to put up with these conditions for a long period during the early days of maritime organization, but they are determined that never again will they submit to the oppressioh, dictatorship, and com­ pany stooge preference of gov­ ernment or shipowner "Fink Halls." Blanco T. Williams would like to get in touch with the Deck Department of the SS John H. B. Latrobe, who signed on in New­ port News, Va., February, 1946. Brother Williams address is 2926 Somme Ave., Norfolk, Va. XXX Crew of SS Belle Of The Seas (Voyage No. 1. May-Sepl.. 1946) James W. "Scotty" Atkins writes from the U. S. Marine Hospital, 110 State Street, New Orleans, that he is ill with amoebic dysentery, presum­ ably from the contaminated water on the Belle of the Seas. He warns the other eight men who had the same symptoms as he to go to the nearest ma­ rine hospital for an immediate examination. XXX RETROACTIVE PAY All retroactive pay vouchers of the Smith and Johnson Steam­ ship Company will be in the mail by December 7. The Company requests that no inquiries be made at the office concerning this as it only interferes with the dispatching of the vouchers and all men .should be in receipt of their retroactive pay in a few days. MONEY DUE The Union Sulphur Company is paying back pay. Money can be collected at company office at 33 Rector Street, New York City. NOTICE! Anyone having information as to the whereabouts of Daniel Hunt's seamen's papers which were sent to the Philadelphia Hall, notify him at 477 Medilian Street, East Boston, Mass. Fairland Skipper Pulled His Rank (Continued from Page 3) to both- sides. of the story, the Hearing Officer told Capps that there was no doubt about it, the Captain was 100 per cent wrong. "And so," said Capps wonderipgly, "the next day he pulled the papers of all the guys who had walked off the ship in San Pedro. Can you figure that one out?" The Skipper tried to put Capps off the ship in Shanghai, but the C. G. commanded him to carry all the crewmembers back to the United States. So the Old Man waited until the ship got to Saigon, and there he .forced Capps to leave the ship. Johnny stayed on the beach for better than a month before he was able to catch a ship for home. He landed in Baltimore on No­ vember 30, and came immediate­ ly to the New York Hall to tell his story. "The Captain tried to get us all in trouble by writing that let­ ter to the Sailor," said Capps. "Well, if. he can hand it out, he ought to be able to take it. The time is past when a Skipper could act like a dictator on a ship. And being ruled with' a gun is something else that SIU men don't go for." SIU HALLS BALTIMORE GALVESTON SS El Morro—$1.00. PHILADELPHIA INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS H. D. Lewis, $20.00; Lynn Gilmore, $1.00; F. Brieger, $1.00. BOSTON SS BENTS FORT For LOG—$4.40. ForBrighton Marine Hospital—$8.70 SS MIDWAY HILLS Crew—$13.00. NORFOLK 14 North Gay St. Calvert 4S39 BOSTON 276 State St. Boudoin 445S BUFFALO 10 Exchange St. Cleveland 7391 CHARLESTON 68 Society St Phone 3-3680 CHICAGO 24 W. Superior Ave. Superior 5178 CLEVELAND ., 1014 E. St. Clair Ave. Main 0147 CORPUS CHRISTI . . 1824 Mesquite -St Corpus Christi 3-1509 DETROIT 1038 Third St. Cadillac 6857 DULUTH 531 W. Michigan St. Melrose '4110 GALVESTON 3053i 22nd St. 2-8448 HONOLULU 16 Merchant St. HOUSTON ;1S1S 75th Street Phone Weatworth 3-3809 JACKSONVILLE 920 Main St. Phone 5-5919 MARCUS HOOK 1'/» W. 8th St. Chester 5-3110 INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS C. R. Lane, $2.00; J. L. Waters, $1.00; F. Knox, $10.00; C. Whitley, $11.00; L. W. Ange, $11.00; R. Smith, $35.00; R. L. Stephenson, $1.00; F. Kraul, MOBILE $11.00. NEW YORK SS W. M. CHRISTIANSEN G. A. Mettler, $1.00; S. Woodruff, $2.00; Mike Hook, $2.00; J. Yonick, $3.00; J. Stuntebeck, $2.00; J. Jiles, $1.00; V. Zurvaleo, $2.00; P. Brady, $1.00; L. Granville, $3.00; Wm. C. York, $2.00; J. L. Marrero, $2.00; J. Baush, $2.00; L. E. Brow, $2.00; E. Pagazzi, $2.00; J. Marinez, $2.00; J. G. Till, $1.00; -E. J. Day, $1.00; R. H. High, $1.00; R. D. Garrett, $2.00; J. Testani, $2.00. SS COASTAL MARINER C. L. Barb, $1.00: W. Jackowicz, $1.00; J. Lunn, $1.00; O. Fielding, $1.00; H. S. Wihson, $2.00. SS CAPE HORN C. L. Graham, $2.00; C. E. Chandler, $1.00; I.. I. Born, $1.00. SS J. B. HAMILTON J. Risbeck, $2.00; P. Hunt, $5.00; J. Golebieski, $2.00; L. E. Wentz, $3.00; C. W. Emanuel, $3.00; W. D. Sherar, $5.00; G. H. Rowland, $5.00; V. R. Kern, $25.00; W. Koyalevich, $25.00; Hernant Mathisen, $4.00; W. Kenney, $5.00; L. A. Tano, $2.00. SS FORT CHRISTINA Cecil T. Terry, $3.00; Buford J. Wat­ son, $2.00; Elbert A. Meeks, $2.00. SS GEORGE WASHINGTON J. Keesley, $1.00. SS HAWSER EYE W. S. Watkins, $2.00; J. W. Justice, $2.00; W. J. Wilkins, $2.00; H. Zeppenfelt, $1.00; J. L. White, Jr., $2.00; E. M. Yaeger, $1.00; C. Ralkiewicz, $2.00; E. A. Burch, $2.00; A. Mayhew, $1.00; E. Peterson, $1.0; R. Wiseman, $1.00. INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS Wh. Charles Salie, $1.00; B. Willaefova, $1.00; Ira E. Bishop, $10.00. NOTICE! The following men may pick up the items specified by report­ ing to Jimmy Stewart on the 3rd floor in the New York Hall: Claude Robert Stephens, TC A-735—a wallet and tripcard, P. Gracels, A-4412—A wallet, Melvin Hoj^—Seaman's papers and a wallet. Robert Hoyt, Book No. 32254— Seaman's papers and a wallet. 7 St. Michael St. 2-1754 NEW ORLEANS 339 Chartres St. Magnolia 6112-6113 NEW YORK 51 Beaver St. HAnover 2-2784 NORFOLK 127-129 Bank Street 4-1083 PHILADELPHIA 9 South 7th St. Phone LOmbard 3-7651 PORT ARTHUR 445 Austin Ave. Phone: 2-S5;32 PORTLAND Ill W. Burnside St. RICHMOND, Calif 257 ^th St. SAN FRANCISCO 105 Market St. Douglas 5475 - 8363 SAN JUAN, P. R. . . 252 Ponce de Leon San Juan 2-5996 SAVAIVNAH 220 East Bay St. 3-1728 SEATTLE 86 Seneca St. Main 0290 TAMPA 1809-1811 N. Franklin St. M-1323 TOLEDO 615 Summit St. WILMINGTON 440 Avalon VIvd. Terminal 4-3131 VICTORIA, B. C 602 Boughton St. VANCOUVER 144 W. Hastings St. PERSONALS fK The following Brothers ar.e re­ quested to contact Joe Votpian, Special Services representative, as soon as possible, at the iNew York Hall on the fifth floor: Abraham Baizman, Maurice Ro­ senthal, Ralph Swillinger, and Richard J. Delaney. This pertains to the death of Max Kurtz aboard the SS Sea Dolphin, Waterman Line, in May 1946. Any bther witnesses are also requested to contact Joe Volpian. XXX FRANCIS W. KENNEFIC WILLIAM ELLIOTT STANLEY BROWN Will these men, who witnessed the accident incurred by Gustaf Von Thillo on the SS Alcoa Part­ ner, please get in touch with the latter's attorney, B. B. Sterling, 42 Broadway, N. Y. » » » STEVE PETERSON Drop a line to Art at the Bal­ timore Hall, 14 North Gay St. Federation Asks Prosecution : Of Georgia Anti-Labor Mobsters ATLANTA, Ga.—Charges that one of its organizers was beaten almost to death November I were made here by the American Fed­ eration of Labor, which declared the assault was committed by members of a mob at Thomaston, Ga. Immediate demand upon the Department of Justice and State and local law enforcement agen­ cies for "vigorous prosecution" of those responsible for the beating was made by George L. Googe, director of the Southern AFL campaign to enroll 1,000,000 new members. Googe charged that the vio­ lence was instigated "at the best of- the cotton mill owner^ in Upson County." The AFIi is seeking to organize workers in some of the textile mills of the county. Googe said the labor organizer, identified as Robert Walk, was taken to a Thomaston hospital where 47 stitches were taken in his head as a result of- a beating about the face with a blackjack. .,i i. �•^v. •(^. ' '• : •]^ge Twelre T R E SE4F4nERSL O C, Hardworking Seafarers Did Job NMU Money Ceuid Net Buy Friday, December 6, 1946 VOLUNTEER =1: When the votes were counted • in the election to pick a bargain­ ing agent for the men of tlie Isth­ mian Lines, it was noticeable that on quite a few ships the NMU received not one vote. One such •.£hip was the John Mosby, which A'oted 28 to 0 in favor of the SIU. It was more than a coincidence that the volunteer organizer aboai-d the Mosby at, the time it voted was Charles "Whitey" •^annehill, who had plenty of exf)erience sailing on unorganized ahips during Organizing Drives. The Mosby was not the first Isth­ mian ship he was on, either. By the time he shipped out on the ^osby, he already had four trips on the Joaquin Miller and one trip'on the Peter V. Daniel under "his belt. ' Even nou", with the voting over, Tannehill continues to sail Isth­ mian, so that when the SIU is officially proclaimed the vvinner, Isthmian will be forced to bargain ,with the union. GOOD JOB l!:- Not only did Whitey do a good job on the Mosby, but when the Petei V. Daniel voted, 24 votes lyere recorded for the SIU, while the NMU collected a big 1. And it would have been the same on the Joaquin Miller if company stalling hadn't forced •most of the men off the vessel before the voting started. Out of all the men eligible, only eight voted and these were main­ ly company stiffs. So the com­ pany chalked up seven and the SIU got only one. Whitey Tannehill was in the Log office this week, and we took '.the opportunity to have a long ' talk with him. After all, he has ' been in the Isthmian Organizing Campaign since it started, and as well as anyone else, he knows . the inside story on why the NMU •took such a terrific licking on the .voting. "On the face of it," he said in -reply to the question, "it looks "like the NMU should have won a shoo in. They had more organ­ izers, they spent money like • .water, took prospects on boat rjdes, but it didn't do a bit of good. When the chips were down, the. men wanted the SIU to rep* resent them." CP INTERFERED ship is the work that counts when for a trip to the Far East. Most of the crew are members the voting begins, I ought to know, because I have worked at of the SIU, and they are going both jobs." to stay aboard so that Isthmian will have to institute SIU wages CHANGED ATTITUDE and conditions in all the vessels Whitey saw the change that of their fleet. As Whitey Tannehill left the took place among the Isthmian men. When he first went aboard office, Paul Hall, Director of org­ in the days when the drive was anization and New York Port still young,-very few of the men Agent, came in. He looked over the notes for the story, and he even wanted to talk to him. commented, "Whitey Tannehill They contended that Isthmian is a good example of the type of could never be organized, and spirit that gained an overwhelm­ they did not want to get into any ing majiority for us in the Isth­ trouble by talking to a Union or­ mian election. He is a rugged ganizer. SIU member who is willing to Little by little that attitude sail on an unorganized ship so changed to one of anxiety to join that he can pass the word," the SIU and to make Isthmian another company contracted to the Seafarers Internatimial Union, % "They became very receptive to our talk," Tannehill recalls, "Once they saw that we mean|, business, and that we were not going to leave them in a lurch, they sign­ The pressure- that the Sea­ ed pledge cards, and became farers International Union is put­ staunch in their support of the Union, Very few men wanted to ting on the United States Public stay unorganized." Heiilth Service to rectify poor The Seafarers Log came in for conditions in the Marine Hospi­ plenty of praises. According to tals is having its effect. Whitey, the Log and the SIU con­ Conditions have already been tracts were the best pieces of organizational material he had. bettered at the Staten Island Hos­ pital, and as a result of a story LOG IMPORTANT in the Seafarers Log about the "Thej' read the Log from front cold food at the Neponsit Hospi­ to back," he says, "and they be­ tal, a new unit was installed lieved every word. The Log which will make it possible for printed only the truth, and those all patients to be served with hot men realized it. Then when we compared the NMU contracts food. with the SIU agreements — well The latest hospital conditions that usually was enough to make to be brought to light in the up their minds. I always carried pages of the Log ai'e those at the copies of two agreements with Galveston institution. Complaints me whenever I went on board an about the poor food, and lax Isthmian ship." medical treatment led to the dis­ Tannehill is Ships' Delegate patching of a letter to Dr. Thomas aboard the Steel Artisan. With Parran, Surgeon General, United him when he came to the Log States Public Health Service, office was the Deck Delegate, pointing out conditions as they exist and calling on him to take William Grabenauer. steps to rectify them. The ship is functioning like a regular SIU vessel, and besides •A reply has been received from Ships' and Deck Delegates, Bro­ the PHS Which, if lived up to, ther Barlizo has been elected will go a long way to make things Stewards Delegate and Brother more comfortable for the men at Mitchell has been selected to rep­ the Galveston Marine Hospital, and which will ensure. them of resent the Blaclc Gang. satisfactory service in the fuMeetings arc scheduled to be tui-e held every two weeks unless It is the sincerest hope of the something special comes up. members of the SIU that the The Steel Artisan crewed up in pledges made in the letter will be Houston. From there she visited carried out, and that conditions Galveston, New Orleans, and she in all Marine Hospitals will be is now in New York preparing rectified so that all patients will With three Isthmian ships behind him, Whitey Tannehill is ready for more organizing work. SIU Letter Brings Promise Of Galveston investigation One of the factors that did a J lot toward bringing Isthmian in­ to the SIU fold was the fact that •many NMU organizers were so busy with work for the commun. ist party that they had little • time to do any work for their tinion. "Communism was an issue that "helped beat the N M U," said Whitey. "This was especially true The Coast Guard's vice-like I on the Gulf where many of their grip on the merchant seamen's spaid men were active CP mem^rbers and were always busy doing existence is even tighter when it vparty work. When the Isthmian is applied in European ports. -Trnen learned the score, they voted Evidence in support of this ; against being represented by a contention was sharply pointed •communist-dominated union." up this week when several crewAnother point that Tannehill members of the Los Angeles •4 wanted to bring out was that the Tanker Grande Ronde told of -.'•eagerness of the SIU oldtimers personal experiences with the >^to ship Isthmian helped in the Coast Guard's application of jus­ drive; These oldtimers really re­ tice. sponded to the call for volunteer The men just returned to the organizers, and it was those men States on their own after their ^who did the job, papers had been suspended, by a ' - "Shoreside organizers are all Coast Guard Commander in Port V right," Tannehill said, grinning, Du Bouc, 30 miles from Marsailf'but the work that is done aboard, les, France, One more threat to the free American method of collective bargaining has been eliminated now that the Division of Re­ cruitment and Manning, formerly •the RMO-WSA, will cease its re­ cruiting and dispatching service effective December 31, 1946. A great deal of the ci-edk for this action is duo to the pressure of the SIU and the SUP, Both or­ ganizations have devoted a great deal of time and effort to knock out this Government setup which has, since its inception, consti­ tuted a threat to free labor and was a constant source of scab la­ bor. Besides being a resei'voir of scabs, the RMO has wasted mil­ lions of dollars needlessly. Func­ tioning as a bureaucratic agency, it was unable to accomplish any of the tasks set for it without the expenditure of vast sums of the taxpayers money. The abolish­ ment of this department is a vic­ tory for the taxpayers and for the Seafarers International Union. be assured of the best medical service. The letter from the U. S. PHS follows: November 26, 1946 TO: ALL STEAMSHIP OPER­ ATORS, AGENTS, and Mr, J. H. Volpian MARITIME UNIONS Special Service Representative Seafarers International Union FROM: HOWARD A. PELLON, of North America Regional Representative Atlantic & Gulf District SUBJECT: ELIMINATION OF New York 4. N. Y. MANNING SERVICE Dear Mr. J. H. Volpian: As part of the U.S. Maritime Receipt ic acknowledged of Commission's policy to reduce your letter of November 20, in scope or eliminate programs 1946 transmitting complaints of as rapidly as conditions permit, the food and treatment admin­ the Division of Recruitment istered to members of your and Manning (formerly RMOunion hospitalized in the U. S. WSA) will discontinue its em­ Marine Hospital, Galveston, ergency manning service effec­ Texas. tive December 31, 1946. After You may be assured that the that date, our Division will U. S. Public Health Service has neither -recruit, register, nor the welfare of these men at have seamen available for dis­ heart and every effdrt will be patch to ships under delay or made to correct unsatisfactory threatened with delay. service. We should like to take this A copy of your letter is being opportunity of expressing our transmitted to the Medical Ofsincere appreciation of your iicer in Charge of that station cooperation throughout the war with a request that he investi­ and during the fifteen months gate conditions mentioned in since hostilities ceased. • your letter, and if possible lake Following I'oceipt of this let­ the necessary steps to rectify ter, another notification was re­ them. The Public Health Service ceived which clarified the orig­ has no other wish than to give inal notice. This letter was all their beneficiaries the best signed by R, V, Mullany, Atlan­ of medical service. To thai end tic Coast Regional Representa­ your letter will receive prompt tive of the Division of Recruit­ ment and Manning, The letter attention. follows: Sincerely yours. Otis L. Anderson, Seafarers International Union Medical Director 51 Beaver Street, Chief, Hospital Division New York, New York. Seamen Put Under Double Jeopardy, Pay Twice, Once To Civil Authorities, Then To Coast Guard In all, 13 Grande Ronde crewmembers had,their papers lifted for periods of -four, to six months for minor offenses which they had previously settled with French authorities, James C, Oliver, acting AB, spokesmen for the group, told how he had paid a fine in a French court, only to be hauled before the Coast Guard there for the same thing. In a decision having all the earmarks of double jeopardy^ a Coast Guard, Commandant slap­ ped a six month suspension on Oliver, The other suspensions followed the same pattern. RMO is Out; Long Fight Of SiU Pays Off In addition to depriving the men of their only means of live­ lihood, the Coast Guard imposed severe hardship on the men by having them removed from their ship immediately, and forcing them to return to the otates on their own, A striking example of the Coast Guard's inability to deal fairly and squarely with merchant sea­ men, these cases are an even more glaring example of injus­ tice because the men had already squared accounts for thd infrac­ tions,- which were entirely with­ in civil jurisdiction, and in no way bore any relation to their conduct aboard ship. Gentlemen: Effective December 31, 1346, the Division of Recruitment and Manning will cease re­ cruiting and manning for all vessels. The offices of the Division of Recruitment and Manning will remain open under a reduced staff at the ports of Boston, New York, and Baltimore in the Atlantic Coast District for the processing of Public Law 87. Public Law 87 is the Act which provides that seamen can obtain a Certificate of Substantially Continuous Service upon the completion of their wartime ser­ vice, This Certificate can be used to confirm wartime service, and can also be used to secure re-em­ ployment rights granted to sea­ men under the same law, • � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Seafarers Log Issues 1939-1949 Description An account of the resource Volumes I-XI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Paul Hall Maritime Library Microfilm 1939-1993 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource December 6, 1946 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. VIII, No. 49 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Paul Hall Maritime Library Microfilm 1939-1993 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Newsprint Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource Headlines: GENERAL STRIKE CALLED BY AFL IN OAKLAND MINE CASE DECISION IS SEEN AS PERILING LABOR'S BASIC RIGHTS SIU TAKES LEAD TO IMPROVE CONDITIONS IN SNUG HARBOR REGIONAL NLRB DECISION UPHOLDS SEAFARERS IN MIDLAND ELECTION PROMOTING UNEMPLOYMENT TRADE UNIONS MUST PREPARE SELVES FOR THE COMING ANTI-LABOR DRIVE FAIRLAND SKIPPER REALLY THREW HIS WEIGHT AROUND NOW IS THE TIME TO INITIATE FOUR WATCHES ON SIU SHIPS ANTI-PETRILLO LAW IS DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL BY U.S. COURT DULUTH HAS LAST SHIPPING FLURRY AS CLOSE OF LAKES SEASON NEARS BEACH CLEARING RAPIDLY IN N.Y. WITH END OF MARITIME STRIKES PORT BALTIMORE IS STILL HOTSPOT FOR SEAFARERS ORGANIZING DRIVE ALERT CREW HELPS IN COLLECTING 1500 HOURS DISPUTED OVERTIME ENGINEER HAS VERY BAD CASE OF SOUR GRAPES UNORGANIZED VISIT SIU HALL IN TOLEDO CG HANGS UP WHEN CO GOES TO LUNCH PILGRIM CREWMAN'S INJURIES LAID TO UNSAFE CONDITIONS WIPER TAKES HANDICAP AT JAMAICA, BWI SIU MEN INJURED IN RESCUE OF MOTOR SHIP OFF AZORES CHICAGO SHIPS BEGIN TYING UP AS WINTER HALTS LAKE SHIPPING NMU LEADERSHIP FLOUTS CHOICE OF ISTHMIAN MEN BUFFALO REPORTS SIU ENJOYED RECORD SHIPPING RECAPITULATION SHOWS SEAFARERS WON BIG GAINS ON GREAT LAKES BLAST AGAINST HIRING HALL FIRST STEP TO SMASH UNION FEDERATION ASKS PROSECUTION OF GEORGIA ANTI-LABOR MOBSTERS HARDWORKING SEAFARERS DID JOB THAT NMU MONEY COULD NOT BUY RMO IS OUT; LONG FIGHT OF SIU PAYS OFF SIU LETTER BRINGS PROMISE OF GALVESTON INVESTIGATION SEAMEN PUT UNDER DOUBLE JEOPARDY, PAY TWICE, ONCE TO CIVIL AUTHORITIES, THEN TO COAST GUARD Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 12/06/1946 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America 1946 Periodicals Seafarers Log