http://seafarerslog.org/archives/files/original/f63a85b35d9103ab34676cb10785479a.PDF 4ae47c954fcc44fc274b3355d44eddb3 PDF Text Text Official Organ of ihe Atlantic and Gulf District, Seafarers International Union of North America VOL. X V Itl^ NEW YORK. N. Y„ FRIDAY. JULY 2. 1948 No. 27 A & G District' Wins Union Hiring Hall • NEW YORK—^The Seafarers International Union rocked the maritime industry this week with the dramatic announcement that the Union Hiringr Hall will be retained in its contracts with member companies of the Atlan­ This week the Atlantic & Gulf District of the Sea­ tic and Gulf Ship Operators Association. Agreement between the Union and farers International Union hurdled one of the biggest the Association, representing nine major companies, came after almost three obstacles in the path of maritime labor. It came through weeks of negotiations during which the SIU committee firmly refused to with a contract calling for retention of the Union Hiring discuss any other issue until its demands for the retention of the hiring Hall in clear, unmistakeable terms, despite the wave of hall had been recognized. anti-labor repressions which have been sweeping the The new agreement, specified as "Article I - Employment," was accept­ nation. ed by the Union membership in all Atlantic and Gulf Coast Branch meetings >«last Wednesday night. The SIU agreement with the operators on the Hir­ Still The Leaders ) ing Hall issue is notable on two counts: First, it provides for the employment of seamen through the Union Hiring Hall. Second, it gives the SIU the right to re-negotiate any or all sections of Article I of the contract dealing with employment on seven days' notice to the operators. To say that these provisions of the contract are unique is a sheer understatement.- But they are consistent with the SIU's long-established position as the leading waterfront organization. For years now the Seafarers has been»setting the pace in maritime, and seamen throughout the nation have been benefitting from the accomplish­ ments recorded by the SIU. (Continued on Page 15) SIU Petitions For Elections On 9 CS Ships •V The Seafarers International Union has petitioned for a. collec­ tive bargaining election in that part of the Cities Service fleet not covered by the Union's cer­ tification received in February. 'The request, along with pledges, was submitted to the National Labor Relations Board in New York la?t Thursday. An informal hearing in the NLRB regional office is ex­ pected shortly. The petition was necessitated by the NLRB's refusal to recog­ nize the SIU as collective bar­ gaining agent for the eight ships acquired by the company since the Union came through with 83 per cent of the votes cast in a fleet election this past winter. In addition to the eight, an­ other ship—the Lone Jack—will have to be voted, because she did not make port before the ballot­ ing deadline date in the previous certification election. Cuba Distilling A collective bargaining election has been ordered on the vessels of the Cuba Dis­ tilling Company by the Na­ tional Labor Relations Board after study of the petition presented by the SIU. Dates for the election will be set by the NLRB re­ gional office in New York. Men on the company's ships are asked to remain until the election is held. With the central issue settled to the Union's satisfaction, discussions on other contractual issues are now in progress. Should no agreement be reached on wages and working rules by July 30, however, the present" contracts will be modified to include Article 1, and will "remain in effect until agreement is reached until either party notifies the other in writing that negotiations for such an agreement are stalemated." Companies covered by the agreement are the Alcoa Steam­ ship Company, Bull Steamship Corporation, Baltimore Insular Line, Eastern Steamship Company, Bernstein Shipping Company, South Atlantic Line, Smith & Johnson, Seas Shipping Company and Seatrain Lines. i SIU JUSTIFIED The Seafarers' latest precedent-making achievement justified its unwavering stand that the Union Hiring Hall had to be resolved first and foremost. All other issues, the SIU held, were incidental •by comparison. The crux of the new agree­ ment is stated in Section 1, deal- ^ ing with the manner in which the company will procure per­ sonnel. It specifies "the company agrees to secure all rmlicensed personnel through the Hiring •Halls of the Union." As the SIU negotiating com­ mittee pointed out, "this is the first time the words 'Hiring Hall of the Union' have ever been used in any maritime con­ tract." ^ Another remarkable feature of the new agreement is Section 7, which gives the Union the "right to re-negotiate any part or all of Article 1," with dis" cussions to begin within seven days after the Union has notified the companies of its intentions. The Union victory, however, is not one-sided. The Union Hir­ ing Hall is much respected ay • among management officials who recognize the fact that this meth­ od of hiring has produced stabil­ ity in maritime. Under the Union Hiring Hall, ship operators are assured of being furnished responsible, com­ petent crews to man their ships, a fact which many of the com­ panies have openly acknowl­ edged. The success of the negotiations demonstrated what can be ac(Continiied on Page 15) our //aq/ssf/Z/Hiere/ " 2 �THE Page Two SEAFARERS Friday. July 2, 1{ LOG This is cuhat ilie SIU AeS Pistri^ has preseirvfed... "ThfiG?. peirsotmei roug. :^^jrom io secui-e oU tinlicezLseci Le KirirUi Halloj? theuniOMi. J of-6heASG conttacf w/t2i {Jt& Opemfoi^sAssA G£^ Sfij^ fffy\ •! /M /fj - and this is hour the ojorks,.. TheSecrfarer ifebo»ivte +he Union Holl — CheckSs hisaeay in+hc ba^age troSvn - 11 is+ens a)ith+he \d re^is+en ispcrfchei'. '_ He attends unibnmeet- 'Whileon+he beach he ings whife oshai'eandiie^ relates in +he Recireatron TOoiferjitibin. policies. Dec^c. Thisis (X)ho(t-H^ , 'f Hinnig Hall nrveans: EquoTjob irjghts-fbir all- Ho-favoritism — Mo shape-up - hto piece-ofte — tlie DeimQcra+ic wag of Shipping! On-hapof+he |is1-, he thirou)Sin-forajob - ' . '-'.'T. t, ..V . • ond Qets itandis off te his ship with hisgear. The •£ irston+he beach is the / iirsToine out. ; �Friday, July 2, 1948 THE SEAFARERS HEADING FOR HOME VV , \ V < y f '/• '' LOG Page Three What Union Hiring Halls MeanToWorking Seamen One Seafarer who really knows pretty big changes in the food what the Hiring Hall has done situation aboard ship met his for seamen is Brother Raymond eye, not to mention his stomach. Perry who made his first trip "In the twenties we had the back in 1922. old two-pot system," he says. Brother Perry left the sea in "For the officers there were al­ 1929 when things were still ways steaks and chops, and for done in the old way. What he the crew it was mostly mulligan saw when he came back in in one form or another and wa­ tery rice pudding. 1943 was a ^revelation, and in his opinion all the improve­ "You could tell the day of the ments in wages and conditions week by what they gave you to hinge on the Hiring Hall. eat. On the banana boats, which "When I started sailing in '22,' I sailed in some when I first Perry recalls, "you brought your went to sea, we used to keep a own linen if you had any, and bunch of bananas in the foc'sle your own tin cup and plate. on the way back. We'd live on The ships didn't even have toi­ the bananas, the rest of the food lets. was so bad. "If you wanted a bath, you "But that was before we had grabbed a line and a bucket, the Union Hiring Hall and Ro­ hauled up some sea water and tary Shipping to give us a chance RAYMOND PERRY made out the best you could. to use our weight to raise wages "Maybe the young fellows go­ and change conditions. Bound for the Stales, Ralph Youlzy (left) and Robert ing to sea nowadays don't be­ had no real protection because "We lived in dirty stuffy Boutwell (center), both of whom were cleared of charges lieve it, but there was no over­ you had no Union Hiring Hall. foc'sles, six or eight men to one time in the old days and you The Hiring Hall is the salvation foc'sle. There wasn't much in arising out of the accidental drowning of a launch captain in took your thirty bucks a month of seamen. Georgetown, British Guinea, are shown on -the deck of the the way of light at night. There SS J. W. Cullen with Brother Riley, a crewmember. and liked it. "Sometimes you were hired were no fans for runs in the "Perhaps the worst thing was off the dock by a shipping mas­ tropics and not much heat for Boutwell, who was acquited by a Georgetown jury in the way you got your job. Th^re ter, a port captain or whoever winter trips. February returned to testify at Youtzy's trial in May. Through­ were several ways of getting a else might be in charge. You "When I came back to the sea out the trials messages of sympathy and support poured in from Seafarers convinced of Youtzy's and Boutwell's innocence. ship but they all were bad. You could hang around the dock for in 1943, I really was surprised. days at a time, in hot weather, I didn't even have to bring my cold weather, dry weather or own aprons. wet weather. There was no Ro­ "Another thing I found was a tary Shipping either. little attention to medical care. Sometimes you were hired That was an improvement the out of a ginmill. I remember Union siu-e has won. Merchant seamen are subject mission's New York offices are may volunteer for a year's serv­ NO MEDICAL CARE when 1 first went to sea as an to the draft which became law located. He must show at least ice and escape the draft later. "I remember one trip when OS. 1 used to ship out of Bos­ last week, unless the President one y^r of continuous service So far as is known now. Sea­ ton where there were some wa­ I wrenched my ankle. There was farers within the 18-25 age group of the United States rules that to get the Certificate. terfront saloons that served as nobody to take care of me. The seafaring is an essential occupa­ If he has to use the mail, he must register. Saloon Messman poured a bottle crimp halls. tion. Veterans of the armed foi'ces can send an application along "A crimp would buy you some of iodine over the ankle and told The Washington Representative with the discharges—again photo­ with one year of service in peace bum drinks and first thing you me to soak it in hot water. But of the SIU is pressing hard for stats will do—to the following or 90 days at any time between knew you were on a ship and I had to stand my watch. I was December 7, 1941, and Septem­ headed out. Maybe you weren't an OS then, and the Mate roared ; such a ruling and a decision is address: ber 2, 1945, will not be inducted. expected within a couple of Seaman's Wartime Service, The SIU is pressing for seamen quite 'shanghaied' but there that nobody was sick on his weeks. wasn't much difference. Shipping ship imtil he dropped dead. Benefits Unit, Ma^e Personnel For reasons of its own, the Section, U, S. Mamlme Commis­ who sailed in the war to be that way you had no protection "So I kept on working, my placed in the same classification. at all. The Hiring Hall changed ankle swollen from the wrench 'Maritime Commission is also sion, Washington 25, D. C. and blistered from the hot wa­ '/ seeking deferment for seamen. In addition, the President is all that." ter I soaked it in. Finally the MIGHT GET MARRIED V In addition, the Commission is authorized to defer married men, MISTAKEN LADY Captain had no choice but to urging that seamen who saw acAs the draft is written, men those in essential occupations or Asked to comment on the ar­ leave me in a hospital down in V tive service aboard merchant in medical or scientific work or ticle Elinore M. Herrick wrote Costa Rica. ships between May 1, 1940, and 19 years old through 25 can be study. for the New York Herald-Trib­ "We don't have things like July 25, 1947, and who hold Cer- inducted into the Army for one High school students will be une, charging that the weakness that now because the Union has tificates of Substantially Continu- year on September 22 or after. 1 ous Service, be placed in the The registration machinery deferred until they are 20, and of the Union Hiring Hall was stopped them. But of all the Un­ J same classification as men who probably will be set up to start college students until the end that jobs could be bought and ion victories, the central one is sold and proposing that hiring the Hiring Hall. Wages, over­ served in the Army and Navy. operations in August, however, of the college year. be managed by the Coast Guard, time, night limch and everything Merchant seamen can only and all men 18 through 25 must Possibly the failure to exempt Perry had this to say: else stem from the Hiring Hall hope that the President will find register. But the 18-year olds seamen specifically was part-and"If we ever lost the Hiring them essential to the ships they won't be called right away—not "The lady is way out of line. parcel of the thoughtless haste in Hall, whether to the companies until they are 19, although they sail. Her Coast Guard idea is com­ which the Draft Act was passed, or to the Coast Guard, we would pletely phony, as any seaman observers feel. But they, point have a tough time surviving as could tell her. The Coast Guard out that the President'^ power to seamen and we would be beaten is trying to get control of the exempt married men, men in as a Union." merchant marine. They want to scientific or medical research and make it like the Navy with a men in essential occupations lot of military nonsense. And should cover seamen whose wortc is essential to, the nation, and The Union Hiring Hall would was the most efficient way of those brass hats would work who are the first to be hurt any be a fine thing if it weren't con­ hiring personnel for the mari­ hand in glove with the com­ panies. Seafarers in Ihe Port of war. trolled by the Union, according time industry. After pondering "What's more, I'd like to know New York are reminded that to Elinore Morehouse Herrick, a the subject, she hit on the Coast where the lady got the idea that GET YOUR CERTIFICATE ihe Recreation Hall (third former chairman of the New Guard. jobs could be bought and sold deck) remains open every Seafarers who sailed during York State Labor Board and now Madame Herrick claimed that in a Union Hiring Hall. I don't night until 11 o'clock. the war and have not obtained an employee of the New York the Union Hiring Hall was all believe any job ever was bought There are plenty of facili­ Certificates of Substantially Con­ Herald Tribune. wrong anyway because the Union in a Hiring Hall. Our officials ties to help while away the tinuous Service should do so at In an article published in the abused it. are elected by the rank-and-file, evening. There's a fairly once, Joseph Volpian, SIU Spe­ Herald Tribune of June 25, and they know damned well well-stocked library, and a "Jobs," she wrote, "can be cial Services Representative, ad­ Madame Herrick not only they'd be thrown out if they goodly number of technical vises, especially if they are under reached the above conclusion but bought through the union officers sold a job. of the hiring hall, and the offi­ books. Cards and games are 26 years of age. proposed a startling remedy. "In fact, it would be the 99- available and the soft-drink cers can show favoritism even Any Seafarer who sailed be­ Why not turn the Hiring Hall year club in a hurry for every­ machines are kept filled. if no money passes hands." tween the critical dates, May 1, over to the Coast Guard? the body concerned, if a job ever Or if you just want to sit Wh^re she got this idea she were sold in an SIU Hall." 1940, and July 25, 1947, can get good lady suggested back and be entertained you didn't say, but it is clear that What set the lady off on the his Certificate from the Maritime TWO POTS can fasten your eyes on the she knew nothing about the subject wajs the Taft-Hartley Act, Commission in New York or television screen. SlU's Hiring Hall and Rotary which she approves. She thought Perhaps the thing that Brother Washington . At any rate, you're wel­ If he is in New York, he can that the Union Hiring Hall was Shipping System. What rank- Perry, who is a Chief Steward take his discharges, photostats outlawed by the obnoxious law, and-file Seafarers thought of her now, really knows better than come — every night until wiU do, to Room 924 at 45 Broad­ but that some sort of Hiring Hall notions can be read on page 15 anything else is food. When he eleven. came back to sea in 1943 some way where the Maritime Com-^ ought .to lj)e maintained since it of this isue. Seamen's Draft Status Not Clear 0 Lady Labor 'Expert' Advotates Hiring Halk Run By Coast Guard ,0 Come OR Up �Page Four By AUGUSTUS H. COTTRELL T W E S «^ # A R E R S Fuel needed for the planes can be figured at about 63 gallons of high-octane gasoline and lubri­ cating oil for each plane to each gallon of fuel oil for the cargo ship operation. Cost of the plane fuel, of course, greatly ex­ ceeds the cost of an equal amount of ship's fuel oil. For the ships, about 8,250i000 gallons of fuel oil would be needed each month in hauling the required tonnage. The planes would require an estimated 504,800,000 gallons of gasoline and about 15,100,000 gal­ lons of lubricating oil each month. This is only slightly less than the monthly rate of 660,000,000 gallons of petroleum prod­ ucts used by all of the armed forces during the peak year of World War II. L i> G Triday, July 2, 1948 who are lobbying for them and ing millions in profits, and it I American ships :carry to other who, quite naturally, advocate need never be feared that a lands, we receive 'in return essen* air power over sea power for the shipowner is going to change his 'tials that range from our morn­ moving of cargoes to distant tactics when the change will put ing cup of coffee to rare metals lands, would make a study of the his ledgers in the red. for atomic research. situation and know whereof they Sometime back we had a great Countries must send their speak before! they start scream­ hullabaloo about Howard Hughes goods to us in order to procure ing their "landlubber" heads off and his great cargo-carrying the wherewithal to pay for the for planes to move cargoes, they plane. This plane was supposed things they need from us. And would instantly see that, if to revolutionize the moving of we need their products also, for planes were ever used in the goods to foreign lands. we require for our own national majority over ships, it would At the last report the plane protection and standard of living only serve to put hundreds of skimmed along a few feet above articles and supplies which must more ships in use, serving and the waters in a trial run. Noth­ be procured abroad. servicing the planes,, and count­ ing has been heard about it Ships have been carrying on less more seamen would have since. this commerce since before the employment. Kaiser was also going to move days of the proud Clipper Ships, Whereas it would only require the freight of the world with and ships will continue to carry 80 cargo ships to move the car­ giant cargo-carrying planes, but on the trade of nations. COST PROHIBITIVE goes in question by sea power the rusty old tramps, patched with red lead, and the fast In this atomic age of speed, jet alone, it would take 234 tankers modern cargo ships and the gaily propulsion, cargo carrying planes and 10 additional cargo ships to keep the air transport function painted passenger ships' are still and rockets the proud ships of plowing the seven seas and sup­ the American merchant marine in motion. plying the world with what it vWll always stand out as the And yet it has been shouted needs. principal cargo carriers of the by some, "We don't have to de­ TRADE NECESSARY world. pend on the merchant marine, America grew up on salt water. They will never be replaced by we can ship cargoes by air." The world trade of ships keeps lighter than air or heavier than How utterly ridiculous this The cost sounds in view of the authentic millions of Americans employed, air cargo carriers. from the highest to the lowest, alone would be prohibitive and figures and analysis as set forth. and in all walks of life. the cargoes lost would be un­ And still with the untold mil­ In return for our products that told. lions that would be involved in an air movement of cargoes, -r there are those who have the audacity to grumble about better BY SEA wage scales and conditions for BY AIR 80 cargo ships merchant seamen. 12,078 planes 8,400 seamen 329,400 flight and ground crew­ INTO BANKRUPTCY 8,250,000 gallons of fuel oil men, If the shipowners suddenly de­ per month. 519,890,000 gallons of gasoline cided to convert from seapower 20 trips per month and oil per month. to airpower they would go bank­ No tankers 32,941 flights per month. rupt overnight. In the moving 234 tankers of cargoes by ship they are niak- There seems to be more and more talk about. substituting air­ craft for cargo ships as long range transports. The suggestion has even been made that planes take over the task of carrying cargo from the United States across 6,600 miles of sea to Australia. The army airmen figured the comparative costs of moving 100,000 long tons a month by air and by sea. A few of the figures follow: The job of supplying Austral­ ian bases was found to require either 80 cargo ships or 12,078 transport planes. Shipment of supplies would call for 20 cai'go vessel sailing a month for the roundtrip and would involve a total of 80 ships in constant use. TANKERS NEEDED Shipment of the same amount Tanker ships then would be of cargo by air calls for 32,941 required in large numbers jiist airplane trips a month. On the to supply gasoline and oil for the basis of a TVa-day roundtrip, plus 2% days for overhaul, each plane planes at overseas bases. That would require 10 days for a would call for 234 tankers, or about three times the number complete cycle. of ships needed to do the orig­ 12,078 PLANES inal supply job by sea. Thus, in order to operate the This tanker requirement is needed 1,098 flights a day, 10,980 planes are required for ac­ based on a need for 437,521,984 tual operation. Then, to cover gallons of gasoline and oil at normal attrition and planes out overseas fueling points each of service for major repairs, this month. The fuel would be car­ total must be raised to 12,078 ried by large tankers, with 130 sailing each month. planes for the air operation. As an average of 1.8 months is If air transports were used, required^ for the round trip to moreover, about 8,000 . planes would be in the air at all times Hawaii, New Caledonia, Aus­ over the 6,600-mile route—or at tralia or other fueling spots, a least one plane for each mile of total of 234 ships would be kept the Paciflc between San Fran­ in constant operation. On the other hand no tankers cisco and Australia. would be required for the sea And a plane would be land­ operation, as the cargo ships do ing or taking off every 40 seconds not need to refuel during a from each end of the route every roundtrip voyage to Australia. hour of the day and night. In addition, the overseas Manpower needed for the air operation would amount to 39 groundcrew personnel needed for times as many men as for the the air operation requires 35,292 shipment.s by sea. Moreover, a,tons of supplies each month, inlarge portion of the present total eluding provisions. This would keep ten more available force of trained airmen cargo ships in continuous opera­ would be needed for the air­ tion, or would involve about a transport job. 50% increase in the number of Cargo ships carrying the same These are the Union Brothers currently in the marine hospitals, I- - shipments would require approx­ planes used. as reported by the Port Agents. These Brothers find time hanging imately 8,400 seamen in all. Fi^ PLANES IMPRACTICAL plane crews five men and some­ Conclusions of the Army Air heavily on their hands. Do what you can to cheer them up by times more are required for each Forces study were that, even writing to them. plane — the pilot, copilot," navi­ with an unlimited number of B.. FREDERICKS gator, radio .engineer and flight cargo planes available, supplying SAN FANCISCO HOSPITAL WILLIAM H. KUMKE engineer. J. HODO a full-scale overseas base by air EDWARD L. PIERCE These men are not permitted is impractical. W. WATSON THOS. S. JOHNSON to fly more than 120 hours a E. MELLE If the vast amount of fuel PAUL R. SAHR month and, since actual flying needed were somehow obtained D. P. GELINAS M. J. LUCAS time in the 7y2-day roundtrip many more ships still would be P. TRASNUL ANTHONY J. TANSKI flight averages 80 hours, each needed to carry gasoline and oil 4. i 1 LOYD^E. WARDEN crew could complete only P/s to overseas refueling points than SAVANNAH HOSPITAL GUY G. GAGE trips each month. H. R. BELL are needed to carry the supplies M. J. LUCAS TWO CREWS TROY THOMAS by sea instead. C. H. JONES Thus, it would be necessary to F. T. ALKOFER What this all means is that, in T. A. HOLMES have two complete crews for the field of long range transport, i 4 t O. FARRARA each plane, one set at each ter­ air power has basic limitations. NEW ORLEANS HOSPITAL THOR THORSEN minus. In all, the 10,980 operat­ E. LIPARI The 100,000 ton cargo problem B. TAYLOR ing planes require 109,800 flight- involved would have to be multi­ :J. DENNIS RICHARD KAVANAUGH C. MASON crewmembers, as against the 8,- plied many times for a war effort G. F. COBBLER R. F. BLACK 400 ship crewmembers. the size of the last European EDW. J. CAROVA A. LOOPER In addition to the 4kght crews, conflict. RAYMOND CARPENTER C. ANDERSON each plane would require an­ What air power can do to win WILLIAM R. HARE B. G. TEMPLEMA^r other 20 men on the ground modern wars is important, but GEO. H. SEEBERGER RALPH PIEHET along the route. This includes this official study indicates that CHRIST B. VIKEN V. P, SATAJNGS personnel to handle maintenance, sea power still is to play a vital L. C. HOLMES C. GREEN cargo, weather ^ reporting and part in peace and in war, even C. R. GRIMES . communications. though any future conflicts are to STATEN ISLAHD HOSPITAL T. J. TASSIN They would have to be located be fought mainly in the air. H. L. SEYMOUR • C. O, LYNSKY at San Francisco, Honolulu, Can­ MORE SHIPS NEEDED G. SORENSEN ' F. PREZALAR ton Island, Nandi, New Caledo­ STELLY C. FOREMAN • J. M. GARDNER The comparative scale on this nia, and Williamtown in Austra­ F. NERING lia. Total flight and ground-crew page indicates the enormous ext 4 4 E. OLSEN personnel for the air operation pense to the taxpayer when BALTIMORE MARINE HOSP. JOHN L. FAX S. HEIDUCKI comes to about 329,400 men, all someone in Washington gets up THOMAS BRYANT G. FINKLEA of them highly trained techni­ and starts shouting about using A. E. YOUNG J. McNEELY planes as cargo carriers instead cians. WILLIAM T. ROSS, D. DeDUISEN This total is about the strength of ships. MYRON E. FOLTS J. L. ROBERTS Now if some of the aircraft of the entire present U. S. Air ROBERT A. POMERLANE manufacturers and the legislators T. ZEMBRUZUSKI Force. Comparison Between Air and Sea Carriers Meo Now la The Mmne Hospitab Hospital Patients When entering the hospital notify the delegates by post­ card. giving your name and the number of your ward. Mimeographed postcards can be obtained free at the Social Service desk. r'lX 'i:! 4 Staten Island Hospital 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.) E. T. BROWN M. F. MORRISON H. WHITE A. J. SACCO E. PETRICELLI H. CHRISTENSEN G. VECCHIO P. DAUGHERTY Bt F. DeLlMA C. NANGLE W. J. HUNT R. PEPIN A. BJORNSSON A. DUDDE B. KOSOW W; PERRY S. RIVERA i 'I,;, GALVESTON HOSPITAL A. E. MOULTON WARREN W. CURRIER J. M. DOONER LAPERHOUSE FOSTER COMMANDER S. 4. X MOBILE HOSPITAL H. ALLMAN J. B. McGUFFIN O. M. RAYNOR C. P. VARN A. C. McALPIN H. L. JACKSON "y'ir- " ..i ' . �'i"-'• Friday. July 2, 1940 T KB SEAPARERS LOG Page Five Port Galveston Very Unhappy Over Sorry Shipping Situation By KEITH ALSOP GALVESTON — Still waiting | Also coming in for much atfor the much-publicizetl Marshall. tenlion was the question of the Plan to get under way, Galveston Purchase of^ better and more convenient Branch Hall. Apparhas not yet come out of the ship­ ently the excellent building the ping doldrums which enveloped Union acquired in Nfew Or­ this area several weeks ago. On leans has made the men more % the basis of present indications conscious of the advantages of By EARL (Bull) SHEPPARD ' great help while the men are getting a helluva big play . no improvement appears likely owning our own Halls. •NTirur /^DTITAKTO ou" " Waiting for regular runs. from the Brothers. In this weaActivity in the local labor for a month or so. , . . . IS membership here went on ther, especially, the showers are scene centers around the coming e rescen class lay-up jobs the proving to be a considerable ' The McKittrick Hills, a Pacific convention of the Texas State 0 ing I S own in 1 y, an very ew oo mem- g3j.j^g gg standby jobs, thereby convenience and comfort. Tankers job, was in here last Federation of Labor, AFL, to be ers are ° spen oo gyowing each and every member Quite a a few have 'qjuiie lew Brothers rsrotners nave week to payoff, sign on and then held in Fort Worth. Val James much time on the beach while „ a crack at the laj^-ups, along come in here from Mobile and," shove off again. The payoff was was elected to represent the Sea­ waiting for jobs. with the standbys. although they feel they have a? farers International Union in this On the average, we are ship.clean, all beefs being of a minor port. European' runs are plentiful swell Hall in that port, they ping approximately the number out of here right now. About seem pretty certain it can't come nature and settled to the satis­ of men we register—the varia­ CULPRIT CAUGHTnine out of every ten Alcoa up to the building we have here, faction of the crew. tion either way is slight. The ships that payoff in this port Before making any statements The Brothers will be happy to only ship laid up on us during LIVELY MEETING. make a run to Europe, then to to the effect that Mobile will know that the contemptible char­ the past two weeks is the SS the Islands for a load of bauxite, have the best Hall when it is The last general membership acter who had been stealing gear Cape Friendship of the Isthmian Alcoa is getting plenty of ERP finished, the officials there should meeting in this port was high­ from the Hall was caught last Steamship Company. She was a cargo for their runs to Europe, remember that New Orleans Wednesday night. The culprit, ^ beat-up scow so it wasn't too lighted by considerable discus­ The company is keeping their considers its Hall the best—bar A. B. Odland was stopped as he' much of a loss. ships on a steady run from the none sion on the manner of registra­ tried to make a getaway after he There are still two C arras Gulf to Europe, to the Islands tion for jobs, with many view­ forced entry to continue his tankers here with standby crews ano back to the Gulf. ,. , , , , ^ „ "ice Hall, but we also know that points being aired by the Broth­ thieving. Since he is an alien, aboard awaiting orders. It is All ships Mheduled to payoff appreciate the buUdlng expected that these two tankers, he is to be deported. ers. " m the ncKt two weeks are His operations extended over which are waiting to receive see the place. Even the pictures a period of two months, during cargo, will be loaded up and cept1 , for the possibility of a appeared In the LOG can't, shipped out in the near future. which time he got away with stray vesse coming m to lay j^ly do It justice, Prospects for the next two up, no SIU ships are expected some twenty seabags, causing , Brothers are invited to many members to ship out weeks look okay, with two pas- to go to the boneyard during! schooner rigged. His deportation senger ships scheduled for next the couple of weeks immediately "P this port. You will see what week—one for Monday, the other gjjggjj won't make anybody unhappy. good use your ten-dollar build­ Among the Seafarers ai-ound for Tuesday. ALCOA NOTE ing assessments are going to. GOOD SOURCE the beach at the moment are The Alcoa passenger ships will In fact, the membership here is Brothers J. Smot, F. Aderhold, A pretty good source of ship­ start running into Mobile on' very much in favor of having By STEVE CARDULLO S. H. Cooper, H. Adell, O. W. ping at the moment for our their next voyages out. This will'similar Halls in all ports, SAN FRANCISCO—-We've had Ori\ J. W. Reilly, J. Monast, J. members are the lay-up jobs. not hurt shipping too much be­ THAT'S ALL BROTHER a busy week with sliips in tran-,Byrd, J. Givens, and T. McCann. The Mississippi Shipping Com­ cause men from this port will For the seamen who are a sit, and payoffs on ships coming As of June 19,. several of our pany and the Strachen Shipping be able to payoff here, if they little short of cash, Nev/ Or­ in from both the East Coast and members were in the Marine Company have contracts for the leans has changed in the past the Far East. However, there Hospital here in Galveston. They majority of lay-up jobs in this few weeks from a fair port to are A. E. Moulton, Warren Cur- port. were not too many A&G Distriet j ^ Brothers a place where six-cent beer has Due to the fact that most of e-eased to exist. members on any of these vessels. Commander, Laperhou^e and the lay-ups are NMU or West Things in the alley were just Moreover, shipping has slowed Foster. Perhaps some of their Coast ships, we are not losing getting back to normal and we down somewhat. Nevertheless, a shipmates will drop them too many jobs. Standby jobs are were looking forward to the . , , i i. • a line. They'd appreciate receiv- coming in here at the rate of rated man always can get out m . ULT i. nickel beer when up jumped the ^ ^ mg mail from the boys. two to four ships a week — a short order, especially if he's a devil—the six-cent glass of suds is now eight coppers. Black Gang man. About all we can say now The SS Pennmar, a Calmar that we have plenty of in New ship, was in wilii "Woof Woof" Orleans and the rest. of LouisiGale still in command. "W&of so desire, by giving the company ana is taxes. Under the new Woof" is up to his old trick of a 24-hour notice. Governor, Earl Long, a brother By CAL.^ TAiNNER agitating any crew he gets; But However, we are sort of sorry of the late Huey, we have had this time he Jias a good crew following taxes imposed inMOBILE was about the finest to see this development, since aboard that isn^t having-anyw The . , , — Shipping in , . this . • Department „ the ships involved are now in jgg^. oouple of weeks: Pennmar will receive a lot of P^^^ picked up quite a bit in afloat. very- good- shape, with damned r « , ^ , However, the rest of the pay- Txi, r 1.1 . ... I A sales tax, increased to four careful attention when it is on past week, at least comlittle trouble occurring, on either . xv, j i, t'his coast as long, as Gale is on shii^mgr the week ofife,and allL thei sigoons were just of them dollar; a ten-ceni before. Wb had eight payoffs, bbout as good; What beefs we With ihe settling of the Elee' seven signons and shipped up- encountered were minor ones iclan-s: heef on. the MV Del «"» "ents tax; an • We have most of the Isthmian ^gj-ds of 225 men, nearly three easily settled. In fact, the Alcoa „ 1 J1eight-cent tax on a pack of Oro, there are no beefs pending • „ scows straightened- out to "a point times as many as the week be- Puritan had practically as 1, . port. . The mt- crew ofjt xi. cigarettes, uo from five cents, m this the " ' ' cx to. where' the officers work- in hai> foj.g smooth a payoff as the Madaket, Cape Friendship can collect ^^st, but not least, is the admony with the crew. Moreover, next week looks to and the- Stewards Department their overtime by contacting the ^itional three cent tax on a be about the same, which is also came in for special "praise. Isthmian Steamship Company, NEAT PAYOFF fairly good news for this As yet the threatened strike of 71 Broadway, New York City. Take the case of the San An- crowded beach, the bauxite workers at- the Alcoa The Black Gang time for this gelo Victory. On her previous . . , plant has not started, and we vessel was signed and approved trip she came in loaded down What is happening is that are hoping that the company with beefs. This time she paid begmnmg to get a few will see the light before any­ on this end, but the phony off with a minimum of disputes, t^o^e Marshall Plan cargoes thing happens and that. the dif­ Skipper refused to sign the Deck Departments time. and paid off as smoothly as anybeen dfeammg about aU ferences ran be ironed out. It was therefore referred to these months. We sure hope we thing you ever saw. The baukite plant is going full SIU Headquarters in New York, keep getting them so we can . Incidentally, the Serang on the move out some of the men who blast. The Alcoa ships are un­ with the New Orleans Branch San Angelo was "Johnny the have been on the beach a long, loaded as fast as they come in, recommending that it be signed Greek," and he certainly brought time. The present cargoes and some of them-go back out in on that end. ballast, the company is in such a in a clean ship. There's no mistaking the fact are mostly grain and flour. hurry to get the ore: that the membership in the Port Aboard the SS Monroe Victory SMOOTH PAYOFFS On the organizing stage-, the of New Orleans is mighty pleased bottle of beer, so that the sixwe found some performers, all in MAW shoregang is going strong. with the new Hall. All hands cent bottle is now eight. the -Deck Department. They The payoffs included' one IsthThis outfit really is going to ex­ are taking a personal interest in There's a pleasant note to were fined by the membership mian, two Alcoas and five Waterpand in' the near- future. the place. close with, however. Little or and placed on probation for the mans. We signed on five W&terThere still are plenty of oldTo date we have not had to no trouble with gashounds exists balance of the trip. mans and two Alooas, and. had a timers on. the-beach even if ship­ bring' anyone- before a commit­ in this port. The membership's But except- for, the performers ^unch of ships in transit includ- ping.- is a weer dab better. You'd tee for defacing or destroying actions in cutting out the per­ there was nothing, wrong with.i"g SUP tanker, find. W. M. Hayes, W. Weaver, any of the gear or the prop­ formers has brought very good the Monroe. Incidentally, H., D. By and large, the payoffs were |Willie' Reynolds, W. Rollins, J, erty. The membership is show­ results. The membership has Higginbotham, G. Wermuth, Carl !very smooth, with the one'aboard T. Mills, J. C. Thompson, G. W. ing great pride in their outstand­ curbed the, actions of these birds Bell, E. L. Eriksen and G. Camp-^ the SS Madaket,. a Waterman Stroeckar,. Lotus Stone, C. Mat- ing building and their going all- ashore and on fhe ships. Drinking bell,were doing, a. fine job aboard Khip, the cleanest The-ship was thenyj -A-. Chappell, W. H. Harh- out to see to it that it is kept is, of course, okay but it doesn't her teaching the permits how to absolutely beef free, and, the by,, R. Arnall and H Wentzell. clean, and- in good order. mix with business or Union af­ be good Union men. [crew insisted that the Stewards And you!d find a-lot of.others. The hot and cold showers are fairs. Shipping In New Orlenns Is Holding Own Frisic Shinting Slows, Except For Black Gang ERP Grain Movements Give Shipping Boost To Port Mobile �Iv''" THE SEAFARERS LOG Page Six I Port Montreal Settles Last Beefs On Philae INDIAN SEAMEN TAKE CUE FROM SIU 'PHONE: 2 5 5 3 2 Movie Schedule j.v, • ' i'-. "The Lost Jungle," an ac­ tion-packed, tense thriller of an intrepid man searching for his daughter who is lost in the hostile world of fierce beasts, starring famed liontamer Clyde Beatty. Also "The Screw Driver." a rollicking Woody Wood­ pecker cartoon; and "Melody Moments," a lively musical interlude, featuring Gene Krupa and his band. This program will be pre­ sented for the membership on the 3rd deck of the New York Hall tomorrow: SATURDAY. JULY 3 at 12 noon. All hands are invited to attend the movie tomorrow and each Saturday thereafter. Enjoy the best available in sound film entertainment — at no cost — in the comforts of your own Union hall. Watch this space each Fri­ day for the ^nouncement of the following day's pro­ gram. - PRC8IOCNT CAPT. R. R. MEMERY 2ND FLOOR, 204. HORNBY ROAD. OENCRAU UECRCTARY MONTREAL — The MV PhUae hit this port on a Thursday, and paid off the following Monday. There were transportation and overtime beefs aboard, her which we took up with the ship's Mas­ ter and the company agent, and managed to settle to everybody's satisfaction. The linen beef was settled so well that each man received eight dollars instead of the two dollars the company had written down. On the transportation beef, all men signing on in foreign ports were given first-class transpor­ tation by air unless they pre­ ferred a ship, in which case they were given the difference in cash. The SIU obtained obtained temporary visas for Canada for those who did not wish to return home. The company is paying subsist­ ence while the men remain here, and if the men have not shipped by the expiration date of the visas they will get transportation too. The payoff was okayed by the entire crew, most of whom pocketed an extra 200 dollars as a result of Union representation. Ship's Delegate Jan Van Den Berg did a fine job, and the Sec­ ond Engineer proved to be a man who understood the Union way of doing things well enough to deserve mention. The Philae is being transferred to Norwegian registry, and a crew from the Norwegian Sea­ men's Union will man her from now on. Shipping in Montreal is very "slow. In fact, it does not even exist and we don't know when it will. Incidentally, we're still doing business at the same old stand— 1227 Phillips Square. 'GRAMS: 'OCEANITC* THE MARITIME UNION OF INDIA By ALLAN MacDONALD SIU WINS THE EXTRAS Friday, July 2. 1948 D. MUNGAT ^ ^ REF. NO. ^ The Patrolmen Say— Wise pFecautlon With shipping slowing down, and the warm dog-days of sum­ mer setting in over the hinter­ BOMBAY. 22. 6. 48. land, a good many Brothers are getting jobs ashore—or just head­ ing back to the fields and streams, the mountains and talltimber for an indefinite vacation. Mr. Paul Hall, If you' should be one of these. Secretary - Teasurer, Brother, don't forget to retire Seafarers International Union of Hofth America your book! > That vaca.tion can mighty ^ Atlantip and Gulf -District, easily stretch out to six months 5i, Beaver Street, or a year and, as you know, if •NSW YORK 4. N.Y., U.S.A. your dues get over six months in arrears, it'll cost you a twentyfive dollar fine to get squared Dear Sir, away again and if it's a year * you're OUT. A copy of the Seafarers Log dated So before you join the back-tothe-soil-movement, or take a Friday, March 12, 1948 arrived here yesterday. fling at that tough old job of In hehalf of this Union I send you our heartiest making a living on land, get your dues and assessments squared congratulations on the wage increase as away, your strike clearances published in the Log and all good wishes for the stamped in, and theri take your future• book up to the sixth floor of the Headquarters office, 59 Beaver ' Street, New York 4, New York, I was greatly impressed by the article ! (or mail it in) and have it prop"Strikes and Stsike Strategy" and in particuler jerly retired. by the record of your fights and help given Freddie Stewart to other Unions. It is likely that we may also be forced into taking industrial action .not only to improve the conditions of our members but also to preserve the very existance of this Union. I'would, therefore, be obliged if you would permit us to reproduce the, relevant portions of this article to educate our membership. Yours faithfully, eneral^Secretary* Further acknowledgement of the SIU's far-flung prestige comes from Bombay, where the Maritime Union of India is showing interest in Seafarers policy and educational program. Above letter, from D. Mungat, general secretary of the Indian Seamen's union, requests per­ mission to reprint portions of "Strikes and Strike Strategy," an SIU booklet published recently and available to all hands. The SIU promptly forwarded its okay for the project. Prove identity To all members who have checks held for them at branch mail rooms: Port Agents will not give out any mail containing checks, unless the addressee shows sufficient evidence of his identity, such as Union book, seaman's papers, discharges, etc. An instance has been re­ ported of an envelope con­ taining a check being picked up by a phony who later forged a signature and cashed it. To prevent a recurrence, checks will be given only to the person to whom it is addressed, and the only after full identification is made. New York Shipping Begins To Move Agnin After Bod Weeks By JOE ALGINA One of the ships to come out of lay-up this week was the Gadsden, American-Eastern's heavy lift special ship. She has a 18-months charter to carry lo­ comotives to Turkey. The clean payoffs of the week go to a couple of Waterman ships and a Bull Line vessel. The Afoundria and Bessemer Victory, Waterman, came in and paid off without anw trouble other than the usual T^nor beefs. The Helen, too, was a joy to the eyes of the Patroipien. NEW YORK—This week in­ stead of reporting shipping at a standstill, as was the report for the past several weeks, we can safely say that the shipping has gotten off its back and has reached its knees. It's just bare­ ly creeping, but we hope it gains strength and will be jogging along before long. In spite of several lay-ups this week, the ships gained through the good work of the Organizers, plus some of the ^.others that have been in lay-up; have bright­ STICKING AROUND ened the shipping picture con­ Unfortunately, the Afoundria siderably. will be around port for awhile Even the alien Brothers, for until •she receives new orders, whom shipping has been very and the Helen is headed for laytough, have found it much easier up for an indefinite length of to grab a job during the pa^t time. week. It's good to see these Brothers Another fond' farewell was go aboard the ships, but it is given the SS Alcoa Cavalier. still important that they take' She has made her last voyage steps toward securing their ci­ out of New York and will ope­ tizenship papers. Shipping is rate out of the South from now never again going to be what on, A lot of feUows had made it was awhile back, so aliens homes aboard her, and were should prepare for the days of sorry to see her drop New York tough shipping. as, the home port; but we aren't really losing the Cavalier, so there is no loss. Once more here's a reminder to crews going ashore— Make sure that there is a sail­ ing board at the gangway be­ fore taking off to do the town. We've had a lot''of beefs on this matter and there is only one sure way of clearing it up. Instead of taking the word of the First Assistant or the Pur­ ser as to the sailing hour, raise LOOKA iXe SMIPtfb/ AAIDTO/HF IS WOE I your voice a little and yell for, a sailing board. It'll insure your catching the ship in time and with all hands aboard. Even if you're always on hand when the ship leaves, there might be a few Brothers who got the wrong dope. There's no sense in sailing shorthanded. This should eliminate this prob­ lem. Here's another thing to re­ member at the end of the voy­ age: Be sure you are present at the. payoff. It's hard to imagine men missing the payoff, but it happens all the 'time. As a result they lose out on disputed over­ time and other money rightfully theirs. It's a long, hard pull to collect dough once the payoff is over. SAVE THE PATROLMEN Another reason for being there, and this one for the Pa­ trolman's sake, is so you can pick up your book or permit. Often Patrolmen find them­ selves weighed down with books and permits left with the Dele­ gates, but never claimed. Not only does the poor Patrolman have an aching- back, but back at the Hall he has a file cabinet bulging with unclaimed books. Be at the payoff and save money. �-Friday. 'July, 2<, 1948 THE SEAFARERS • L OC Page SeTen SiU-Contracted Companies: South Atlantic South Atlantic Steamship Line, eighty-one SIU members on eight vessels lost to enemy ac­ tion, were killed or reported missing. To belter acquaint the SIU membership with the ships they sail and the SIU con­ tracted companies behind them, a series of short articles on these companies and their ships is being run in the LOG. WAR LOSSES The eight ships lost to enemy action were the Benjamin Smith, lost January 23, 1943; the James Oglethorpe, lost March 16, 1943. the Richard Caswell, lost July 16, 1943; the Joseph Wheeler, lost December 2, 1943; the Virginia Dare, lost March 14, 1944; the John A. Truetlen, lost June 29, 1944; the Henry Bacon, lost Some the companies have long and interesting records in American maritime history —-some of that history was made with SIU crews aboard the ships. -By the turn of the century, the revolution in transportation was in full swing. The horse and buggy were soon to be replaced by the automobile;' the airplane was ready to take to the air and wooden sailing vessels were fast being replaced by all-metal, steam-driven ships. Though wooden ships were be­ coming scarce in the world's shipping lanes, it was because of them, strange as it may seem, that the South Atlantic Steam­ ship Line came into existence. Cotton still reigned as King in the South, but a new industry— naval stores — was gaining strength. Pine pitch and pine tar were used extensively in the building of sailing ships, and the products of pine gum came to be known as naval stores. South Atlantic Steamship Line was organized in 1907 by a group of Savannah business men for One of South Atlantic, Steamship Line's four postwar acquisitions, the Southland, a C-2, poses for its formal portrait before entering service to European ports. types. Due to high building and operating costs of American ships and due to the fact that subsidies were furnished to foreign lines by their governments, competi­ tion by American ships was al­ most impossible. February 23, 1945 and the Wil­ liam J. Palmer, lost August 4, 1945. In reorganizing, following the war, the company disposed of its four owned Hog Islanders and purchased four C-2 vessels, the Southland, Southwlnd, Southstar and Southport. to discontinue its service to; In addition to the four comNorthern Europe and turn its pany vessels, the company, actvessels into other trades. Hit by, ing as general agent for the War the war-caused switch were the |Shipping Administration during Seafarers aboard the South At-, the war, operated as many as lantic ships, the company having fifty-two vessels. signed a contract with the SIU In 1944, the company was pi^eWith two chartered C-l-A ves­ However, the first World War sented with a WSA War Service made it necessary for the governThe other trade routes did not Certificate, "In recognition of sels and 13 chartered Libertys, ment to build a large fleet of produce the volume of business meritorious service to the United the company is once more oper American vessels to transportnecessary to keep the entire States of America in time of ating in the European trade. and supply our troops overseas. company fleet in operation, so all war. The two C-l-A vessels are the The building of 'this fleet brought vessels but four were sold. Those FINE CREWS CapeJSrome and Cape Race. about some revolutionai-y changes kept, the Tulsa, Shickshinny, in this country's merchant ma- Schoharie and Fluor Spar, were The libertys are Alexander S; In- commenting on the award, rine. operated during the entire war the company stated: "This recog­ Clay, Bertram G. Goodhue', Ed­ At the end of the war, like the P^"od, and although subjected to nition was largely due to • the win Markham, Felix Grundy, fine service performed by the Frank E. Spencer, Irvin S. Cobb, ,endof World Warn, the-governsubmarine warfare, and occa­ Seafarers who sailed these ships ^ment found itself the owner of sionally to attack by enemy air­ through the hazardous and dif­ James Swan, John W. Burgess, a large fleet of ships. Being an­ craft, none of the vessels was ficult conditions existing during Robert Stuart, Russell A. Alger, xious to dispose of the ships and lost, although two suffered some the war." Stephen Leacock, William Carson establish permanent American While sailing the ships of the and William R. Davie. Flag services in foi eign tirade, the damage by air attack. government allocated trade routes to various American com­ panies South Atlantic Steamship Line, in 1926, was appointed managing operators for the American Pal­ metto Line, a government-owned A familiar sight in European service from South Atlantic ports ports is the South Atlantic to the United Kingdom and con­ stack design. The stack is yel­ tinental European ports. In 1928, South Atlantic, to­ low having a black band at the gether with other shipping inter­ top followed by blue, white ests, purchased ten ships of the and blue bands. American Palmetto Line to be operated in the service already the purpose of handling export appointed by the government. shipments of naval stores from After the. purchase of- these South Atlantic ports to Europe. vessels, all of which were of the They felt that the building of Hog Island type. South Atlantic wooden vessels in Europe was' made improvements which in­ still continuing at a rate to make creased the speed of several of the export of naVal stores pi'o- the .ships, and installed refrig­ fitable. erated cargo space for the carIn entering th'e maritime field riage of Florida citrus fruit to the company did not make use of Europe. American vessels, primarily be­ FILLED OUT FLEET cause there were very few American Flag vessels operating About five years later, the in foreign trade. And like most company acquired two additional other shipping lines at that time. ships having refrigerated cargo South Atlantic Steamship main- 'space, increasing the size of its tained its service largely by the fleet to twelve ships. use of chartered foreign flag ves­ With this fleet the company sels. continued its service to Europe until 1939 when, with the pass­ COULDN'T COMPETE age of the Neutrality Act, AmeriA too-familiar scene to Seafarers who ran the U-boat gauntlet. This crew's ship didn't __ was up , until World War 11 _|Can Flag vessels were prohibited It that the company continued to ^ from carrying cargo into the war make it. Eighteen Seafarers, survivors of the torped^ Richard Caswell, are shown ready to charter foreign flag ships, by this zone. board the U,S. Navy vessel Barnegat. The-men were adrift on life rafts for six days, following time carrying cargoes of all I South Atlantic was then forced the sinking on July 16. 1943. 7i — —ITS: a —— -7- -—- —i-- o . w.. �J: m-'i-^•• Page Eight THE SEAFARERS LOG Friday* July 2, 1948 SBIPS'MINUTES AMD NEWS SS Southport Rams, Sinks Finnish Ship Crew In Channel Fog; Mine Menaces Rescue Holds Memorial Rites The SS Harry Peer's first two trips under the SIU banner were By GEORGE REOCH good ones, according to Worth Pittman, OS. Making our way through a peasoup fog in the English channel in the evening of The ship, a tanker belonging June 4th, our ship, the SS Southport, collided with the Finnish freighter Finnborg. to Oceanic Tankers which signed The Southport's bow cut through her midships like a knife through butter, causing the Seafarem tanker agreement recently, has been making thi-eeher to take water immediately® ahead. It's floating down on the week shuttles between Texas and and with such swiftness that her ship!" Florida. crew was forced to take to the What had been nervous ten­ Pittman signed on in New lifeboats at once. sion until then immediately be­ York originally, but the ship came near-hysteria. Immediately headed right down-the coast to We had left Le Havre after our ship was thrown into \ full the Gulf to carry oil from the discharging our cargo and were reverse. The small boats, drag­ Houston area to Jacksonville and in the Channel about 1 P.M. Due ged by our lines, were tossed Tampa. He paid off in Jackson­ to the fog we made oiur way like wood chips, while the men ville on May 22 and in Tampa blind, with the foghorn sound­ in the boats cursed and yelled on June 2. ing its blasts regularly. Once in at the top of their limgs. awhile we heard another ship Memorial Day found the Peer faintly, but nothing seemed After a few minutes we stop­ two days out of Houston and the ped and again lowered a ladder. entire crew took the occasion as riose to us. SS Harry Peer crewmember Slowly the occupants of all boats a solemn one for men who go It was after chow that we be­ A1 Lopez holds the floral were brought aboard. came aware of a ship approach­ down to the sea in ships. wreath which was cast upon We hustled the survivors into In a little ceremony which the waters during ceremonies ing well over to our portside. the messroom and plied them Pittman photographed for the in remembrance of SIU Bro­ Her horn could be heard dis­ with sandwiches, coffee, cigar­ LCXJ, Bosun Jack Christy gave a thers lost at sea. Services tinctly, but after a curious sil­ ettes and clothing. The clothing talk and floral wreath in memory were' held two days out of ence on her part, we were start­ was necessary as they were un­ of men lost at sea was tossed Houston, Texas on Memorial led to hear her blast loud and able to save , any belongings overboard. near. The Captain immediately Day. Their ship had gone down in rang for half speed. George Reoch, narrator of ten minutes. At 6:31, Bobo Merritt, fore- the Southport's harrowing They told us that the Finn­ peak lookout, saw a ship loom Channel experience, poses on borg was taking a cargo from out of the fog off the starboard deck for his picture. Brother North Africa to Finland. The wo­ and heading across our coiurse. man, we learned, was the Cap­ He phoned the bridge and Reoch was Night Cook and tain's wife. grabbed the rail, he was sure Baker on the Southport. After making the Finnish sea­ Last week the LOG reported American believes to exploit we would collide. Immediately men comfortable, we went for­ the strong protests of three mem­ slave labor. om: ship sounded three blasts ship. The lifeboat was guided ward to examine the damage to bers of the crew of the SS "If it should be necessary for and we went full astern. The by the calls coming from the our ship. Our bow had been Afoundria, a Waterman ship, ships' Captains to employ shoreother ship, however, held her other ship as her crew called gangs, then let them use Ameri­ torn from the 6 foot to the 22 coiurse and was halfway across for help in unison. Our boat, too, against the use of German "slave can labor at decent wages. Then foot mark. oyr bow before our momentum was soon lost in the fog. labor" in the British-controlled unemployment will decrease in carried us into her midships. Just then two small boats ap­ That was all we needed to the United States as every Amer­ peared, half-filled with water make us cautious during our re­ port of Hamburg. Hardly was ican worker get a living. EASY CRASH and in sinking condition. Both turn to the French coast. By the ink dry on the story before "The present practice in Ham­ It was a soft crash. Men were overcrowded with 28 men Sunday morning, after a slow a new protest arrived. This one burg is taking jobs away from standing on deck remained on and a woman. Lines from our and careful trip, we arrived in was signed by the entire Afoun­ American seamen. Instead of their feet. Nevertheless, our C-2 ship were thrown to them and Cherbourg. After giving the dria crew of 28 men. employing one or two more sea­ cut deeply into the other ship. pails for bailing were lowered. Finns a hearty breakfast we put The latest protest against the men to a ship, the employers them ashore. goings-on in Hamburg is sub­ We could see her housing Then a ladder was put over the stantially a recapitulation of now can get all this work done At present we are in drydock side. splinter like cardboard. Out of abroad at what aftiounts to prac­ a great gash in her side poured One man came aboard, then for patch repair. How long we what was said in the earlier tically no expense. a stream of phosphate, leaving a second started up the ladder will be here is anyone's guess. ones: that in the British-run "As our Union always has a yellow wake in the water as when suddenly the ladder broke We are just thankful that we are ports of Germany, the Mastei's worked for better conditions and of American ships are hiring she continued on her course. throwing the man back into the still in the land of the living. German workers and paying more jobs, we must resist any In ^ minute she was lost in the boat, almost causing it to cap­ them a few cents apiece a day attempt to break down our gains. size. fog. to do chipping, scaling and other The shipowners gradually will Our ship stopped, the lifeboat By this time our lifeboat pull­ crew ships with' fewer men if jobs. standby signal sounded. We im­ ed along side and the Chief this practice is allowed in foreign' The Afoundria men point out ports. Our policy is increased mediately lowered a boat, which Mate in charge of the boat call­ that not only does this set a pre­ employment for American sea­ put off in the direction of the ed to the Captain, "A large mine cedent that could spread to the men. detriment of American seamen "While theie are seamen wHo Word has been received of the sailing elsewhere, but that it favor such practices, their view sudden death in Nuevitas, Cuba, does the Germans no good either. results from a failure to think of Seafarer Paul Hunt. He was They' feel that the work should the thing through. No seamen, a member of the Stewards De­ be performed by the crews, or, and no shipo'wner either, who partment of the SS Noah Web­ if that is impossible, by shore- thinks carefully on this matter side labor in American ports. ster, Waterman. could advocate continuing it." The complete text of the Frank Gardner, who was Chief Steward on the Webster, wrote Afoundria cx-ew's resolution fol­ to Hunt's parents telling them lows: the details of his passing, and "In the years that have passed also telling how his shipmates since the end of the war, it has To insure payment, all had rallied around to see that been a general practice of Cab- claims for overtime musf be the funeral and other matters tains on American ships to ein- turned in to the heads of de­ were properly handled. ploy shoregang.s in foreign ports. partments no later than 72 . This has been especially true in hours following the comple­ Gardner later received a mov­ the British Occupation Zone of ing letter from Paul's father, tion of the overtime work. Germany. f;^ Louis Hunt, of Deer Park, Ohio. As soon as the penalty i&i;-' "If you know of any of Paul's work is done, a record should 30 TO 1 buddies who would drop me a be given to the Department Ijpe," wrote the elder Hunt, "it "In this zone, any Captain can head, and one copy held by The Southport as she appeared before leaving Mobile on would help us to better bear our employ 20 to 30 men for wages the mA doing the job. In addition the depart­ what proved to be an almost-disasterous trip. Feeling of the sorrows." Apparently, just Deer equivalent to what one or two Si:American seamen make a day. mental Park, Ohio, is address ^nough. delegates should crew was that if they had not struck the Finnish ship, they Paul Hunt joined the SIU in We feel that this practice is check on all overtime sheets might well have gone on to hit the loose mine floating in Boston in 1943 and sailed in the against what our Union stands 72 hours before the ship their path, The Southport has now completed patch repairs Stewards Department. He was for. Furthermore, it is contrary makes port. to what any right-thinking 23 years old. in Cherbourg and is on her way back to the Stales. •'tl More Afoundria Men Blast Use Of Cheap Labor Abroad Paul Hunt Dies In Cuba; Member Of SIU 5 Years yi' r:<l li] i'! On Overtine r- *• -i-JI �Friday, July 2, 1948 THE SEAFARERS LOG Page Nine 9* Digested Minutes Of Sill Ship Meetings • STEEL FLYER. May 14— Chairman Ross Rhady; Secretary Paul Chavez. Few disputed hours in all departments. Ap­ proved repair list. Hot water sit­ uation to be taken up with Patrolman. Elected Chester to be Ship's Delegate. Carried mo­ tion by Raffoon, seconded by Morris, that men try to get room allowance for period in January when there was no heat aboard. Delegates to get new reading ma­ terial for next trip. Milk to be bought in sanitary containers in­ stead of five-gallon cans. if if if ALCOA PIONEER. April 11— Chairman Red Collins; Secretary Eddie Caudill. Department dele­ gates reported everytthing okay. Voted for porthole screehs to be obtained at first U.S. port, and for keys to crew's quarters. Collins elected Ship's Delegate. Departments to take turns clean­ ing laundry, and the messhall be kept clean. Voted to hold meet­ ings every two weeks. Discuseion of various Union matters under Good and Welfare. Min­ ute of silence for departed Brothers. ing ship's gear or interfering with shipmates while drunk would be fined and the fine would be turned over to the strike fund. Issues of the April LOG were received in Rotter­ dam, and the membership, many of whom stood picket duty, were glad to hear of the outcome of the UFE strike. One minute of silence for Brothers lost at sea. if if if Good and Welfare: Vote of thanks for Chief Steward and his staff for the good food and serv­ ice they put out during trip. One minute of silence for Brothers lost at sea. XXX MAIDEN CREEK. May 23— Chairman Antonio Schiavone; Secretary Ifiobert G. Vamon. The Delegates reported disputed over­ time would be checked and ready for the Patrolman upon arrival. Good and Welfare: The cramped condition of the Bosun's, Deck Engineer's, and Cook's foc'sls was discussed and it was decided to report the 'matter to the Patrol­ man. Motion was made to re­ quest the LOG to print an article of clarification on painting done by the Steward Department. It was moved that the slopchest in­ voices be checked to ascertain if more than ten percent profit was being charged, and to endeavor to have the stale cigarettes changed for fresh ones. WFDIDITA^AINj ©MCE A/^CRETHe ASCr W PISTRICT lEAPS THE I WAY A/MERICA/S/ SEAMEAl. IM THESE •DAVS OF -lAFTHAt^TLEY AND OTHER AMn-i-ABoft ueSlSLAnOAiTHESlU CCWTINUES TV MAKE THE MAJOR ^AlNS OA) THE WATE.RFROMT/ PA\/lMC5THE WAV EDR THE OTHER 0^)/O^JS, THESE ARE FOWIERFUL WEAfC»S FOROI?6A/V/7IM6- SO SPREA'D THE WORD TO THE UAJORGANJlZED SEAMEAJ You MEET, AAD SPREAD THE UHIOAJ / C TRINITY VICTORY. April 25 —Chairman J. L. McHenry; Sec­ retary A. J. Yukniz. Delegates reported on Union status of members in their departments. New Business: covered mess room cleanliness, a general repair ist, and the posting of slopchest price lists. Good and Welfare: By HANK XXX An invitation was extended to JOHN RINGLING. AprU 23— department heads to attend one Chairman F. McGuire; Secretary An example of a powerful and effective defense of the meeting. One minute of silence P. Jakubcsak. Delegates re­ labor movement and especially the SIU membership is the for Brothers lost at sea. ported on Union standing of SIU's tremendous victory in keeping solid our traditional if if if members. New Busincs: Mo­ if if if STEEL DESIGNER. May 9— TRINITY VICTORY. May IB- tion to re'quest. Patrolman investi­ Hiring Hall. The sailors in other maritime unions are faced Chairman Vassar Szymanski; Chairman W. Lyons; Secretary gate the death of John A. Gibson, with fear, cohfusion and dangerous job conditions through Secretary E. Goslow. Few hours A. J. Yuknis. Deck and engine to find if he was a SIU member, the attacks by the shipowners and the communists. This is all of disputed overtime in depart­ department delegates reported and to ascertain why there was the more reason for all SIU Brothers to fully understand and ments and repair list to be disputed overtime. New Busi- no case history sent aboard on appreciate what the SIU Hiring Hall victory means in these turned over to Patrolman. Patrol­ ne.ss: Motion to request Master to him. Also to ask Patrolman to days of tough shipping, unemployment and dangerous antiman to check on money from have coffee urn changed, and find out why Brother E. Mattsprevious slopchest overcharges steam line installed in laundry. son was put on the ship as work­ labor hysteria. which was to go for athletic Good and Welfare: Motions that away when he needed medical ^ K i K ft equipment. Suggested that rooms adequate clothing be worn at attention. E. Abualy was elected be reassigned on a watch-and- meal times, that watch men use Ship's Delegate. Motion to Every SIU permitman and )300kman has the responsibility at watch basis. Voted to try to get showers as soon as possible after make up repair list and submit all times of honestly protecting the jobs, contracts and aims oJ an extra Messman.. Patrolman coming off watch. One minute to department heads. Good and the SIU by carrying out the SIU rules aboard ship and in the to check insufficiency of soap of silence for Brothers lost at Welfare: Members agreed to Union Halls. While in port, every oldtimer and youngtimer has supply. Washing machine to be sea. eave their quarters clean on day the opportunity to read his weekly Union newspaper and have left for next crew, with notice of payoff. Fines of ten dollars it mailed home free of cost. He also has the obligation to study to next crew to show apprecia­ against eleven crew members are the Union constitution, the shipping rules, and booklets explain­ tion by donations to LOG and to be turned over the the hospi­ ing how to become better Union men, how to organize new hospitals, present crew having tal fund. One minute of silence companies, how to be a shipboard delegate, etc. A tough Seafarer bought machine. Minute of observed for Brothers lost at sea. may be competent in his rating and a swell shipmate, but he silence for Brothers lost at sea. should not allow himself to be ignorant of his own Union rules XXX PONTUS H. ROSS, May 9— and programs. if if if WALTHAM VICTORY. Jan. 18 Chairman Smith; Secretary De —Chairman N. Fisher: Secretary XXX Sei. Deck Delegate reported C. V. Dix. Delegates reported on AZALEA CITY. May IS— overtime slips would be given Such ignorance fouls up the contracts and the smoothstanding of crew members. New Chairman L. S. Bugajewski; Sec­ for cleaning oil on deck. Good working apparatus of the SIU. whether it be ihe organizaTional Business; Jack Johns elected retary H. Hankee. Department and Welfare: It was agreed that program for getting more companies and jobs, the educational Ship's Delegate. Moriarity moved delegates reported all in order. Steward Department would paint program in protecting contracts, taking ccure of beefs in a that the question of more suit­ Ship's delegate reported that he out quarters, heads and showers, peaceful and sensible way or stopping gashound performers. able quarters for Junior Engi­ had talked to Captain and ob­ while the Deck Department We must emphasize that every Seafarer should understand one neers be taken up with the pa­ tained an issue of five cartons of would paint mess hall and rec­ big necessity: To protect the strength, the many victories in trolman upon arrival. Under cigarettes per person. Good and reation room. Crew members beefs, the powerful reputation and the current expansion of Good and Welfare it was decided Welfare: It was agreed that a were asked to return books and the SIU. He must at all times carry out his shipboard job that singlets and undershorts table be reserved for the 4-8 magazines to the library and not in shipshape SIU style and practice the same type of good could not be worn in the mess- watch at night in order that they let them accumulate in the unionism in every SIU Union hall. room at meal times; but that T- could be served first. It was ar­ foc'sles. One minute of silence shirts and tropical shorts would ranged for the crew aft to use observed for Brothers lost at sea. be accepted. The Deck Dele­ the Steward's department show­ Brother Bob High just sailed into town as "second mate" gate was asked to see the First ers because only steam and hot aboard a day coach of the Pennsylvania Raih'oad. Bob, who has Assistant about fixing the toilets. water was available aft. Since a quick-triggered sense of humor and the biggest and best "port­ One minutes of silence for Broth­ this situation is common on C-2's able slopchest" of all latest humorous events, is keeping Brother it was decided to register a com­ ers lost at sea. Pete Larsen and others in stitches. We recommend our "Cauli­ plaint upon return to the U.S. flower Award" for the best sense of humor to Bob... Brother in order to have the water line Charlie Scofield, the Electrician, just sailed in with his mustache' fixed. One minute of silence for ... Here are some oldtimers in town: Frank Fromm, E. McCarthy, departed Brothers. F. L. Ryan, L. Kimbriel, E. Sato, D. Lillje, J. R. Henchey, K. HAWSER EYE, May 6—Chair­ XXX Staalsen, M. Garcia, A. M. Anderson, A. Pipinen, .H. S. Bers, T. CAFF. MOHICAN, May 25— man P. Allgeier; Secretary Jos­ Salvatore, C. Hartman, T. M. Wabolis, J. Norgaard, L. Fi-anken, Chairman Chiaf Steward Nauja- eph Booker. New Business: Mo­ if X X T. Paul, C. O. Lee, L. P. Hogan, A. Magapagl, R. Baker, J. Tilden, McKITTRICK HILLS, May 25 lis; Secretary Rocky Basney. tions to discuss several Brothers J. Cegante, A. Petroe, F. J. Kroeker, C. Hunnicutt, C. W. —Chairman Jim Hammond; Sec­ Delegates reported on status of who had been loged for failure Rasmussen. to perform duties while drunk. retary Walter Haryek. Deck members and Steward Depart­ Delegate reminded the members ment Delegate reported 65 hours The Brothers were warned not to ft ft ft that all overtime must be turned disputed overtime. New Busi­ let it happen again or action The following Brothers will be receiving the LOG every in within 72* hours. Engine Dele­ ness: Motions for cleanliness of would be taken against them. week: James Wirtz of Pennsylvania, C. Hitchcock of New Under Good and Welfare the laundry, request for an extra gate asked that all performers York, Allen Rose of Virginia. Guy Wilson of Texas. Clinton Steward was requested to serve perculator, cups and glasses car­ be brought up on charges for the Mason of Florida, Fred Miller of California, Dewey Shaver of more cold drinks in hot weather, ried out of m room to be re­ good of the Union. Good and and the meeting was assui-ed by North Carolina. Frank Bachot of Louisiana, Alton Clement of turned before meal hours. Mo­ Welfare: It was decided that Louisiana, Wesley Young of Maryland. Howell Mauldin of the Steward of his full coopera­ tion that no one pay off until all ship's meetings be held every Tennessee. two weeks. Performers damag- disputed overtime .is settled. tion. CUT and RUN �-frt-7 Page Tea THE SEAFARERS Friday'-July 2'.19<I8 LOG THE MEMBERSHIP SPEAKS r• ;/*• tl Feels Men Getting Trayel Pay Should Pile Off Ship PART OF THE 'BEST CREW* ON THE HOOD Log-A-Rhythms ; To the Editor: idea. If you have an opinion, send it to the LOG where I can Back in 1941 in Mobile, if you paid off a ship with trans­ see it and where everybody can portation, you had to register at see it. I think this is an important the Hall and get your job off the issue, because I believe that the board if you wanted to stay on things like transportation which the ship. There was no taking the SIU has gained the hard the money and just staying way should be for the benefit of aboard whether there was any­ everybody, not for the benefit body on the beach or not. I think that's the way it ought of just a few individuals who J to be now. There should be a take advantage of a pretty good provision in the shipping rules deal. Henry Robinson covering this point. It should (Ed. Note: How about tak­ read somewhat as follows: ing a cue from Brother Robin­ A man must get off a ship son? Let him and the other after making a voyage whenever transportation is called for be­ Brothers read what you think. cause the ship pays off in a port Send your letters to the Editor. different from the one named in SEAFARERS LOG, SI Beaver St.. New York 4. N. Y. the articles. • Pictured here are a few of the crewmembers cf the A man who takes his trans­ Robin Hood, described by O. L. Stefansson as "the best crew portation and stays aboard is I have ever sailed with." Posing formally, above, are, left to doing somebody on the beach right, sitting—^L. Fisher, AB; O. Stefansson, Bosun: Bill, . out of a job. The guy on the Crewmessman; Bedroom Steward; and Smitty, AB. Standing— beach may have been waiting a B. Frew, OS; C. Carson, DM; C. Johnson, AB; and unidenti­ , long time. fied AB. BAD EXAMPLE What is more, the man staying To the Editor: aboard is setting a bad example which makes it hard for the Now that our committee is Negotiating Committee to im­ meeting with the operators for prove our wages and overall new contracts, we still have a working conditions. Transporta­ few irresponsible persons who tion is not a bonus, it's a guar­ per.si.st in staying drunk on the antee that a men gets to his job while aboard our contracted home port with his wages in­ ships. These men are refusing to do their work and forcing tact. other men to perform their du­ So I say again that the ship­ ties. The companies, of course, ping rules should require a man have full reports on all such paying off with transportation to cases. register and get his job off the We have the best contracts- in board SIU style. the maritime industry, but these SIMILAR RULING characters are hurting our This change I suggest is right chances of getting better con­ in line with the things we have tracts. These irresponsibles done already. It's like barring should be removed,, from the shipboard promotions. You re­ SIU—they are a distinct liability member how it used to be: a to our organization. guy who got next to the com­ KEEP LOOKOUT pany would gradually get him­ All SIU crews should watch self promoted up, doing every­ out for this kind of company Three members of the Robin Hood's Deck Gang shown thing the company way. stooge and report his actions to busy overhauling guy^ blocks and making rope slings. Left to I say we should ship SIU style the nearest Union Hall. They right—Jack, OS: L. Fisher, AB: and Claus, Deck Maintenance. right down the line. Personally should see that action is' taken Photos were submitted to the LOG by Joseph - Faircloth, I'd. like to know what some of by the membership in the one Baker on the Seton Hall Victory. Stefansson gave the photos the other Brothers think of this sure way of nailing them once to Faircloth when he returned to the U.S. on the Seton Hall and for all. Any person who after falling, ill in Lourenco Marques. At present he is in Sitting Pretty violates our contracts is. not the Staten Island Hospital. worthy of sailing with the SIU. Brothers, if the companies had control of the hiring, such ac­ tions would result in these men To the Editor: hears he hurridly relays to ^ the being fired and blackballed. Captain. Why, then, should we put up Just a few lines to the LOG We've been on this shuttle run and all Brothers to let everjmne with the likes of these men? know how. good or bad^ trip for over six months now and ANOTHER TYPE can be if you get a few phonys Another type of disruptor is topside. the former official of the Union First the Captain. Maybe some who spends his time blasting the of the brothers have heard of membership and its duly elected him. He was thrown out of the officials. Men like this are just Waterman fieet for smuggling as bad as shipboard performers. cigarettes into Germany. Now he Cases have cropped up in Boston is with . Alcoa. He's ho doubt and New Orleans of such disrup­ dreaming up a little racket to tive tactics. In both cases, how­ pull on this run. ever, the membership was quick The Chief Mate is as bad as to dispose of these characters. the Old Man. Of course,- he is Any other disruptors who show still an apprentice when it comes up to try to blast us will be to hardtiming the men, but he the Radio Operator has become Up from the depths for a handled in the same way by an is a studious one. He'll learn all so fast at speeding tales topside the tricks. breath of- air*. Biothex. Jones. alert membership... Brothers, do not let anyone The Radio Operator is learn­ that we are considering entering Fireman , on the Rufas W. him in the Olympic tryouts. Peckham. looks pleasant for. endanger our contracts by will­ ing his at the Mate's knee. In What event? , Why, bull throw­ the camera, of Doc. Pepper. fully disregarding union condi­ due time he, too, will be a rival ing, of course. The Peckhani. at the time, tions. Take immediate action to for the Captain in hardtiming. Crew of Ihe Right now he is playing "ears" was on its way to Nagoya, get rid of such people. SB Diamond Hitch LeRoy Clarke for the Skipper. Everything he Japan. Performers Harm Union, Contracts, Brother Charges I".' Hitch Has Many 'Hardtime Pupils' 7-v- What Some Would Like By "WANDERING SEAFARER' Said a bucko skipper To his bucko male: "We'll toast the future, • Sing our hymn of hate To the day when unions Shall be no more. And we'll be the masters Three miles off shore. "Here's to the soul Of Captain Bligh— Captain Ahab's own brother; —They did not die; Td hell with progress If we must explain The deeds we do. Which cause men pain. "We'll sail the ships With cat o' nine tails,_ A flogging for an answer. To make crews quail. We'll put God's fear In their very bones. And feed their carcasses To ol' Davey Jones. "We'll set the wages. And cut down the grub. We'll carve out a kingdom On each rotten tub; As gods we'll be. With the limit the sky. The past will be with us. Bye and bye. ;.Af' ^ "So here's to the Ahabs And the Blighs, Our souls are merged And they hover nigh; Down with the unions And modern, thought. That would curb our power . Which treasure bought." The Union answers. Clear and strong: "The laws of justice To all belong. As freemen we saily As patriots we stand Beneath starry banners Of our land." i , . Best Wishes To SIU From The Fitzgeralds To the Editor: We have moved from Washing­ ton to Nashville, Tenn., where we ai-e already getting, the LOG. Sp will you please discontinuesending it to our old address. We thank you for 'sending the paper to us, as we certainly en­ joy keeping up with the brothers at sea. We send our best wishes to the Brotherhood and to the LOG. G. M. Fitzgerald , �Friday. July 2. 1948 THE Seafarer Submits Poetry, Urges Members To Write To Ihe Editor: Enclosed you will find a poem that I have written recently. In the event that you find it suitable please place it in j:he LOG whenever there is enough space to do so. I have been in the SIU a year now, and it goes without saying that I find it to be a top outfit. This is the first time I ever have sent anything into the LOG. However I feel that each and every Brother should take time out and contribute some sort of article to the LOG, for the LOG, after all, is what we make it. Here is the poem: V A SAILOR'S THOUGHTS The restless urge to wander, The yearning to be free, Decided me to pack my gear And take a trip to sea. I wanted to journey To ^ands far away. Or perhaps Do It Now By an overwhelming vole on the Referendum Ballot, the membership of the Sea­ farers International Union. A&G District, went on rec­ ord to protect itself in the hard days to come by build­ ing up a strike fund and by providing shoreside oper­ ating bases. That means a $10.00 Strike Assessment and a $10.00 Building Assessment. Al­ ready many members have paid these sums. The operators will move without warning. It is our duty to be prepared. Pay the assessments im­ mediately. It is our insur­ ance for the future growth and strength of the Union. To the end of the rain­ bow, And tarry for'er and a day. SEAFARERS LOG Page Eleven Military Rules In Port Of Bremen Vague And Costly, Brother Learns To the Editor: J Due to the fact that a certain 'American ship did not carry During my ship's last stay of liquid penicillin in her medicine Oh many miles have I one week in the port of Bremen, chest, a crew member carried traveled. Since the day I first left Germany, several unhappy in­ I some himself. He had 500,000 home. cidents took place involving units, just sufficient to tide one And many sights have I merchant seamen from various person through an illness. It would have been hard for iseen ships. anybody to doubt the seaman's I n Shanghai, Paris and Nowhere is the old adage, statement of the facts. He had Rome. "Ignorance of the law is no ex­ made no effort to the conceal the However, dear Brothers, cuse," so religiously observed as medicine. That he intended it This I confess: in Bremen and Bremerhaven. for his own use seemed beyond Of the places I've looked at, Whether you are rrtaking your question. I love my home town the hundredth trip, and are wise to CONnSCATED best. all the military rules, or are making your first trip and don't Yet no amount of reasoning Some time I'll abandon know an iota about Bremen, you could save him from being fined. This life of a sailor, And settle, no more to roam. get the same penalty if you Nor could it save the penicillin No matter how far you crack one of the laws promul­ from being confiscated. gated by the military authorities. May fate be kind to this sea­ travel, And don't expect a fair break. You will find no place like man! May he have no need for home. During my last seven trips to the confiscated medicine while he F. P. Jeffords Bremen and Bremerhaven, I was is in regions where it cannot be told by various German citizens obtained. And may other sea­ and in some cases by my ship­ men save themselves from simi­ mates of the various regulations lar predicaments. They can save governing merchant seamen themselves easily enough by ashore in the American zone of turning penicillin or other medi­ Germany. But I never had read cines over to the Master or the a copy of any regulation nor Purser upon entering the Bremen seen any posted aboai'd ship or area. One ship made Hamburg in the elsewhere. To the Editor: British Zone before reaching POST RULES In the daily papers I read Bremen in the American. While about the new draft law. Sold­ in Hamburg, some of the crew iers and sailors who had a cer­ In fact, outside of a few para­ who had friends there acquired tain amount of war service are graphs printed on the back of my several German-made articles as exempted. Even the goody, shore pass, I have yet to be in­ gifts. Not knowing anything goody boys — the Coast Guard formed officially of the existence about regulations and having no of any such regulations. For that personnel—are cleared. reason, I suggest here that ship's intention of "smuggling" the ar­ Where the heck do we, the delegates re,quest ships' masters ticles anywhere, they made no merchant seamen, stand? or American authorities in Bre­ effort to conceal them. The crew was not informed of I am one of the many SIU men for copies of the rules gov­ the legal aspect of an economic members who is between 19 and erning merchant seamen. Those 25 years of age; and I am won­ rules should be posted in every transaction outside the American Zone, nor were they instructed dering just what is to become ship that approaches Bremen. to declare such articles. When of us. The incidents which took place the German customs men, under Perhaps Joe Volpian of the in Bremen during my last visit Special Services Department can would have been minimized and the supei'vision of an American give us the true low down in might have been avoided entirely official, found these articles, they the next issue of the LOG. if the crews of the ships involved FREE-WHEELING Thanks fw a wonderful news­ had been properly informed of paper. the rules. It is to save other Walter S. Blazer merchant seamen hitting Bremen (Ed. Note: See article on grief and material loss that I am submitting this letter. page 3 of this issue.) Brother Wants True Lowdown On Draft . Status confiscated them. The latest in­ formation I have was that the men involved were to appear be­ fore a U. S. military court in Bi'emen. I 'was told that one of the men claimed that he had a camera which he brought from the States confiscated, although he showed stateside pictures as evidence that he'd had it a long time. However, it was a German-made camera, and he lost it because he could not produce a bill of sale from the States. WORD OF WARNING To camera enthusiasts I say if you have a German camera don't bring it to Bremen unless you register it was the customs peo­ ple in the States before you leave. The last day we were in Bre­ men, several members of the crew of one ship complained to the chief German police officer that German guards at the dock were frisking American seamen and confiscating the few handfuls of extra cigarettes they found above the allowable three packs a man. As a result the practice was stopped and the guards involved were dealt with summarily. We were told that the German police on the docks did not have the right to confiscate cigarettes or anything else from an Ameri­ can citizen. If an American was found carrying prohibited ar­ ticles, he was supposed to be sent back to the ship, or the American military police were to be called to make Sn arrest. We could not confiim the legal aspects of this last information as we sailed shortly after the in­ cident occurred. Philip Reyes PETROLITE MEN It's All Very Clear Now — He's In The Marine Corpse To the Editor: Me: Excuse me, I'm in the merchant marine. She: Oh, where are stationed? Me: Here and there. She: Where's your uniform? Me: A dog bit the seat out of it and I'm having it fixed. She: Have you been on a big boat lately? Pity the poor seaman that meets an inland girl for the first time. Having been a Sealarer for the past four years I frequently find myself heading inland to drink in the cool air of the mountains and take a hike through the woods. But, as it usually happens, I find myself drinking something a little stronger than air, and the THlS AiEDAL THEY GAVE nearest I get to the woods is ME.Tbia.'SUIlMMlkkSthe sawdust the barkeep dumps IW UW1>ER.VM€ARI around every morning. But on with my story, N On these inland trips I usually meet a few of the local belles. These ladies know as milch about the merchant marine (what's left of it) as I do of the function of the female brain. The following is an account of Me: I was on a Campbell Soup a conversation I usually find my­ tanker last trip. self involved in: She: I'll bet you boys ate She: Do you work around plenty of soup, didn't you? (Ye here? Gods!) Me: No, I'm in the merchant Me: Yes, we had a soup pump marine. rigged up on deck. She: Oh, I know a fellow in She: I wish I were a man. I'd join the Marine Corps like you. the Marine Corps. He's ... Me: I'm in the merchant marine. She: How long have you been in the service? Me: About four yeai's. She: Are you going to retire on a pension? Me: I doubt it very much. She: What will they do if you stay over your leave? Me: They worry a lot. She: Where do you like to go best? Me: The Virgin Islands. She: Tee Hee! That's cute. Oh, there's Lulubelle, my girl­ friend. You must meet her. She's so sweet, you'll just love her. She: Lulu. This is Jack. He's in the Marine Corps. Lulu: Hello. Say, I know a fel­ low in the Marine Corps. Where are you stationed? . Me: I'm in the merchant ma­ rine hnd not the goddam Marine Corps! Lulu: Say, where's your uni­ form? Me: Ye Gods! Bartender, bring me another drink and make it double. Melvin G. Hartley During one of the few times ashore during an 11-months voyage, a couple of the Petrolite crew latched onto bicycles' and, with the aid of a guide, toured Casablanca. Perez, a local boy. on the left, poses with Petroliters Jack Maurer. OS. and John Crews. OS. Picture was submitted to the LOG by Brother Crews. �Pitge Twelve THE SEAFARERS LOG MADE FIRST SIU-CONTRACTED TRIP ON STEEL SURVEYOR Brother's Big Brainstorms RaftgeFrom B'way To Yo-Yo Ta the Editor; The crew of SIU men who look Ihe Sleel'S irveyor oul on her firsl SIU'-contracted trip. Brother Thurston J. Lewis, Deck Delegate, reported that the gang worked together well and went a long ways toward ironing , out the kink> aboard the newly-contracted ship. No names are given, but according to their rating, they are, left to right, front row—Maintenance, Engine Delegate, Galley Boy, Chief Cook, Maintenanc; and Acting AB; Back ro^ — Messboy, AB, Messboy, FWT, Steward, Jr. Engineer, Oiler, Oiler, FWT, OS and Second Cook. Surveyor's First Trip Under Sit One Long 'Battle Of The Agreement' Friday, July 2. 1948 ship is quite long enough. How about some fellows writing in their opinions on this questioq. How about a few blasts. Im'r agine one year on one ship! Never making a shoreside meetiing! Seldom reading a LOGJ Oh well, so it means job se­ curity. Another thing I am against ig unlicensed men eating topside, or going ashore with the ship's brains. This practice should stop now. Here are a few brainstorms. Yes, brainstorms. The first thing you should do is go see "Finian's-Rainbow," at the 46th:8treet Treater in New York. In the first act a man called Woody comes out on the stage arid introduces himself like this: "I am in the merchant marine. I am a union organizer." Now my thought is that we ought to persuade Woody to say: "I'm an 8IU organizer." It would sound better. YG-YO FOR FLATTIES Ready fbr the next? In the Did you ever notice the Neiy personal column of the LOG you can run an ad like this: "Lost, York police, standing on the one set of upper teeth. Finder corners swinging their, clubs en? pleesh weturn, rish. awaysh. dangering the very lives of pass­ ing pedestrians? Did. it ever ocIsh neesh em wery wadly." Or we can run one like this: 'Are. you .kmely? 8ee..Mabel, be­ Vo,Vo,/i?, fore paying bfif. I "listen to all beefs . and .will advice ..." And then, underneath: "Forget Mabel. See Irene. I serve coffee. Bring your friends." OKAY. JUST ONE You mean you can take an­ other? I'm surprised, but here it comes; In the money due column rim this: "Alec "Trissian has $35,000 coming in disputed overtime on his one-month voy­ cur to you that we could make a age." Side-splitting, isn't it? I million dollars off those guard­ ians of public safety? thought so. Bromo Seltzer! Bromo Selt­ There they stand swing the zer! Well you can see I'm try­ sticks, thinking no doubt of the ing. For breakfast we had il­ undented heads of thousands of legitimate Rice Krispies — snap, pickets. However, these guys crackle but no pop. The reason are human and they do go home I act like this is on account of nights like other people who my new walkie-talkie. It talks work ashore. all right, but the darned thing When a cop gets home, that won't walk. Ouch, you're hurt­ swinging arm of his must be ing my arm. Take a sedative pretty restless with nothing to and relax. twirl. Why don't we go into the Let the Union take a firm new yo-yo business? We could sell a stand, on that Chief Mate who yo-yo to every cop in New York, told the Congressmen in Wash­ and then to cops in other ports. ington that we wouldn't sail with A cop could swing his yo-yo at him on Pacific Tankers ships. home before the mirror and prac­ Let's tell him sure we'll sail with tice ugly strike-breaking faces on him on all the Pacific Tankers himself. there are. All he has to do is 'get Tell Rudy hello, and to hold himself a job. Let him find out my mail. I'll be away from New that Pacific Tankers went out of York for several months. business. Ed Larkin I believe- that one year on a that long but he was flabber­ We -thought that we got coffee ,To the Editor; gasted by the question, jtime every two hours, but found We are just completing a trip i "Well, we'll give them coffee that according to the agreement on the 88 8teel 8urveyor, ship we can work from 6 to 9 with­ 1 to keep the peace," stated the of the recently-acquired Isthmian I Captain. "But you are to be out coffee: We were chagrined line. We were duly warned by paid for eight hours and you when we were shown by the the Brothers making the last might as well work it." Mate. That made us decide to voyage that we might regret our The Mate, as usual, tries to I study the agreement more close­ trip. It was to be our first trip lyshy clear of any overtime in under the new Isthmian Agree­ ment. We were also told that lieu of the rest period. One We haven't seen, anything in the Mate was a phony claiming evening, when the delegate was the agreement to this effect, but to be an ex-SUP man. We agree on the wheel, he went up to 'when the Mate was asked for that if he was ever an 8UP argue with him. He staided to [overtime sheets, he answered, sailor, he is now ex'—but defin­ tell him to inform the, crew not j "Ys, I have some company over­ to put down for such overtime time sheets, but I'm not going itely. when they were on sea watches. to give them to you. You fellows Things were so-so during our He was arguing his point with (the union) are supposed to fur­ trip out. On leaving Bombay grand rhetoric; and supposed nish your own." the Chief Mate refused to knock logic, when the Junior Third I Well, here's to the 8IU. In a off the 12-4 watch at 11 o'clock Mate on watch jumped him.. few days we will be drinking as per agreement. He told the about talking to the helmsman to our Grand Old Union in 8avDelegate that he should read the at the wheel. That took the wind annah. We are eagerly looking agreement. Later he learned his out of his logic, but fast; It was forward to meeting a few of mistake and told the 12-4 if a sight to see. our Brothers there. they put down overtime he Thursion - Ji; Lewis To the Editor: We get meager news from the passengers, who may want to woidd make it hard for them. 8tates on the radio, but we have Deck. Delegate get home early: Bell to bell and strictly 15 min­ I am a retired member of the Sleel Surveyor heard rumors of a strike; When Cooperation and courtesy will utes for coffee. Kinda smells, the Delegate asked the Radio­ Seafarers and I am now running, be extended to you from the doesn't it? man about such news, the Radio­ moment you board our car at In Madras the 4-8 watch was man replied, "The first Officer BROTHER, IN ARMY, a limousine service. the gangplank until you arrive standing by to turn to from 9 has all of that dope;" We: have MISSES THE LOG If any of the Brothers are go­ at your doorstep. And Seafarere to 10:30 A.M. because the Mate been led to believe that the To the Editor: ing- home- after the payoff, we'll 'will' be given special prices. did not have them turned to. Mate had put the hush-hush on provide firstrrate service at very ' Incidentally, I joined the SIU Later, when he found we were him about issuing strike news , I have been in the army for moderate praces. Should any in New Orleans in 1942 and my about seven months now, and I to be in port overnight, he want­ to the crew. shipmates care to go home over book which carries No. 22739, I miss getting the SEAFARERS ed them to work that hour and I Now we are about four days the weekend while their ship, has been retired in good standa; half in the afternoon to com­ out of 8avannah and rather glad LOG. I had it sent home for is in port, they should call us irig. my parents to read, but if it plete their eight hours. The Del­ this trip, is coming to a close; would "be possible I would like for service. When you need transportation, egate told him the 4-8 watches to have another copy sent here. Should an arrangement be give us a call: De Carlo's LimoNOT BAD, OVERALL eight hours were up at noon and he had to go to the Captain All in, all, it has been better In fact, there, are two other Sea- made for our service and the sine Service, 900 East 163rd St., to make that stick. He did it than we expected. But we would jfarers here besides, myself, so if payoff then delayed, for several Bronx, New York, Telephone like' to warn anybody about to you could send three LOGs it hours or days, we'll stand by at DA 3-8726. though. Carlos Ibrain make a trip on, the^8teel 8urvey- would be very much appre­ no extra cost, ready to shove STHICT SCHEDULE off when you're able. or that. Chief Mate 8pence is a ciated. Stand-by has been- strict on the I hard taskmaster. He has all When I first joined the army If CHOW. TOO bridge. The Delegate had to go ready told the- Bosun that next was stationed so far. away from to> the Captain to get the last trip he intends to. run the Deck the coast that itr was-, impoasible- On long distance trips, ar­ stand-by knocked off long Department strictly from bell to for me to get any of the water­ rangements are made for suffi­ Membership, rules require enough to make coffee and tidy beU. front news. That's when a LOG: cient rest periods, coffee and every man entering the Un­ up the mesSt-oom for the oncom­ We believe that these ships would have looked like an old, doughnuts or equivalent^—at no ion Halls to show his Union ' charge to our customer. ing; watch; can be made into better, crafts friend. ^ hook, pro-book, pernpl card "Is there anything- in the for our Brothers to sail on if I would also like to have the If; after leaving the ship, you • or- white- card to the Door- • agreement that says we have to ! the fellows come aboard with address of the Union Hall in should wish to go shopping for man. Nothing else will be- ^ I., five them coffee?" the Captain their eyes open, willing to do New York. a period: of not longer than two ; recognized.. This is for the asked. their work in 8IU style, and David B. Moz«Ui hoursj. so that you. may look m e m b e r s h i p's protection.. "No sir, it was not thought to willing to help the Delegates presentable when you get* home, Don't waste the Doorman's Fort Monmouth. N^- J> be necessary," the Delegate said. keep the operators to the agree­ (Ed.. Noten TKr«B: Foil Mtui- our chauffers will go out. of their — or your own — time by "It has been the custom for the ment. mouth? Eoldier'aes^rers wiU be: way to assist you. Providing,, of arguing this point. Observe past hundred years." He was not We slipped up once when we reading their individual copies; course; this does not conflict the. rules; you make. ' sure it had been the custom for were s-r overtime after 6 P.M. of the LOG fromvnow on.) with the wishes of your fellow EroUier Provides Limousine Service MMibersbip Rules �-•y-r i •r:!' '''' Friday. July 2. 1948 THE Robin Kirk Crew Praises Steward, Three Fine Cooks To the Editor: The crew of the Robin Kirk wish to express their thanks to the SteWards Department for the swell food and courteous service that was extended during the past three-months trip. Oar Chief Steward, Joe Miller has done it again. The food was superb. Lobster tails in butter, milk three times a day, plenty of ice cream and, believe it or not, beer. Joe has proven again that he is our number-one Union Stew­ ard;' and the crew that sails with him is a lucky crew. Joe has three cooks that would put a lot of big hotels to shame: Chief Cook J. Bove, Baker D. E. Jessup .and Second Cook F. G. Rocafort. Our Skipper, Captain Scholder cooperated 100 percent; which proves that we can work to- gether. There, hasn't been one logging. Joe reports that our Skipper has never turned down a legi­ timate request. Anything rea­ sonable that has been asked for has been granted. Sending a wire ahead for milk to be on the dock is a very unusual pro­ cedure—but not on this ship! Our hats are off to a Skipper who has the crew's welfare at heart. P. Sudia A. T. Arnold Michele Amato SEAFARERS LOG LOG TO BE ISSUED WEEKLY IN DURBAN As a result of arrangements made with 'the Robin Line, bundles of the SEAFARERS LOG will be available shoitly to the company's vessels calling at Durban, Union of South Africa. Crews of SlU-manned ships may procure these bundles from T. McMurdo, acting manager for William Cotts and Co., Ltd., Robin Line agents in Durban. The first bundles of the LOG under the distribution agreement are now on the way and should be available shortly in the South African port. Thereafter, Mr. Murdo will have copies weekly. Elusive McGogle Brothers Have Mission Men Baffled To the Editor: I am writing this as helpful information for the rest of the SIU-SUP crews of mission-type tankers: We have a very good bunch of Engineers and men on here, and we all agree that the only trouble on this type is caused by two infamous characters, the Brothers McGogle. First, and leader, is Pinhead McGogle, who has a fat beUy, toothpick legs and gigantic feet, which he uses to kick out the blades of the turbines. SEAMAR*S COLD BOXES: A STUDY IN CONTRAST Grantham Retires Book; Goes Into Repair Business i'. He runs around in the steam lines and boiler drums kicking but tubes and knocking out joints. Then he sits up with a derby hat on the back of his head, a black cigar in his mouth, a pea­ nut-butter sandwich in one hand and a bottle of Schlitz in the other just laughing like hell while you sweat your very blood out trying to make repairs. THREE FEATTIERS. PLEASE Now Joe, who looks like his brother, wears a Napoleonic hat With three feathers in it. His famous stunts are throw­ ing grit in the bearings, messing up the fans on the boilers and kicking out the governor-tips on the turbines. He was caught the other day sitting on top of one of the '•UcwEST;Tw,you I'COtC. OOSTliKFA PEANUT &CT7ER. | •SAKIDWICM ' Chances are you don't lug around a refrigerator or vacuum cleaner in your seabag, but if you do and any kinks develop Bosun Bob and AB Ed must have felt like while in New York, there is a Old Mother Hubbard when they looked into Seafarer ready and waiting to the crew's icebox aboard the SS Seamar. handle your case, where the traditionally generous Calmar night Lonnie Grantham, a Seafarer lunch is kepL for several years, retired his But just to prove the Steward isn't such a book this week and hung out his bad fellow after all, they took a look into the shingle notifying one and all that Saloon ice-box (right). Sure enough. That he is available for the repairing gentleman's gentleman had taken good care and servicing of all electrical ap­ of the officers. pliances. He also installs refrig­ eration, air-conditioning systems, etc., and will handle repairs. He doesn't expect his brotherSeafarers will have much reason "Married her, too, I did. Mar­ liness again. I held her face in to .require his services, but if the To the Editor: ried her and got shanghaied back my palms and a large golden old electric shaver starts dig­ The alarm bells, the jar of on the same ship I'd left! earring fell into. my hand. The ging up the divot, Lonnie's the depth charges, the wild exigency man to set the blades to mowing of 20-mm's are the language of "I remember now that first next morning we were back on the sea; and I wore the earring smoothly once more. war. They are also the language night at sea. The spokes of the about my neck on a stout cord. of death. You never get used wheel felt good in my palms. STRONG UNION MAN to it; but when death is near, Everything was close-hauled, the "The Germans were, fighting in Always a strong Union brother, you get a certain feel for destiny. tack of the mizzen-topsail lifted the Crimea when I came again. Lonnie put His book in cold stor­ Things before and after, and a gently. The evening star before "The Come See Me Inn was in age this week with his dues paid place somewhere among the me. shambles; but I came onto her, up through December. A clear stars. ~"Mamba! I whispered; and I walking out of the sunset, on that record for all beefs, he won't be Old Hans knew it. And he felt a message throbbing in my lonely strand. Straight and cold, content to watch the future ones a black dress flapping about her put it into words one night on heart. fr.om behind a bogged-down gen­ the old Kofresi ("floating kofiin," legs, she walked to me, and put­ erator. "If^ the Union gets in­ we called it) over steaming mugs "No words. I never found the ting her arms about me, rested words or sought them. But there volved in any strikes, I'll be back of black coffee. We were in the was sorrow and sadness and her face on my shoulder without down to the Hall before the sweating, glaring messroom, and Greater loneliness a word. paint is dvy on the picket signs," outside, in the black night, the loneliness. than one can ever know alone. "As I took the cord and the he stated. silent wolf-packs stalked our ring from my neck it fell to a "The months and the years In the meantime he'll be. re­ wake. rock and flew apart revealing a ahead of us are like the wake of ceiving visitors and customers at tiny folded paper. She stared in "Back in 1904," he said, "I met a ship behind us. It was through 124 West 101st Street, New York horror as I opened it. Penned in a little black-haired girl in a flaming sea in 1918 that I sailed ..City. tiny letters was a message: Mid­ Sevastopol." He spoke to the back again. night, Aug. 8, 1918. throbbing of the engines, the faroff thud of depth charges, and his "And Mamba was waiting with "I looked at her speechless. old blue eyes were fixed on the a son—our son! Straiglj^ and 'Yes,' she said, 'his ship went blackout-out port as thouglt he tall he was, and doing convoy down the day you left.' And she To speed up as much as could see quite through it and duty in the Black Sea on a Rus­ sank down on the sand. possible the appearance in far, far beyond. sian destroyer. "We sailed in the morning, and the LOG a digest of their "We closed the Come See Me when I left her she looked at "Her name was Mamba, and shipboard proceedings all Inn and threw a party. Then crews are advised to send she ran the Come See Me Inn. A there were long walks with me long and searchingly and copies of their minutes direct cute little trick, then — like a Mamba along the sea in the said: 'This is good-bye.' " to the Editor, Seafarers Log, small, dark-haired doll she was. evenings during the two Weeks I The messroom was silent for a 51 Beaver St., New York Served vodka and ran a puppet was there. long time after Old Hans had show. Ay! Paid off a threefinished, the drone of the engines 4, N. Y, masted barque with kopecks in "The last evening we watched and the gurgle of water along Port Agents should also the sun dip into the sea. She the ship's side filled in the sil­ forward their copies of ship's my pocket. walked often here in the sunset, ence. "I was little more than a boy she told me. I took her in my minutes to the LOG as soon "But Hans," someone spoke up, as possible after receiving with clean-cut shoe strings, and arms and told her of the first the sweet smell of Stockholm tar night I was parted from her, and "We still may go to Russia this them. trip!" Any other material relat­ in my hair; and it wasn't long of the star and her message. She ing to the voyage, such as before Lwas top man with her. had known I would come back, "I'U never get to Sevastopol!" he whispered. "The Russians and the Japs she said. ktories, pictures, letters, etc., were at it, I remember, and can be sent- in with the "I spoke of our son, and she Hans was only man lost things were moving fast—^like grew rigid and silent. Suddenly that trip. Shrapnel off Gibraltar. minutes. now. I was swept with that cold lone­ (Name Withheld) A Tale To Be Told Over Steaming Mugs Of Coffee Time For Minutes Page Thirteen WOH dEtLV??/!! boilers opening the air vents and throwing in salt tablets. We have found out how to satisfy McGogle by getting an extra supply of peanut-butter and leaving a box of cigars out in the engine room. But, as yet, Joe has us stumped. What would you suggest? R. K. Breeden For the Crew SS Mission Purisima (Ed. Note: We suggest a long rest—take a nice, refresh­ ing ocean cruise.) SICK BROTHER DEFENDS MARINE HOSPITAL DOCTOR To the Editor: I understand' that the Pilot gave Doctor Boyd, Surgeon in the Galveston Hospital, a bad name. Doctor Boyd is as fine a doctor as you will find any­ where. I have been in the Gal­ veston Hospital for 15 days, and have received excellent treatmerrt. -Here's what happened: A couple of guys secured passes from this hospital, went out and got drimk, came back and raised hell. So he tossed them out. Exactly what they de­ served. We come to the hospital for treatment—not to get drunk If you obey the rules here you will be treated right The SIU won't stand for drunJcs in the Halls; neither will the Doctors stand for them in here. • I would like to thank all of the doctors and nurses for the attention they have given me. The entire staff is fine. Fredrick F. Farthing �THE SEAFARERS Page Fourteen LOG Friday. July 2. 1948 SEAFARERS LOG &• Published Weekly by the If' Ti'v SEAFARERS INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA Atlantic and Gulf District h- i f Affilialed with the American Federation of Labor At 51 Beaver Street, New York 4, N. Y. NEW YORK I I .'••'• S; .1 $3.00: C. R. Robertsor, $4.00; W. O. Ryan. $5.00; R. G. Aldrich, $5.00 L. H. Anderson, $7.00; J. H. Fryhock, $5.00; F. Aguilar, $3.00; J. S. M. Bag liazo, $5.00; F. R. Clarke, $2.00; E. Lashbrook, $2.00; J. Burnes, $2.00; V Reelan, $2.00; V. J. Helms, $2.00; N Dixey, $20.00; C. L. Ritter, ,$4.00; S A. G. Fernandez, $10.00; D. F. Rosen dahl, $5.00; W. Bruce, $6.00; T. Men doza, $5.00; R. C. Calvya. $5.00; O Nordness, $5.00; G. A. Oliver, $2.00 D. Kaline, $4.00; C. W. Ballard, $2.00 J. Edwards, $2.00; U. Strickman, $3.00 INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS Willie F. Walker, $5.00; G. Iversen. $5.00; J. C. Atherlon, $1.00; Alford Mickley, $2.00; Cpl. Joe .Young, $2.00; S. A. Johnson, $5,00; E. M. Villapol, $5.00; H. L. McGuade, $2.00; R. L. Plude, $3.00; M. T. King, $5.00; John R. Chaker, $5.00; G. J. Smith, $6.00; T. C. Flaherty, $2.00; V. A. Engel, $5.00; D. L. Wenger, $5.00; G. Galllano, $2.00; P. G. Daugherty, $25.00; P. A. Edgett, $5.00; Wm. Trout, $2.00; C, C. Hunicutt, $5.00; E. A. Trader, SS CORAL SEA $5.00: F. E. Edmonds, $5.00; W. H. E. Lu'hrman, $1.00; L. Parasamlis JPaas, $10.00; P. O. Gallant, $5.00; L. Martindale, $2.00; A. Pappas, $5.00; E. $2.00. SS WACOSTA J. Buchser, $2.00; P. J. Cleary, $5.00; D. L. Rood, $2.00; W. S. Perry, J. W. Broad, $5.00; R. J. Prideaux, $5.00; E. J. Soile|iu, $5.00; Leo Thomas, $1.00; C. C. Hagberg. $1.00; C. Mical$5.00; Herman Young, $5.00; A. R. lef, $2.00; A. Serpe, $2.00; W. Kiehl, Frebreg ,$2.00; M. A. Rodriguez, $2.00; $2.00; W. Peredia, $2.00; S. E. Joseph, H. S. Ricci, $5.00; D. A. Rundblad, $2.00; L. Lantis $,1.00; O. S. Stephen$5.00; Chin Wong, $2.00; Loo Teck $3.00; J. O'Brien, $1.00; F. W. Heck, Song, $2.00; W. R. Siebert. $5.00; $2.00; J. W. Marchando, $1.00; N. Francis Daniels, $5.00; R."" F. Eckert, Hermankevich, $1.00; A. Fase, $1.00. Landsman, $1.00; C. DeSilva, $1.00; G Gabling, $1.00; A. Lugo, $1.00; J. S. Mulero, $1.00; T, Cavanugh, $1.00; J L. Keelan, $1.00; E. Witko, $LOO;--'A. Sanchez, $1.00; R. W. Barnes, $2.00; L, Corne, $1,00; R. L, Perry, $1.00. SS MONROE G. Boucher, $1.00; C. A. $2.00; R. Arecco, $2.00; T. $1.00; A. Galzo, $1.00; P. $2.00; L. D. Mullis. $1.00; E. $.50; A. Arrogancia, $1.00; D, $200; L, R. Senanp, $1.00. Fleming, Radcliff, Thorsey, Dijesus, McElroy, SS SANDFORD DALE R. E. Lagerstrom, $1.00; C. Barley, $2.0fff F Devaney, $5 00; E L. Meyer, $1,00; W. W. Tomlinson, $5.00; P. J. Harden, $2.00; C. E. Olsen. $2.00; L. R. Robertson, $2.00; B. L. Duplantis, $2.00; E. Pedersin, $2.00. HAnover 2-2784 Entered as second class matter June 15, 1945, at the Post Office in New York, N. Y., under the Act of August 24, 1912. 267 PERSONALS LUIS RIVAS Get in touch immediately with Whitey Collins, care of Mrs. De Revuelta in New York. Tele­ phone RHinelander 4-9801. Top Labor Men Named To EGA Advisory Posts WASHINGTON — Top labor representatives in the adminis­ SS LYMAN STEWART ROBERT ALLAN McGEE tration of the Marshall plan for L. LaChapell, $2.00; K. Nikander, Get in touch with Marie European recovery were named $5.00; J. Hane, $1.00; J, B. Benier, $1.00. Doherty, 302 E. 38th Street, New recently. They are Bert Jewell M. V, MONTAUK POINT York 6, New York. for the AFL and Clinton Golden F. Barsezca, $2.00; W. V. Boulton, for the CIO. $5.00; J. T. Genaghty, $5.00; W. J. SS JEAN $1.00; R. Sturgls, $1,00. % % i Vance, $5.00; E. T. McCambridge, A. Rosa, $1.00; A. Lopez, $1.00; G. Golden and Jewell will both SS H. RICE $5.00: D. L. Newell, $5.00; R. P. Fon- W. Ehmsen, $1.00. be advisors to Economic Coop­ JERRY REESE Gordon E. Dalman, $2.00; S. J. Bartaine, $5.00. SS PURDUE VICTORY ras, $3.00; G. L. Esteve, $2,00; H. Myer, Get in touch with William eration Administrator Paul HolfSS STEEL DIRECTOR E. Lee Frazee, $1.00; R. J. Giustizia, $2.00; G, M. Thrasher, $2.00; M." R. Lundelof, c/o Dream Castle Bar, man with offices in Washington. A. Sasser, $1.00; V. Dyozulis, $4.00; $1.00; P. C. Willoughby, $2.00; K. Toni, Short, $2,00; F. F. Liles, $2.00; F. M. B. Thatcher, $2.00; L. E. Vaughn, $ 1.00. Lake Highlands, Lake Bert M. Jewell, an active Thompson, $1.00; T. D. Garrity, $1.00; Clear SS BELGIUM VICTORY County, California. A. Aarons, $1.00. unionist since 1905, is a member L. G. Colon, $1.00; A. Albe, $1.00; of the International Brotherhood R. A. Rhodes, $1.00; S. D. Ocasio, $2.00. of Boilermakers and the Iron SS PONCE DE LEON L. K. Lapham, $2.00; S. J. Salvagglo, Ship Builders Union. He has SIU, A&G District' $3.00; J, Bosclano, $4.00; W. J. been president of the Railway Jones, $2.00: C. V. Hall, $5.00; A. Employes Department of the BALTIMORE 14 North Gay St. Higham, $2.00; J. Blanco, $5.00; G. E. William Rentz, Agent Calvert 4530 Berry, $200; R. Ciymer, $2.00 H. F. AFL, and most recently has served sfe international repre­ BOSTON 276 State St. Narez, $5.00; W. D. Powell, $2.00; J. Walter Siekmann, Agent Bowdoin 4455 M. Tagriello, $1.00; M. Hook, $2.00; J. sentative of the Railway Labor GALVESTON 308%—23rd St. M. Gallagher, $3.00; W. D. Turner, Jr„ Executives Association. Keith AIsop, Agent Phone 2-8448 $2.00; A. Mannick, $2.00; F. Aponte, In that capacity Jewell parti­ $2.00; S. Manning, $2.00; C. Bracey, MOBILE 1 South Lawrence St. cipated in the formation of the $2.00; 'S. B. Baskin, $4.00; E. E. Phone 2-1754 Cal Tanner, Agent Roberts, $2,00; R. J. Desmore, $2.00; Confederation of Inter-American NEW ORLEANS.. . . .523 Bienville St. G. L. Fletcher, $2.00: H.. H, Hegler, Trade Unions, and is a member Magnolia 6112-6113 E. Sheppard, Agent $5.00; D. Thorton, $5.00; J. Reed, of the executive committee of the 51 Beaver St. $2.00; J. Harrison, $2,004 E. F. Carlson. NEW YORK HAnover 2-2784 $3.00; W. C. Coleman, $2.00; E. Borg, Joe Algina, Agent International Transportworkers NORFOLK 127-129 Bank St $5.00, THEY SHOOT HORSES. DON'T which was believed Impenetrable. Federation, to which most Euro­ SS HELEN Ben Rees, Agent Phone 4-1083 THEY? by Horace- McCoy; Also, due to the fact that 20 pean transit workers are affi­ M. A. George, $2.00; B. Edwards, PHILADELPHIA. . .614-16 No. 13th St. Penguin Signet Books, 144 volumes on the subject of sex liated. Lloyd Gardner, Agent Poplar 5-1217 $1.00; C. Horvath, $1.00; V. S. Weems, pages, 25 cents. will be published during the $2.00; L. Kotselis, $1.00; 5. Rivera, SAN FRANCISCO 105 Market St. $1.00; H. MacCormack, $2.00; S. next 28 years, the matter will Anyone who was around in Steve CarduIIo, Agent Douglas 2-5475 Melinsky, Jr., $2.00; L. Evans, $5.00; be before the American people the dark, depressing years, 1935 SAN JUAN, P.R 252 Ponce de L^on W. H. Williams, $2,00; J. Vertilla, Sal Colls, Agent San Juan 2-5996 $2.00; S. Jeliksze, $3.00; A. Rodriquez, in particular, will no doubt constantly. This alone, they be­ SAVANNAH 220 East Bay St. $1.00; W. Hussey, $1.00; K. P. Marple, nauseously recall that institution lieve, will serve to remove some Send in the minutes of Charles Starling, Agent Phone 3-1728 $2.00; H. P. Meyers, $2.00. known as the "marathon dance." of the hush-hush, superstition your ship's meeting to the SS KNOX VICTORY TAMPA 1809-1811 N. Franklin St. You flipped a well-bitten quar­ and misconceptions on the sub­ New York HaU. Only in that M. Iwasko, $2.00; F. Walker, $1.00. Claude Simmons, Agent Phone M-1323 ter to the highly hennaed cash­ ject. way can the membership act SS WALTHAM VICTORY HEADQUARTERS. , 51 Beaver St, N.Y.C. M. McMillan, $1.00; G. N. Drensky, ier and then watched a bunch By no means a substitute for on your recommendations, HAnover 2-2784 $4.00; S. Kadciola, $4.00; O. Olsen, of guys and dames dance them­ the full Kinsey Report, About and then the minutes can be SECRETARY-TREASURER $2.00; G. C. Lee, $'3.00; J. Wilaszak. selves into the ground, against The Kinsey Report supplements printed in the LOG for the Paul Hall $2.00; G. M. James, $2.00; E. R. RosaDIRECTOR OF ORGANIZATION benefit of all other SIU do, $4.00; T. LaPIant, $2.00; S. Gelak. a background of no little may­ it as a commentary for better Lindsey Williams understanding the mass of in­ crews. $2.00; E. Fresmick, $5.00; R. L. Mit­ hem. chell, $2.00; J. Autencio, $1.00; E, ASSIST. SECRETARY-TREASURERS And mayhem plays no small formation Kinsey has put forth. Zakrewski, $2.00; W. Rowland, $2.00; Robert Matthews J. P. Shuler part in this little piece about J. J.. McKenna, $1.00; J. E. Nordstrom, Joseph Volpian "dance marathon" out Los $2.00; C. V. Dix, $2.00; L. Mills, $5.00; a P. Moreni, $1.00; F. W. Harris, $3.00; Angeles way. If you can get SUP M. DeNicola, $2.00; B. Zagarda, $2.00, sentimental about those things, The SEAFARERS LOG as the official publication of the Sea­ SS ALCOA CAVALIER KOWOLULU 16 Merchant St. you'll probably call it a tragic R. Davis, $1.00; J, J. Giordano, $1.00; Phone 5-8777 farers International Union is available to all members who wish story. Anyway, most of those PORTLAND Ill W. Bumside St. G. F. Immel, $1.00; M. J. Olson, $1.00; to have it sent to their home free of charge for the enjoyment of Beacon 4336 C. Sausa, $1.00; M. FingeYhut, $1.00;'' involved come to pretty unhappy their families and themselves when ashore. If you desire to have RICHMOND, Calif 257 5th St. J. A. Golder, $1.00; E. W. Lundstron{, ends. the LOG sent to you each week address cards are on hand at -every Phone 2599 $1.00; R. Michalek, $1.00; E. H. DerYou'll probably find it hard to SIU branch for this purpose. SAN FRANCISCO 59 Clay St. mody, $2.00; D. Eiiigo, $1.00; A. Menfind fault with Author McCoy's Douglas 25475 dicini, $1.00; J. A. Muchlick, $1.00; However, for those who are at sea or at a distance from a SIU SEATTLE 86 Seneca St. P. Cortez, $1.00; J. C. V. T. Magde- title chdfte when you finish read­ hall, the LOG reproduces below the form used to request the LOG, Main 0290 lena, $1.00; J. V, Brooks, $1.00; L. Dur­ ing his breezily-written little which you can fill out, detach and send to: SEAFARERS LOG, 51 WILMINGTON 440 Avalon Blvd. ham, $5.00; J. Porvers, $2.00; W. period piece. Beaver Street, New York 4 ,N. Y. Terminal 4-3131 Zaumseil, $1.00; S. Foti, $1.00; M. R. t 4" 4" Trocha, $2.00; E. Guzcynsky, $1.00; E. W. Mulford, $1.00; C. Voss, $1.00; A. PLEASE PRINT INFORMATION ABOUT THE KINSEY REPORT; Gt. Lakes District Pelican Mentor Books, 166 BUFFALO 10 Exchange St. To the Editor: Cleveland 7391 pages, 25 cents. CHICAGO, III 3261 East 92nd St. I would like the SEAFARERS LOG mailed to the Eleven experts from fields as Phone; Essex 2410 diverse as religion, psychiatry address below: CLEVELAND 2602 Carroll St. FRANK BUZEK and law give their views of the Main 0147 DETROIT 1038 Third St. You shipmates from the SS Kinsey Report (Sexual Behavior Name Cadillac 6857 San Angela Victory left your sea In The Human Male). DULUTH 831 W. Michigan St. at llie San Francisco All of them are sympathetic Street Address ..... Melrose 4110 chest TOLEDO 615 Summit St. Branch,-105 Market Street. Please to the contribution of Dr. Kinsey Garfield 2112 let them know if you want any­ and his associates and each one City State .... thing else done with it. comments on the book as it re­ Canadian District lates to his particular field. While 4- 4. 4. Signed MONTREAL 1227 Philips Square SAMUEL L. VANDAL they all believe that Kinsey has VICTORIA, B.C.. ....602 Boughton St. You . have unclaimed wages but scratched the surface, they Empire 4531 Book No. ^mounting to $17.56 from Water­ feel he has succeeded in un­ VANCOUVER 565 Hamilton St. I Pacific 782f man SS Corp. earthing relevant data in a field t S" S" SlU HULLS ^ Send Those Minutes m. Notice Te Ail SIU Members If'''' tU- NOTICE \ . i �THE Friday. July 2, 1948 SEAF/tRERS Page Fifteen LOG SIU Committee On Otrmg QUESTION: A supposed "friend of labor" and New Dealer, lElinore Derrick, has recoinmended a Coast-Guard-supervised government hiring hall for the maritime industry, and added that "jobs can he bought through unions." What are your views cm her proposal? ' - .....iliiiiiil V LEON HALL. Cook: I've been . sailing «ince 1938, and I've been in the SIU since 1939. Things sure have changed since I started, changed for the better. Most of the improve­ ments couldn't have been won . without the Union Hiring Hall. If the Coast Guard took over the Hiring Hall, they'd give us a tough time all around. We'd have to take their guff because they'd side with the owners. They'd try to develop a bunch of company stiffs. Pretty soon we'd be back to 12 to 15 hours a. day with no overtime, bum food, dirty foc'sles and every­ thing. In short, no Coast Guard for me. JOSEPH FELTON. Bosun; I think it is lousy. It would bring us back to the old days when Daily used to work for the Shipping Board — when a fair-haired boy got the job. Be­ sides you would have plenty of accidents on the ships, for the average man shipping out of Government hiring halls never knew the bow from the stern. I have yet to see favoritism shown in SIU shipping—though I have seen it in the old Ship­ ping Board days. We have plenty of Government Certified men shipping fairly on a rotation basis in the SIU. What more could any reasonable person ask? ARMANDO RIVERA. Messman: • Her plan would be harmful to the whole industry. We can con­ trol the equality and justice of shipping out of our own SIU Halls. We would have no con­ trol over the whims of a -Coast Guard-dominated hall. I feel I have fair job-security now. ship­ ping out under rigidly-controlled rotary hiring system, in which each member considers it his duty to see to it that our specific shipping rule^ are lived up to by all members. She's all wet on that job-selling talk. If any­ body tried it in our Union, he'd be asking for a one-way pas­ sage out of the industry. She's just using that to knock the Hiring Hall principle. Still The Leaders (Continued from Page 1) ROLAND STROM. Bosun: That lady can just forget that idea of hers. It stinks. We've been trying to"'get but from un­ der the Coast Guard and their phony set-ups. They've tried to dominate merchant seamen with their hearing units and other schemes. If we give the Hiring Hall to the Coast Guard we might as well forget the Union. What good --are we without the Hiring Hall? So the lady thinks jobs can be bought? Well. I've never seen one bought in an SIU Hall. The Rotary Shipping system, in which everybody knows where he stands, takes care of that. What better could the Coast Guard offer? GEORGE MEANEY. Bosun: How can they ring the Coast Guard in on us? We aren't under military jurisdiction. The bureau­ crats have for a long time tried to stick this civilian industry under brass hat control—but this is too much. Jobs being bought? I never have heard of a single case. A guy that tried that would be so hot he could cool off in hell. That woman has been around the New Deal Ad­ ministration so long she can't conceive of anything being ad­ ministered without a lot of • backdoor deals. She's a profes­ sional bureaucrat — how come she's an authority on the mari­ time industry? ALBERT ^cCABE. FWT: That would be real abuse.'The Coast Guard woitld be.as phony ias the -old -Shipping Boprd. In the 1921 'Strike. Waterman want­ ed to -isign a union contract, but :the Government -told them if cthey did they'd get no more chartered ships. The Coast Guard can do the same :thing by say­ ing "Your vessels will be de­ clared unseaworthy until you drop the Union." I can remember walking the docks for weeks on end begging for a job. The Un­ ions have ended that. I've never heard of jobs being soid. but if anyone ever tried it. the mem­ bership would expel him before he succeeded. Seafarers Wins Hiring Ha tors know it. And in this respect the Hiring Hall victory is theirs, too. Moreover, the operators are convinced of "the SIU's determination. When the Union declared that "no other issues would be discussed until the Hiring Hall issue was solved," they knew we weren't shooting blanks. They knew from experience—the 1946 General Strike; the Isthmian, Seatrain, Eastern and Bonus beefs—that the Union fights hard. And fights to win. Not to be forgotten in appraising this week's success i.s the fact that agreement was reached in pure collective bargaining, unfettered by government boards and official and self-appointed mediators. As the negotiating committee pointed out, the SIU is not entirely satisfied with all of the language of the agreement, but we have the power to re-open the con­ tract, something agaip which no other maritime union can do. Above all, the SICJ; has proved once more that no obstacle cap halt the uniied membership in its march for respectable 'bpnditions. Tine Seafarers are moving straight What makes the SIU's Hiring Hall triumph even more spectacular is the fact that five CIO maritime unions, including the National Maritime Union have-thus far been unsuccessful in arriving at an agreement on the retention of the Union Hiring Hall after more than three months of discussions. Like many before it, the latest victory of the SIU may pose a question: How does the SIU continue to forge ahead where others cannot make the grade? First off, the SIU is a strong, united, democratic Union free of power-seeking groups and has but a single purpose—the welfare of its membership. Only an organi­ zation so endowed could have come up with the consistent victories in the past and the remarkable agreement signed this week. Another factor in our continued success is the quality of seamenship possessed by SIU membership. Seafarers' job know-how is the best in the industry and the opera­ ahead. %, (Contiitued from Page 1) complished by a committee bol­ stered by the Union's sound in­ ternal conditions and a strongly united membership. The Com­ mittee hailed the SIU's advan­ tageous position in this respect as largely responsible for the Hiring Hall victory. The SIU Negotiating Commit­ tee pointed out shortly after the signing that "this contract was negotiated by the parties di­ rectly involved... it was nego­ tiated without interference of government bureaucrats, self-ap­ pointed fact finding agencies or mediators of any kind." In the course of the discus­ sions leading to the agreement, the companies offered several counter-proposals to the Seafar­ ers' demand for acceptance of its Hiring Hall version. Notable among the company bids were the SUP formula and the newly signed NMU Tanker Contract, which embody the Hir­ ing Hall principle but which were unacceptable to the SIU committee. The agreement just signed will be presented to the other SIUcontracted companies in the neai' future, the Negotiating Commit-, tee revealed. U'.ViM 1- i•"vklV'l"-'.'' L -f, v.. (Continued From Page 16) recommended to the membership that this report be accepted and concurred in. It represents, without a doubt, the best Hiring Hall agreement that has been se­ cured by any Union since the passing of the Taft-Hartley Law. Upon membership concur­ rence of this report, your Com­ mittee can then continue negotia­ tions for a complete contract cov­ ering our demands for increased wages and improved working rules and conditions. Your Committee, in closing, wishes to point out once again' that the SIU has established' an­ other precedent in this industry , which should be of a great bene­ fit to all seamen; that is, the right to open at any time the question of any and all parts of ; the employment section of a . Union contract. We have seen from past ac­ tions that the SIU precedent in i establishing the right to open i wages at any time has been of • a great help to the membership'' of our Union. The extension of this re-open- ' ing clause to cover the Hiring Hall as well as wages makes for still greater protection for our membership and our Union in • the perilous anti-labor days which undoubtedly lie directly ahead for all organized labor. In our opinion, the pattern that has been established by the SIU, Atlantic and Gulf District, is an , example that all Unions would be wise to follow. Signed by: PAUL HALL, Secretary-Treasurer LINDSEY J. WILLIAMS, Director Organization ROBERT A. MATTHEWS, Asst. Sec.-Treas. J. P. SHULER, Asst. Sec.-Treas. J. H. VOLPIAN, c % Asst. Sec.-Treas. \ J. ALGINA, f New York Agent C. HAYMOND, Headquarters ; Representative .tl-. �Page Sixteen THE SEAFARERS LOG Fridar. July 2. 1948 Committee Report On ffiiing Hall Agreement |l W} > I il^ Your Negotiating Committee, in accordance with previous action of the membership, notified the opera^ tors at the commencement of these negotiations that • the Union would not settle any issue in the contract until such time as a complete agreement was reached on the question of the Union Hiring Hall. Your Committee participated in several meetings with the shipowners on this issue and, after consid­ erable propojals and counter-proposals on this ques­ tion, have reached an agreement on this matter, sub­ ject to action by the membership. For the purpose of making this agreement clear to the membership, the Committee has analyzed each section of the agreement. The full Hiring Hall clause and the Committee's comments follow: ARTICLE I —EMPLOYMENT •' I'r: 37 - SECTION 1. The Union agrees to furnish the Com­ pany with capable, competent and physically fit per­ sons when and where they are required and of the ratings needed to fill vacancies necessitating the em­ ployment of Unlicensed Personnel in ample time to prevent any delay in the scheduled departure of any vessel covered by this agreement. To assure maximum harmonious relations and in order to obtain the best qualified employees with the least risk of a delay in the scheduled departure of any vessel covered by this agreement, the Company agrees to secure all Unlicnsed Personnel through the hiring halls of the Union. This section gives us, without question of a doubt, the Union Hiring Hall. Your Committee points out that in this section the Company defin­ itely agrees to secure ALL UNLICENSED PER­ SONNEL THROUGH THE HIRING HALLS OF THE UNION. This, incidentally, is the first time that the words "Hiring Halls of the Union" have ever been used in any maritime contract at any time. SECTION 2. If for any reason the Union does not furnish the Company, as provided in Section 1, with capable, competent and physically fit persons when and where they are required and of the ratings needed to fill such vacancies in eunple time to prevent any delay in the scheduled departure of any vessel covered by this agreement, the Company may then obtain members of the Unlicensed Personnel from any avail­ able source. This section is a standard clause which is presently contained in all SIU contracts and which has been contained in all SIU contracts in the past. SECTION 3. The Company recognizes the Union as the sole collective bargaining representative of all members of the Unlicensed Personnel. It is specifically understood and agreed that membership in the Union chall not be a condition of employment of any mem­ ber of the Unlicensed Personnel furnished or obtained In the manners specified in this agreement. It is fur­ ther agreed that there shall be no discrimination against any member of the Unlicensed Personnel be­ cause of non-membership or membership in the Union. This clause, the Negotiating Committee feels. ' is the weakest part of the contract from the Union's viewpoint. It states specifically that mem­ bership in the Union shall not be a condition of employment of any Unlicensed Personnel hired in the manner as specified in this agreement. However, this is covered completely by Section 1, which states that all men must come through the Union Hiring Hall. At any time when it is necessary for the Union to ship non-Union seamen because of a shortage of men, those men must be shipped through the Union Hiring Hall and cannot be hired off the docks or from crimp joints, etc. SECTION 4. The Union agrees that the Company has the right to reject (by written notation on the job assignment slip) any applicant for employment who the Company considers unsatisfactory or xmsuitable for the vacancy, or to discharge any member of the Unlicensed Personnel who, in the opinion of the Company, is not satisfactory. If the Union considers the rejection of any applicant for employment or the discharge of any member of the. Unlicensed Personnel as being discriminatory such actions by the Com­ pany shall be dealt with under the grievance proced­ ure, and the Union agrees that any such rejection or discharge shall not cause any vessel to be delayed on her scheduled departure. This section is a routine section and is con­ tained in ,all SIU contracts, although not in the exact wording, but of the same meaning. SECTION 5. The Company agrees not to discrimin­ ate against any member of the Unlicensed Personnel for legitimate Union activities. This is a routine section and is contained in all* SIU contracts. SECTION 6. The term Unlicensed Personnel as used & this agreement shall not include super-cargoes, Cadets, pursers and livestock tenders. This is a routine section and is contained in all SIU contracts. SECTION 7. The Union shall have the right, upon written notification to the Company showing proper reasons for such action, to re-negotiate any part' or all of Article I. Upon receipt of such notification by the Company, the parties to this agreement shall meet within 7 days for negotiations on this issue. The Negotiating Committee feels that this section is a very real protection for the Union. This section means that, in the event of any future change in the laws or because of any court decisions on any matter pertaining to the Hiring Halls, the Union will have the right to re-open negotiations with the operators and re-negotiate any part or all of the contract, as contained under Article 1. We are the only Union in the industry which can open wages any time it sees fit. We now stand as the only Union in the industry that can open, at any time we see fit, the question of hiring conditions. This we feel is of great importance, because of the political situation existing now in the country and the anti-labor drive we can ex­ pect from the Washington politicians in the near future. The Company and the Union will continue negotia­ tions for a complete agreement covering general rules, wages, and working conditions for each of the three departments. The above sections are agreed to and shall be incorporated in any full agreement which may be reached between the company and the Union. If a full agreement is not reached by July 30, 1948, the present agreement as hereby modified by me above sections of Article I—Employment—shall become effec­ tive July 31, 1948, and shall remain in effect until a full agreement is reached or until either party notifies the other in writing that negotiations for such an agreement are stalemated. DATED JUNE 25, 1948. OTHER UNION CONTRACTS Your Negotiating Committee, in view of the seri­ ousness of the Hiring Hall question, feels that it is necessary to compare and analyze this contract with other contracts signed by other Unions. Sailors Union of the Pacific: The following employment clauses were signed by the Sailors Union of the Pacific on October 11, 1947: SECTION 1. Recognition. The Employers agree to recognize the Sailors Union of the Pacific as the representative for the purpose of collective bargaining of their unlicensed deck personnel. SECTION 2. Preferential Hiring, (a) The Employers agree in the hiring of employees in the classifications covered by this agreement to prefer applicants who have previously been employed on vessels of one or more of the companies signatory to this agreement and the Union agrees that in furnishing deck personnel to Employers through the facilities of their employ­ ment office it will recognize such preferences and dependability of the employees furnished; jvhen Or­ dinary Seamen with prior experience are not available, the Union will in dispatching seamen prefer gradu­ ates of the Andrew Furuseth Training School. (b) When an Employer rejects men furnished who are considered unsuitable and unsatisfactory, the Em­ ployer shall furnish a statement in writing to the Union stating the reason for the rejection and the Union may thereut)on refer the matter to the Port Committee and the Port Committee shall then hear the case. (c) The employees may remain continuously in employment on the same vessel provided the Employ­ ers and the employees desire such employment to continue. ft i S. The SIU was offered the SUP formula by the opera­ tors, but we felt that, due to the failure of the SUP formula to state that all men were definitely to be hired through the Union Hiring Hall, "it was unac­ ceptable to the Committee. A further reason that the Committee could not accept the SUP formula was that, in a strict legal sense although not in practice, all hiring could be done on a company seniority basis. This would not be practical for the SIU because of our recent growth and acquisition of new contracts, such as Isthmian, etc. It is therefore easy to understand, in view of the above cited facts, that we could not accept the SUP formula even though the operators expressed not only a willingness for such, but a desire as well. NMU Freight & Passenger Ships: According to the NMU "Pilot," the NMU contracted freight and passenger ship companies have refused to negotiate with the NMU on the hiring and main­ tained the position that they shall be able to hire outside the Union Hiring Hail in any manner they see fit. This is a serious problem at this time for the NMU and is, of course, more greatly aggravated be­ cause of the. split factions in that Union. The NMU position is made worse because, as the membcnqhip is aware, they were supposed to have struck on June 15, 1948, to obtain the Hiring Hall, but the Govern­ ment has issued an 80-day injunction against them preventing them from striking and now the whole matter is in the air and completely unsettled. NMU Tankers: The NMU Tanker contracted companies have signed the regular- NMU Tanker Employment Clauses. This contract excludes from the Union Hiring Hall Chief Stewards, Pumpmen, and other key ratings. Your Negotiating Committee would not sign any contract that provides that the Company may select key personnel for key jobs as in the NMU Tanker contract. A further and far more important reason that your Committee could not accept the NMU Tanker Em­ ployment Clauses was because of the following section: ARTICLE 12, SECTION 95: In the event that any provision of this Agreement at any time be declared invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not invalidate the entire agreement, it being the expressed intention of the parties hereto that all other provisions not so declared invalid shall remain in full force and effect. • i S. 4, "This means in simple words that, in the event of a court reversal on any part of the NMU Employment Clauses in the NMU Tanker Contract, they will then have no provision whatsoever for the manner that men are to be shipped. In other words, the rest of the NMU contract would still be in effect and the Union would have no right to ship, or even to demand to ship, NMU members to their contracted tankers. The operators, in addition to offering the SUP for­ mula to us, offered this type of contract as well. For the reasons as outlined above, your Committee felt that under no circumstances could they accept either. Marine Cooks and Stewards, MCS (CIO) And Marine Firemen, Oilers, Watertenders, MFOW (Independent): These two West Coast unions, representing the Cooks and Firemen on' the West Coast ships, are both in the process of negotiations and, according to their official papers, the "Voice" and the "Marine Fireman," res­ pectively, the companies are refusing cold turkey to negotiate a Hiring Hall Contract with them. In addition to this, both of these Unions have been served with a Similar type of 80-day injunction that the NMU has against it, preventing them from striking. These Unions are in the same position as the NMU. They are in a" hell of a mess with no possibility of settlement within the near future. CONCLUSION Your Committee recommends to the membership of this Union that they study the above thoroughly so as to understand all the issues involved. The negotiating of this contract as carried in this report has been no easy matter, and the shipowners strongly fought against our demands. ' Your Committee maintained, in accordance with previous Union action, its position for a contract of such nature that would unequivocally guarantee the continued preservation of our Hiring Hall. We feel that the contract we have signed guarantees this without a question of a doubt. The m)embership should also be made aware of the fact that, at the present time, it is against the law to sign a so-called Union Shop Contract until a Union has been certified in a Union Shop Election. At the present time, no Union in the maritime industry has such certification. Recently, pn this same question of Union Shop Elections, some of the original drafters of the TaftHartley Bill stated a "strong desire" to repeal that part of the Taft-Hartley Law which requires Union Shop Elections before the signing of a Union Shop Contract. Once this part of the bill -has either been repealed, or until the Union does receive Union Shop Certifica­ tion, the Union can then go back into negotiations with the SIU-contract6d shipowners, as per Section 7 of this Agreement, and negotiate for the complete revision of Section 3, with the deletion of any of the parts the Union may find objectionable. Your Committee feels that, because of the chaotic conditions existing now in the Maritime Industry, it is to pur advantage to handle this matter in such a manner as to guarantee the retention of the Union Hiring Hall to allow the Union to continue its prep­ arations for the rough days ahead. In view of the facts brought out in this report, it ia {Continued on Page IJ) � 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 July 2, 1948 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 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. X, No. 27 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES A&G DISTRICT WINS UNION HIRING HALL SIU PETITIONS FOR ELECTIONS ON 9 CS SHIPS WHAT UNION HIRING HALLS MEAN TO WORKING SEAMEN SEAMEN'S DRAFT STATUS NOT CLEAR LADY LABOR 'EXPERT' ADVOCATES HIRING HALLS RUN BY COAST GUARD CARGO PLANES NO COMPETITION TO SHIPPING PORT GALVESTON VERY UN HAPPY OVER SORRY SHIPPING SITUATION SHIPPING IN NEW ORLEANS IS HOLDING OWN FRISCO SHIPPING SLOWS,EXCEPT FOR BLACK GANG ERP GRAIN MOVEMENTS GIVE SHIPPING BOOST TO PORT MOBILE PORT MONREAL SETTLES LAST BEEFS ON PHILAE NEW YORK SHIPPING BEGINS TO MOVE AGAIN AFTER BAD WEEKS SIU-CONTRACTED COMPANIES:SOUTH ATLANTIC SS SOUTHPORT RAMS,SINKS FINNISH SHIP IN CHANNEL FOG;MINE MENACES RESCUE MORE AFOUNDRIA MEN BLAST USE OF CHEAP LABOR ABROARD CREW HOLDS MEMORIAL PAUL HUNT DIES IN CUBA;MEMBER OF SIU 5 YEARS SIU COMMITTEE ON HIRING HALL Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 07/02/1948 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America 1948 Periodicals Seafarers Log